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Main Characters

Harrold "Harry" Mason

Voiced by: Michael Guinn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0f8ca4da5a9381c7bd2d3c1877e3e254.jpg

At first I thought I was losing my mind. But now I know I'm not. It's not me.

A writer, widower, and devoted father who crashed into Silent Hill after seeing a girl crossing the road. Having lost his daughter Cheryl, he searches through the town and its unspeakable horrors to find her.

Action Dad: Generally, he's a Non-Action Guy (he has to be shown how to use a gun by Action Girl cop Cybil) but when his little girl is in danger, he'll go To Hell and Back, blunder through a Town with a Dark Secret, and kill an Eldritch Abomination to save her. Even a few years later, he continues to be her defender, having to kill an Order member who tried to kidnap the reborn Cheryl.
Action Survivor: He's not a born badass warrior, he's just a writer looking for his daughter, journeying through the cursed town and vowing to find her. This sadly doesn't last for another game.
The Atoner: He expresses through some documents in 3 that he was initially wary of raising the reborn Alessa/Cheryl because he blamed the former for taking his daughter away, but did so anyway out of respect for his deceased wife's wishes. He also later regretted naming the child Cheryl again because he saw her as a replacement, and from that point on, him taking care of her was his own way to make it up to Cheryl and forgive Alessa.
Badass Bookworm: Harry is just an author and a pretty quick thinker when it comes to solving puzzles of Silent Hill, as well as able to defeat the monsters pretty effectively.
Badass Normal: Goes up against the horrors of Silent Hill, and is pretty much just a mundane guy.
Badass Unintentional: Didn't expect or prepare for the horrors ahead or fight an evil cult, he was just a guy looking for his daughter.
Big Good: Arguably so in 3. It's Harry's memory that motivates his daughter Cheryl/Heather to defeat the Order, and it's also his influence and genuine love for her that convinces both her and Alessa's memory to continue living on, while also ensuring the Order's god is killed.
Bumbling Dad: Downplayed. Harry is no idiot and he's pretty badass for an average human, but his interactions with other characters paint him as a little clumsy and awkward.
The Cameo: He's sided with the aliens in the UFO ending of Silent Hill 2, appearing alongside them to abduct James Sunderland and take him away.
- In a more serious, canonical example, his voice is heard during the Good Ending of Silent Hill: Origins along with his wife Jodie as they find Cheryl, leading up to the events of the first game.
Catchphrase: "Have you seen a little girl? Short, black hair? Just turned seven last month?"
The Chosen One: Subverted. Dahlia sure says he's the only one who can stop the town's darkness, but she is actually manipulating him to bring about the end of the world.
Dead All Along: In the non-canonical Bad+ ending, where the game's events were all part of Harry's Dying Dream as he lays bleeding in his crashed car.
Deceased Parents Are the Best: He's killed off in Silent Hill 3 and Heather reveals throughout the game that he was a really good father to her.
Determinator: Despite all the things he's seen and all he's learned about his daughter's origins, Harry never falters from his goal. Not even once.
Cheryl's my little girl. I'll save her, no matter what.
Iconic Item: He's still wearing his brown jacket 17 years later.
Most Writers Are Writers: Harry's dayjob is being a novelist.
Non-Action Guy: At the beginning anyway.
Papa Wolf: Harry is ready to go To Hell and Back to save his little girl. And pretty much does.
Parents as People: His diary in Silent Hill 3 entries reveal that he struggled to love Heather because she was essentially a replacement for his original daughter, Cheryl, to the point where he considered killing baby Heather to get rid of her. However, he eventually changed his mind and accepted Heather as his own.
Running Gag: Famous for always asking people he meets if they saw his little girl, short, black hair, just turned seven last month.
Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Dies in Silent Hill 3, assassinated in his home by Claudia and the Missionary in order to instill hatred in Heather's heart.
Supporting Protagonist: Harry may be the main character, but most of the focus of the plot is on Alessa.
Unwitting Pawn: Dahlia first tells Harry that the mark appearing all over town is the "Mark of Samael" and to "not let it be completed", but later it is revealed to be the Seal of Metatron, which Alessa was using to try to destroy herself and stop the birth of the god, and Dahlia was using Harry to stop her.
Waistcoat of Style: Wore a black one under his iconic brown jacket in the original game.

Cheryl Mason

Voiced by: Sandra Wane

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0db4e9daaa524f1990ee0664a8c26dd5.jpg

Hey Daddy, do you think there'll be ponies there? I wanna ride a pony around, just like a cowboy!.

Harry's daughter, just a little girl with short black hair, about seven years old. During a vacation trip the two were going for, she goes missing from Harry's car after it crashes into Silent Hill, making it his mission to find her and bring her to safety.

