XIV:  TEMPERANCE

Keys and Doors

Items that open doors and the design of the places where they are hidden

Doors that stand in the player's path, and keys for opening them.  When it 
comes to keys in particular, there is a curious trend in the places where 
they are kept, and one can feel that a deep meaning is concealed even in 
the strange ways that they are hidden.  Couldn't it be that keys are not 
items merely for opening doors and that there is a major significance to the 
places where they are found?  Let's explore the intentions of the creators.

IMAGE:  Heather retrieves a key from the vending machine
The irrationality of such an improbable thing happening bewilders the player.

Creator's Commentary:  Concerning the places where keys are put, they are 
often chosen not so much because of the scenario as for production reasons.  
The "cooked key" for example-- the weirdness of how the dog swallowed the 
key and was cooked like that.  The key that comes out of the soft drink 
can from the vending machine plays off of a fear of machines that perform 
functions outside of their predetermined roles.  The key that is stuck 
to the wall in the hospital depicts the incoherent thought processes of 
someone who is not of sound mind.  If anything, I'd say there are more 
cases in which meaning is entrusted to doors, don't you think?

-Hiroyuki Owaku

SECTION TWO:  The significance given to doors themselves

In the Silent Hill series, like religious key items, keys with motifs 
pertaining to literary works and the like, the presence of the doors that 
obstruct the path of the player is also full of profound underlying 
suggestions.

Looking back at some representative doors that have appeared up to this point 
in the series, let's reaffirm the important significance that each of them 
holds.

From "Silent Hill:"  Keys for eclipse

The word "eclipse" comes from astronomy.  For example, a solar eclipse 
occurs as a result of an overlap of the positions of the sun and moon.  This 
can also be interpreted as signifying the overlap of Alessa and Cheryl.

IMAGE:  Harry opens the back door of the house on Levin Street
Upon opening the door, in an instant the town is enveloped by darkness and
light around Harry is literally blocked off. 

From "Silent Hill 2:"  Doors on the floor

The strangeness of vertical corridors and opening doors on the floor is 
evidence that the world James sees is not reality.  Of course even for the 
player, these things cause strong feelings of uneasiness and tension.

IMAGE:  James in the prison
James, who accepts the strangeness of the vertical corridors, is not of a 
normal state of mind.

From "Silent Hill 3:"  The moon door

The message on the door that reads "piling up the 300th day and night" 
followed by "cries of pain are heard" is a metaphor for the sequence of 
events from conception to childbirth.  It suggests the harsh fate that 
awaits Heather, who has become pregnant with God.

IMAGE:  Heather in the shopping mall
Since it's the "moon door," a moonstone was chosen as the item that opens it.




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