Adorably Precocious Child: Is stated to be mature, patient, excitable, and understanding in the first game's novelization.
Conveniently an Orphan: She was adopted by Harry and his wife Jodie after they found her abandoned on the side of the road.
Creepy Child: Mainly in the introduction video, where she leers at the camera. Other than that, the creepiness is based mostly on what appears to be happening to her and on the actions of her other half rather than on what she actually does.
Dead All Along: At some point after the car crash, Cheryl has already fused back with Alessa. In other words, the little girl that Harry was searching for is gone, lost to Dahlia and Alessa's conflict.
Doorstop Baby: She was found abandoned by the side of the road, and Harry and Jodie took her in.
Happily Adopted: Cheryl didn't really question her origins, but lived happily with Harry until their vacation took a turn for the nightmarish.
Living Macguffin: She's one half of Alessa's spirit, and necessary to revive her so the Order can bring about their god.
Literal Split Personality: Cheryl is the other half of Alessa Gillespie, born when she used the Flauros to trap the "evil side" of her and split her soul in half to delay the birth of God.
That Man Is Dead: Not invoked by her, but by the time the game ends, the 7-year-old Harry Mason raised and cared for is essentially gone, now back to being a baby he must raise once again, whose soul is now complete and consists of both herself and Alessa. It's eventually subverted in Silent Hill 3, when Heather Mason, the reincarnation of Cheryl and Alessa, remembers who she is and switches her name back to Cheryl to honor her father's memory after his untimely death.
Older Than They Look: In a way. Since Cheryl and Alessa have the same soul, a lot of fans interpret that as being the same age. So Cheryl, even though she's technically seven during the game, could have a bunch of different ages.
Power Floats: Walks easily over gaping chasms and a lake, confounding both Harry and Cybil.
Split-Personality Merge: Before the end of the first game, Alessa and Cheryl have merged back with each other, much to Harry's devastation when he realizes that his daughter is gone as a result.

Cybil Bennett

Voiced by: Susan Papa (SH1), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Book of Memories - cameo)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d8dc83f9e24810f2225b32f1256a5969.jpg

Look, Harry. I really don't get what's going on. But if there's a chance we can save your daughter, I'm in.

A police officer dispatched from the neighboring town of Brahms. She's investigating the strange goings-on in Silent Hill, and like Harry, she's stuck in the town with no way to contact any backup, volunteering to help him find his daughter and a way out afterwards.

Late in the game, she gets possessed by a parasite monster and attacks Harry. You can either save Cybil or kill her, which will affect the game's ending.

Action Girl: It isn’t shown, but she’s managed to get through Silent Hill in one piece even with all the monsters. It helps she’s a cop with experience in firearms. She also confronts Dahlia in the Bad+ and Good+ endings, but she gets knocked on her ass by a psychic blast and subsequently loses consciousness until after Harry faces the Incubator/Incubus.
Ambiguous Situation: Her ultimate fate after the events of the game, as we never get any confirmation that she's still alive afterwards and she's never seen again, not helped by a lot of Shrug of God statements from the game's creators. The Book of Lost Memories in particular states that the "Good" ending, where Cybil dies, is canonical to Silent Hill 3, supported by a statement from game director Keiichiro Toyama... who later changed his mind and cited the "Good+" ending as being "a true ending", with other members of the team also flip-flopping between both endings or dismissing it as to allow "the player's interpretation".
Armed Altruism: After realizing that Harry isn't going to stay put, and that the situation in town is highly out-of-the-ordinary, she offers him a handgun as a means of self-defense.
Badass Biker: Roars pasts Harry's jeep in the prologue.
Body Horror: If you kill Puppet Cybil at the amusement park, she'll fall to the ground and start convulsing, bleeding out of every orifice.
Boss Room: Lakeside Amusement Park's merry-go-round.
The Cameo: In the joke ending of Book of Memories, arresting Trevor for sex crimes he had yet to commit.
Cool Shades: In the opening FMV.
Dissonant Serenity: She is eerily calm after being possessed, wearing a faint smile as she tries to gun Harry down and/or bludgeon him to death. If Cybil loses sight of him, she'll take a seat on the carousel, legs crossed all ladylike, and quietly wait for him to come back around, knowing he can't get away.
Distress Ball: Despite having actual combat training, she gets overwhelmed quite easily in the sewers.
Donut Mess with a Cop: Played with. You meet Cybil in a diner but she's not eating, only waiting for Harry to wake up.
Fair Cop: Has short blond hair and an outfit that nicely accentuates her figure, but the game doesn't draw particular attention to it.
Five Rounds Rapid: Her most defining trait. It even got transferred to the film version.
Implacable Man: During the boss fight with her on the carousel.
Lawful Pushover: In Green Lion Antique Shop, when Harry stands his ground and Cybil finally lets him go first through the hole behind the bookshelf, despite her being a cop.
Oh, My Gods!: "What in the Devil's name...?"

Reasonable Authority Figure: Possibly because she might be out of her jurisdiction in a different town, but Cybil has quite a few moments where she'll allow Harry to do something a little reckless but required in order to continue his search for Cheryl. She's also not one to take control of a situation and will hear other people out, even if she doesn't think they're in full reason, Dahlia being the only exception.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Puppet Cybil.
Right Man in the Wrong Place: Assuming her ending up trapped in Silent Hill's twisted alternate dimension wasn't simply a case of "wrong place, wrong time", it's possible Alessa drew Cybil to the town specifically to have someone else there to protect Harry, the closest thing to a loving parent that any part of her had ever known.

The Scully: Giant fissures, pterodactyls, flying children? Must be drug-related. A stealthy bit of foreshadowing, that; all of what the player has seen at that point is definitely paranormal and connects to the cult, but the more obscure branches of the plot show the cult really is producing drugs.
Ship Tease: The Good+ ending suggests this between herself and Harry.
Shrug of God: The "Book of Lost Memories" says that Cybil's ultimate fate is left to the player's imaginations. Masahiro Ito, when asked about her fate on Twitter, says he remembers that she's dead. When asked about the statement in the Book, he said "if you choose "good+" ending among them, she is not dead, maybe".
- Further Word of God now pronounces her alive.

Citizens of Silent Hill

Dahlia Gillespie

Voiced by: Liz Mamorsky (SH1), Laurence Bouvard (Origins)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ebc5981551814c2f76478d10e4ff21b8.jpg

Darkness. The town is being devoured by darkness! Strength must overcome petty desire, childish sleep talk! I knew this day would come...

A strange old woman who asks Harry to stop the birth of "Samael". She's really Alessa's mother and a major member of The Order, the cult that resides in the town. Her goal was to summon a God that would lead all to "paradise", but in doing so, her own daughter burned during the summoning ritual, and she is keeping Alessa alive in constant agony in order to incubate the god inside her.

Abusive Parents: Even before the events of the first game, Dahlia is implied to have physically abused Alessa and locked her in their house’s attic as a punishment for any refusal to believe in her religion. The fire in the Gillespie house that immolated Alessa was the result of a ritual performed by her, and Dahlia deliberately kept Alessa alive and in pain for seven years just so her ritual to birth God could come to fruition, and she is stated by Word of God to have inflicted even more pain on Alessa through her incantation to compel Cheryl Mason, the other half of Alessa's soul, to return to her.
Bad Samaritan: Dahlia presents herself as a helpful figure and gives Harry the Flauros so that Alessa can be weakened, framing her as the threat to the town. In truth, Alessa only wants to bring an end to her mother's wicked plans, and the Flauros is Dahlia's counter to prevent Alessa from doing so.
Barefoot Sage: Looks like a combo of this, Barefoot Loon, and Mad Oracle with her cryptic speeches, seeming willingness to help Harry, and the general impression that she sees and understands more than everyone else. A very dark subversion actually: she deliberately played up this image in order to make Harry do her bidding.
Big Bad Ensemble: Dahlia's plan to birth the God through Alessa is the pinnacle of the first game's plot, and doing so requires luring Cheryl Mason to return to Silent Hill, though Alessa herself also intends to combat her mother's plan by causing the Masons' car accident in the beginning of the game, and by spreading the Seal of Metatron in order to contain the Otherworld through annihilating Silent Hill entirely.
Cloudcuckoolander: She initially comes across as this with her bizarre rambling and a few odd line choices. It isn't until her plan to recapture Alessa succeeds that she shows her true nature.
"It was foretold by gyromancy!"
Evil Matriarch: Natch. Setting your daughter on fire, then using arcane magic to keep her alive and in infinite agony for seven years? Good luck topping that.
Evil Old Folks: Subverted in that she's actually in her forties! Someone certainly didn't age well.
Evil Versus Evil: The plot of the first game could be summarized as the result of the Gillespies opposing each other; Dahlia seeks to usher in the birth of her cult's God through her daughter, while Alessa wants to sabotage her mother's plan, and the conflict between them is what ultimately brings Harry and Cheryl Mason to Silent Hill as pawns in Dahlia and Alessa's respective plans.
Greater-Scope Villain: The land upon which Silent Hill was built was rumored to be haunted or cursed beforehand, but it was the Order's fanaticism, more specifically Dahlia building an entire belief chain around her daughter Alessa being the mother and daughter of their "god" that set the Otherworld to consume the town and every future iteration of the series to haunt the protagonists with their own inner demons made manifest the same way Alessa's were given shape. Were it not for both Dahlia and Alessa, Silent Hill wouldn't be what it is today.
Karmic Death: She's immolated by the very god she tried to summon, either in Alessa's form as the Incubator or in its demonic apparition as the Incubus, burned in the same way she let her own daughter burn.
Large Ham: Not so much in the prequel, but her original voice actor loves to chew up the scenery.
Laughing Mad: She lets out a wild cackle as the Incubus is expelled from Alessa, implying this is what she wanted all along and she manipulated Kaufmann into throwing Aglaophotis at Alessa after previously freaking out.
Manipulative Bitch: She used Harry by telling him Alessa was some kind of demon that needed to be purged before it destroyed the world, and that doing so would save his daughter. His daughter is with the Order to be merged back into Alessa, and Dahlia is ensuring her own daughter doesn't stop their ritual. It’s also heavily implied with her maniacal laughter, her losing her cool with Kaufmann carrying Aglaophotis to throw at the Incubator was a trick to expel the Incubus.
Non-Action Big Bad: Her rebirth plan for the God via Alessa still drives the plot of Origins, but Kaufmann is the one doing most of the work, whereas the most Dahlia does is simply attempt to convince Travis to stop helping Alessa.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: She claims all the horrible stuff she does is to save the world and summon her god, but her "God" is really some kind of demon or God of Evil and with heavy implications she’s doing it solely for herself.
Predecessor Villain: Being the mother of Alessa, the saintly figure of the Order destined to birth their god, her teachings were vital to Claudia Wolf's own plans years later when she tries it again, and her words also twisted the mind of a young Walter Sullivan so he would perform another ritual out of a misguided belief he'd be seeing his mother again.
Uncanny Valley Makeup: Not as obvious in the game itself, but you get to see her in all of her "glory" during a close-up during the blooper reel.
Villainous Breakdown: Subverted with a vengeance. When she realizes Kaufmann is carrying Aglaophotis she freaks out and begs him to not throw it at the Incubator… only to laugh maniacally as soon as the Incubus emerges out of the Incubator, implying she manipulated Kaufmann.
Walking Spoiler: Her actions as both the high priestess of the Order, and the mother of Alessa Gillespie, make her integral to the lore behind Silent Hill itself.
Would Hurt a Child: She performed the ritual to plant the seed of the God in her own daughter when she was only 7 years old before she kept her alive so that her pain could nourish said God after the flames had burned and disfigured her. If Origins is any indication, it involved Dahlia setting Alessa on fire when she was just a little girl.
Wicked Witch: Her withered appearance, fanatical beliefs, and the ritual she performed for Alessa's Mystical Pregnancy all evoke the image.
Younger Than They Look: Dahlia looks old enough to be her daughter's grandmother. Word of God states her age at 46. (Interestingly, she looks appropriately aged as a 39-year-old in Silent Hill: Origins.)

Alessa Gillespie

Voiced by: Sandra Wane (SH1), Jennifer Woodward (Origins)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d1f804d3ece6d02311eb990f98331ebf.jpg

I had a dream. In my dream, I opened a door. But was that really me? I had a different name.

Dahlia Gillespie's daughter, a girl with psychic powers who was venerated by the Order as a saintly figure, both the mother and daughter of their god, destined to bring about its birth through her pain and suffering. Alessa was immolated and kept in pain for years before the events of the game, with said pain ushering in the Otherworld and trapping Silent Hill in an eternal nightmare.

Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear as to what was actually the cause of the house fire that burned Alessa; due to a newspaper article stating that the fire was believed to be started by a malfunctioning boiler, a popular theory is that Alessa's Psychic Powers went out of control due to her mother's ritual and caused the boiler to explode in the Gillespie residence. Silent Hill: Origins, on the other hand, suggests that Dahlia herself immolated Alessa as part of the ritual itself, judging from the lack of concern when she's spotted leaving her burning house while Alessa is still inside. Further confusing matters, Harry suspects that the police report of the fire had been altered, and his journal in the third game states plainly that Dahlia burned her daughter as a sacrifice to God.
And I Must Scream: She's been kept in constant agony for seven years just so her hatred can incubate a god. Thanks, Mom.
Animals Hate Him: Alessa’s supernatural abilities apparently spook animals, making dogs, birds, and insects hostile toward her. She fears them in turn, and this fear manifests as the Groaners, Worm Heads, Air Screamers, and other beastly monsters in Silent Hill.
Anti-Villain: As dark and mysterious as she is, everything Alessa does is to stop the Order from summoning "God", even if she has to lure her other half Cheryl back to Silent Hill so that she can merge with her and then commit a Heroic Suicide by purging the town and everyone in it from the world via the Seal of Metatron.
Apocalypse Maiden: She's at the center of Dahlia's plot; her role is to birth the cult's god.
Astral Projection: It's part of her abilities, and this is primarily how she makes her appearances through the first game and Origins, due to her body being badly burned in the flames caused by Dahlia's ritual. It's also how she causes the car accident in the beginning of the game, by walking onto the middle of the road and tricking Harry into swerving to avoid hitting her while Cheryl sits in the passenger's seat.
Bad Powers, Good People: Sure, she can control the Otherworld and acts as the primary antagonist, but she does it to stop the end of the world, which the protagonist is unwittingly working to bring about.
Big Bad: At first, but she did make the entire town into what it is now. Considering that the God appears as the final boss in 1, 3, and Origins with Alessa, it could be considered Alessa's monster form of sorts, as much as she really doesn't want it to happen. If one believes that Alessa herself has combined with the town and is consciously causing the reality shifts, then she could quite possibly be this for the entire series, especially if the God is considered to be Alessa's monster form.
Big Bad Ensemble: While Dahlia plans to use Alessa to rebirth "God", Alessa goes against this plan when she calls out to her other half Cheryl, bringing her to Silent Hill so they can be merged, before she tricks Harry Mason into crashing his car, and then spreads the Seal of Metatron all over the town with the intent to purge it from the world and contain the Otherworld; as Alessa is unable to die through regular means, her plan to destroy the town is her method of granting "a complete death" upon herself and prevent the God's birth.
Creepy Child: Although Alessa is too old to fill this role by the start of the first game, the projections of her childhood memories are deeply disconcerting, with her appearing quiet and distant at times. Her appearance as a 7-year-old in Origins plays this straight as she projects herself in front of Travis, remaining silent.
Death Faked for You: The town was led to believe that Alessa died in the fire, but Dr. Michael Kaufmann had actually planted a substitute body at the scene, while the real Alessa was transferred to the basement of Alchemilla Hospital and nursed in there in secret.
Disappeared Dad: Her father is never mentioned anywhere.
Eldritch Abomination: The town itself is alive due to her making it an extension of herself. She's become essentially a messianic figure to the Order through her powers, but bringing forth the horrors of the human psyche with her. She also becomes this herself as the final boss.
Enemy Within: To her own reincarnation Heather Mason in Silent Hill 3. Upon the Memory of Alessa's defeat, the memo left on the floor makes Alessa's intentions to kill "herself" (Heather) clear.
Alessa: It would be better for "myself" to die. After all, it's nothing to be afraid of... That child... that demon... When I think of the endless pain it will bring when it is birthed... I decided that, instead of the suffering and cruelty I endured in that sick room... That I would like to bestow a more gentle and peaceful death on "myself". Why do "I" resist? I never thought of "myself" as such a fool...
Fate Worse than Death: Dahlia outright says this about her condition.
Genius Loci: She turned Silent Hill into this with her will — which would make the titular town an extension of her darker aspects, with the spirits within being in its servitude.
Greater-Scope Villain: Alessa's projection of her nightmares onto Silent Hill via her Psychic Powers acts as the catalyst for the town's spiritual nature becoming twisted and manifesting the distorted subconscious of the sequels' protagonists; Alessa and the town are inextricably linked to each other, and her powers are what cause the town to shift from the real world to the Fog World and/or Otherworld.
Heroic Suicide: Alessa attempts this at first by containing the hellish Otherworld, before changing her mind and resplitting/reincarnating her soul in the hopes of living a better life. 3 and Origins also show versions of Alessa trying to invoke this trope.
Mind over Matter: She effortlessly uses her powers to telekinetically shove Harry to the ground when he confronts her at Lakeside Amusement Park, and does so again to Cybil when confronting her and Dahlia in the Otherworld at the end of the game.
Magical Abortion: If Harry saves Kaufmann in Annie's Bar, he shows up at the end and throws a vial of Aglaophotis at Alessa, which forcibly expels the God from her body prematurely.
Mystical Pregnancy: With the cult's main god, all thanks to her monstrous mother.
Nigh-Invulnerability: Alessa cannot be killed or harmed by conventional means, and only the Flauros weakens her. This is because she is the surrogate mother of "God", and the malevolent deity always protects its mother's body so that it can be born.
Promoted to Playable: A very unusual case of this, as Heather in Silent Hill 3 is eventually revealed to be her reincarnation.
Psychic Powers: For reasons unknown, she was born with them, but those powers never manifested presumably until Alessa became the surrogate mother of the Order's "God" as a result of her mother's ritual, which in turn is the reason why the town has become so warped as a result of her nightmare made manifest. Considering her state as a bedridden burn victim, it comes handy that she's capable of astral projection.
The Quiet One: If we disregard a flashback with her younger self, she has two lines in the entire first game, and they're not even long. She has even less than that in Origins, with her sole line being "Let me burn" in the prologue, as Travis saves her from the fire in the Gillespie house. Maybe she would've succeeded in stopping her mother if she had told Harry about it.
Walking Spoiler: Alessa's story places her firmly as one of the most important characters in the entire series, and both the history and nature of the town of Silent Hill is heavily tied to her, given the Order's designated role for her as the surrogate mother of "God".
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Alessa's life was full of nothing but pain and suffering; she was heavily abused by her mother Dahlia, the fanatical leader of the Order, who forced her religious beliefs on her and indoctrinated her. She was also intensely bullied by her classmates when she attended Midwich Elementary School, who would scribble cruel messages on her desk and call her a "witch". Then, when Dahlia discovered Alessa's powers, she used her own daughter as the surrogate mother for the Order's God, performing a ritual to plant the seed of the God in her womb and use her to birth it, when Alessa was only seven years old. The ritual in question is what started a fire in Dahlia and Alessa's house, which led to Alessa sustaining fourth-degree burns, and being hospitalized in Alchemilla Hospital, where she would kept alive in pain for seven more years to come and tortured with hallucinogenic drugs to intensify her pain so that Cheryl Mason, the other half of her soul, could be compelled to return because of Alessa's pain. Alessa deserved absolutely nothing of what she was subjected to, and she is only freed from this torment at the age of 14 when she dies at the end of the first game and is reincarnated as Heather Mason, in the major reveal of Silent Hill 3.

Dr. Michael Kaufmann

Voiced by: Jarion Monroe (SH1), John Chancer (Origins)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c01cfa4ac0693dfc9ce98cc6930f6f15.jpg

It's too soon to give up. This craziness can't go on forever.

A not terribly pleasant doctor Harry encounters. Kaufmann was a drug runner, working alongside the Order to deal and make PTV under the guise of a devoted follower, but learned fairly quickly that he was being used by them. He's a major antagonist in Origins, and Harry meets him in the first game as he's about done with Dahlia.

Defector from Decadence: Whatever Dahlia promised him, a few minutes alone in the Fog World is enough to make Kaufmann throw in the towel. It's evident that he never fully trusted her, as he's stashed two vials of Aglaophotis as a countermeasure against Alessa's ascension.
Dragon-in-Chief: While Dahlia's plans for Alessa is still the driving force of Origins, Kaufmann is still the more active threat of the game; he's well into the Order's activities by the time of Origins, with Travis having to go after him and facing him as the cult header before facing the final boss.
Dr. Jerk: Has no interest in helping Harry, and it shows.
Didn't See That Coming: He'd expected his chemical to kill the final boss, not mutate her. A similar outcome happens in Silent Hill 3 when Heather ingests her Aglaophotis pill.
Dynamic Entry: While Harry just stands there and gets lectured at by the lead villain, Kaufmann noiselessly sidles up and shoots her in the gut. Followed by lobbing a vial of Aglaophotis at Alessa.
Even Evil Has Standards: As much of a crook as he is, he dreads the outcome of Dahlia's ultimate plan, to the point that he helps Harry overpower her in the good endings.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Although he helps Harry stop Dahlia's plan in the Good Endings, Alessa still has Lisa drag him down to Hell for murdering the latter.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He nearly shoots Harry in their first meeting, though this can be justified as rampant paranoia in a city gone mad. However, he doesn't seem entirely grateful should you manage to save him from a monster. Pursuing his questline further results in finding the vial of Agalaphotis and him VERY angrily snatching it from you before bitching you out. This conclusion is sealed in Nowhere when you learn he is in on the cult's plans as well.
Kansas City Shuffle: He stashed one of his vials of Aglaophotis in the hospital where he knew where Dahlia would find it. The one he uses is from a hidden stash, though apparently he can't retrieve it himself unless Harry finds it first.
Karmic Death: Lisa, whom he manipulated and whose drug addiction he fed, is the one who drags him to his death.
Kick The Son Of A Bitch: On both ends of this. You can choose whether or not to save him from monsters at Annie's Bar (which determines if you get the Bad or Good endings), possibly leaving him to die in his hubris. Should you save him, though, he'll arrive at the final battle and shoot Dahlia near-fatally for leaving him in the dust before throwing the metaphorical wrench in her plans by tossing the Aglaophotis at the Incubator, turning it into the Incubus.
Leitmotif: Has one, which gives off an immediate impression of shiftiness and hints that he might know a lot more than he's letting on.
Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Drug runner, a part of the local cult, and almost certainly involved in Lisa's death. And yes, he's a doctor at Alchemilla Hospital.
Not in This for Your Revolution: In the Good and Good+ endings, when Kaufmann smashes his vial of Aglaophotis on the Incubator's head. He doesn't care about Harry's quest to salvage his daughter. He just doesn't want to be "cleansed by fire".
Villainous Rescue: Instrumental in saving the day, even if he's doing it purely out of self interest.

Lisa Garland

Voiced by: Thessaly Lerner (SH1), Jennifer Woodward (Origins)

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Stay by me Harry, please! I'm so scared. Help me. Save me from them...

A kindly nurse Harry continuously bumps into as he shifts to and from the Otherworld. Though strangely, always in the same location, as she refuses to leave it. She was also Alessa's caregiver after the girl was burned, and as a result, she is somehow kept alive, where all the other nurses and doctors have been parasitized.

And I Must Scream: She was Dead All Along by the time Harry finally found her, trapped in the Otherworld as an amnesiac spirit. When she does regain her memories, she realizes she's just like the monsters and is purely a manifestation at this point, starting to bleed profusely from the head as she begs Harry for companionship, only for him to run away in fear. By the time of Silent Hill 3, Lisa's soul is still trapped in the Otherworld, where she now suffers for eternity at Valtiel's hands.
Barred from the Afterlife: Word of God states she is still trapped in the Otherworld after the first game.
Body Horror: When the Flauros causes the Otherworld to go nutty, she does too. At first, this is only mental, but before long, she's bleeding from every orifice.
The Cameo: The player might never realize it's her, but she's present in Silent Hill 3. When Heather ascends the ladder as Brookhaven Hospital transitions into the Otherworld, the player will once again see Valtiel turning some valves and the body of a female nurse suspended in mid-air in a suggestive-yet-tortured pose. Said nurse was revealed by the game's creators to be Lisa, eternally trapped in the Otherworld and doomed to constant suffering.
Dead to Begin With: She only appears in the Otherworld, and it's implied that she was killed some time before Harry entered town.
- The comic Cage of Cradle outlines it best; Lisa was killed by Valtiel, the protector of the Order's god, and her spirit was trapped in the Otherworld with no memory of her death beforehand.
Hospital Hottie: And she knows it, too, but that attitude is gone by the time of the first game. And then she remembers why she can't leave the hospital...
May–December Romance: Origins claims she was sleeping with Kaufmann, who is over 20 years her senior. Subverted in the sense that the sex certainly isn't based on love, and may in fact be "payment" in return for the drugs Kaufmann was dealing her.
Nice Girl: Lisa is a very troubled yet kindhearted nurse who looks out for Harry and was Alessa's caregiver, which is why the latter has kept her alive for so long.
Please, Don't Leave Me: She repeatedly begs Harry not to leave her alone in the hellish Otherworld hospital, making it clear that she's utterly terrified to be trapped there. That's because the version Harry meets is constructed from Alessa's fond memories of her caretaker, to target Harry's paternal instincts and stop him from searching for Cheryl/Alessa. Once he (and by extension, Dahlia) does find them and her purpose is no longer valid, Lisa degenerates back into the undead revenant she already was.
Puff of Logic: Disintegrates into blood at the same time as the environment around you loses any sense of cohesion. In the good endings, this doesn't seem to stop her from taking Kaufmann with her.
Resignations Not Accepted: Strongly suggested to have been her original fate. The VHS recording of her ends with her appearing to beg to be released from her duties as Alessa's caretaker, her diary reaffirms her commitment to quit working at the hospital, and we briefly see her angrily screaming at Kaufmann when he tries to stop her from walking away in the intro movie. It's not hard to infer that she threatened to spill the beans on his drug-running operation (or at least he feared she might), so either he or someone else quietly disposed of her.^note
Revenge: She is the one who drags Kaufmann to his death, after all the years he spent torturing her and keeping her drugged.
Stepford Smiler: In Origins, she comes across as cheerful and perky when Travis meets her, even playfully joking around with him. She's also a drug addict, no thanks to Kaufmann and the Order, and has a few scenes where the smile fully drops and she becomes agitated.

Twitchy Eye: When the Otherworld starts falling apart.

Other Characters

Jodie Mason

"I don't believe it... Harry, it's a baby..."

Harry Mason's late wife, deceased prior to the first game's events from an unnamed disease.

The Cameo: She has a voice-only cameo during the Good ending of Origins along with her husband as they find Cheryl on the side of the road.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: The novelization of the first game states that Jodie died after a car crash, while she died of her illness in the game proper.
Minor Major Character: She's not even named in the game itself, but her presence is felt through the series whenever Harry Mason's story is brought up. As far as Silent Hill 3, the grown-up Cheryl, now Heather, also remembers her kindness and mentions it as such when reminiscing at the replica of Harry's room in the Chapel.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Described by the novelization in a way that makes it clear that she was everything in Harry's life until she tragically passed away, a good and loving mother to Cheryl as well.

K. Gordon

"But isn't there something I can do to help?"

A female teacher at Midwich Elementary who showed concern towards Alessa Gillespie's bullying.

Adults Are Useless: Possibly. A note found in Silent Hill 3 within the recreation of Alessa's classroom in the Chapel reveals that Gordon wanted to do something about Alessa's repeated bullying and identified that she was likely suffering from abuse at home, but wanted to be sure before doing anything about it.
The Cameo: A note found in Origins that talks about Dahlia's abuse towards her daughter cites an anonymous complainant who made the request for investigation into the case. Said complainant is heavily suggested to be K. Gordon.
Cool Teacher: One of the few people in Alessa's life who showed concern for her situation and wanted to do something about it, having noticed the signs of aggression as she taught one of Alessa's classes.
The Ghost: She's never seen in person, with only notes and mentions of her name scattered through the series indicating she was ever a part of Alessa's history.
Never Found the Body: If she's been dead before Harry Mason showed up, there's no body left to show it. The huge blood splatter on the garage door at her house indicated she was killed, either by monsters or the Order wanting to keep her mouth shut, but there's blood and gore all over town even in the Fog World, so she may never have wound up in any of the town's alternate planes in the first place; it's never explained.
Shout-Out: The teachers listed in Midwich's personnel files are all named after members of Sonic Youth, with Gordon being a reference to guitarist and vocalist Kim Gordon.

Monsters

Grey Child

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A child-sized, knife-wielding Humanoid Abomination that is typically the first creature Harry encounters.

Adapted Out: They only appear in the North American version of the game, instead being replaced with Mumblers in the European and Japanese versions as censorship boards felt they were too similar to a real child.
Creepy Child: They make child-like laughter as they attack Harry and grab his legs in a similar way to how a small child would do to an adult. They're also often seen in places where children tend to frequent, such as Midwich Elementary and the Lakeside Amusement Park.
Kids Are Cruel: A given considering they represent Alessa's classmates. When stabbing Harry, the noise they utter is actually a recording of a child's laughter slowed down.
Rule of Symbolism: They're a dark and distorted memory of Alessa Gillespie’s classmates, who constantly tormented and ridiculed her, such as writing "DROP DEAD" and "GO HOME" on her desk. The knives presumably symbolize how she was constantly under attack from them, and their tendency to appear in larger groups could be a nod to how they often ganged up on her.

Air Screamer

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The first monster Harry gets to actually fight back against, the Air Screamer is a vaguely pterodactyl-like bird creature with rotten skin.

Airborne Mook: They fly slightly above ground and around Harry in order to deal damage quickly.
Cowardly Mooks: They have an annoying tendency to fly away and despawn if brought close to death but not finished off, allowing them to spawn in again later with full health.
Dynamic Entry: The first Screamer ambushes Harry at the Cafe by bursting in through the glass window.
Flight: A factor in gameplay, as they'll be on the air just out of Harry's reach, making melee attacks harder to land. Shooting them is a better strategy, but so is running away and conserving ammo.
The Goomba: They're relatively weak and easy to bring down, provided the player can reach them.
Hell Is That Noise: As their name implies, they make a loud screaming noise when attacking.
Rule of Symbolism: Alessa was an avid reader of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, so this monster resembles a Pteranodon in reference to it. The humanoid legs and torso, as well as its reddish color, could also be a nod to demons and religious interpreations of evil entities, tying back to the hell that was Alessa's life in Silent Hill.

Night Flutter

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The Otherworld-exclusive counterpart to the Air Screamer, Night Flutters are more humanoid in appearance and have heads covered in worms.

Airborne Mook: Like the Air Screamers, only a little more humanoid.
Body Horror: Their heads, which are covered in worms going in and out of their skulls.
Elite Mook: Stronger variants of the Air Screamers with a different design, but still serving the overall purpose of being aerial monsters that are harder to hit.
Humanoid Abomination: Unlike the Terror-dactyl Air Screamers, these creatures are clearly more human-like in appearance except for the wings and their elongated heads, which are eternally covered in worms.
Rule of Symbolism: They symbolize Alessa's fear of worms and serpentine creatures with their heads covered in them, but the fact that worms are decomposers also bring to mind decay and deterioration, alluding to the state of Silent Hill as it falls to the Otherworld and the Order's influence. Tying back to it, it can also be a part of Harry Mason's psyche as he believes he's going insane, as if worms were already squirming in his own brain while it decomposes. The worms can also be symbolic of change and, again returning to the meaning of deterioration, can be an allusion to the Otherworld and the shift between it and the Fog World.
Winged Humanoid: In contrast to the more feral-based Air Screamers, Night Flutters are more humanoid in shape while still keeping their membrane wings.

Groaner

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Resembling a rotting, malnourished dog, Groaners patrol the streets of Silent Hill, and will typically hide in the fog and pounce at Harry unless the player can pick up on the sound of their heavy breathing.

Angry Guard Dog: Often seen around houses in the residential areas of the town.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: They groan repeatedly (and disturbingly) when they attack.
The Goomba: Moves fast, but isn't very durable, and is encountered early in the game.
Hell Hound: A quite different and much more straightforward one to the increasingly warped and bizarre canine-like enemies in future games, but no less frightening to players. It looks almost "normal" enough that you can't be entirely sure it's anything more than a very hungry, very sickly canine. Nothing about it appears outwardly impossible or unnatural, and like with the Puppet Doctors and Nurses, it's uncertain whether or not it's an actual dog under some sort of corruptive force.
Nothing but Skin and Bones: The creatures are hideously emaciated and their skin is visible with no fur around them.
Rule of Symbolism: They represent Alessa's cynophobia (fear of dogs) and her fear of being attacked by dogs in her neighborhood after hearing them bark at her. They could also be an embodiment of her views on the Order, a pack of vicious dogs sent to attack and hunt her down.

Wormhead

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The Otherworld-exclusive counterpart of the Groaner, Wormheads are slightly larger canine enemies with their heads completely covered with squirming worms.

Animalistic Abomination: They're not emanciated and dry-looking like the Groaners, but still only vaguely resemble dogs with worms completely covering their heads.
Elite Mook: Stronger and more resilient versions of the Groaners exclusive to the Otherworld.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: They have worms all over their heads, but it's far more evident here than with the Night Flutters since they're larger and move closer to Harry.
Rule of Symbolism: They combine elements of the Groaners and Night Flutters, namely Alessa's fear of dogs and the meanings of decay, deterioration and change that the worms add to the design, in particular the shift between the town's two states of reality, as well as the idea of Harry Mason thinking he might be going insane.

Mumbler

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Vaguely humanoid, grotesque monsters with giant holes where their faces should be and three gigantic claws in their hands. They appear most prominently in the European and Japanese versions, where they replace the Grey Children, but still appear in the sewers and Annie's Bar in the American version.

Bowdlerise: They mainly replace the Grey Children in the European and Japanese versions due to censorship boards finding the Grey Children too similar to real children, while the vaguely mole-like Mumbler passed examination. They still appear in the American version, only later and in smaller numbers.
Humanoid Abomination: By far the biggest Eldritch Abominations in the original game, with the possible exception of the final boss. Whereas the other monsters are all clearly based on something, the Mumbler is just, well, a thing with claws. Its massive nails jut out like railroad spikes, and a toothless, nondescript hole is more or less its only other feature. It can't be pinned directly to a person, an animal, or much of a "theme", because its anatomy is so minimal that it's just sort of an abstract, organic shape, or a rough idea given flesh.
Meaningful Name: As opposed to the Grey Children's laughter, they make mumbling sounds when they attack Harry.
Rule of Symbolism: They presumably represent the small dangerous animals and demons from the fairy tales Alessa read as a younger child, but otherwise this trope is actually Subverted; Their design is so outlandish that no certain meaning can be attributed to them, and no Word of God was given as to what they're supposed to symbolise.
Wolverine Claws: They use these to attack Harry instead of the knifes the Grey Children use.

Larval Stalker

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Technically an enemy, but completely harmless and invulnerable, the Larval Stalker is a small, baby-like shadow creature that just waddles around like a newborn and falls over on occasion. They'll disappear after a few seconds.

Adorable Evil Minions: Not exactly "evil" or "minions", but there's something rather endearing about the way they just walk around. Even their characteristic sound, a high-pitched squeak, sounds more akin to a puppy than some horrendous monster.
Cat Scare: While harmless, Larval Stalkers set off the radio like all other monsters, which can fool you into thinking you’re in danger.
Harmless Enemy/Invincible Minor Minion: Harry can't do damage to them, but they also can't attack him.
Living Shadow: A shadow creature resembling a small infant, clearly of a black color when the flashlight shines on them.
Rule of Symbolism: Their small forms might be a nod to Alessa's loneliness as a child, feeling tiny and vulnerable because of all the bullying she's had to endure, with their near-invisible appearances also bringing to mind how no one really "saw" Alessa for who she really was. Their tendency to also run towards Harry is similar to how a young toddler might stay close to a parent, representing Alessa's desire for comfort from a paternal figure like her mother, who never gave her any.

Stalker

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Invisible enemies found in the sewers, supposedly the "mature" form of the previously-mentioned Larval Stalkers. Unlike their possible infant forms, these creatures are aggressive and will attack Harry on sight.

Composite Character: They're invisible like the Larval Stalkers but use the Grey Children's model and moveset.
Elite Mook: They act similarly to the Grey Children gameplay-wise, except it's harder to see them and they have slightly more health.
Living Shadow: Like the Larval ones, except these are very much hostile.
Palette Swap: Their basic model is that of the Grey Children, only invisible.
Rule of Symbolism: They combine the symbolism behind the Larval Stalkers and the Grey Children, meaning they represent Alessa's repeated bullying during elementary school and how she felt "invisible" with no one helping her. Their aggression, however, might be in reference to Alessa finally retaliating and making herself known through her anger.

Creeper

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A gigantic, monstrous cockroach, seen often in places that should be full of public activity like Midwich Elementary or Alchemilla Hospital. Creepers will swarm around Harry and attack with their long mandibles, but he can quickly kill them by stomping on them.

They return in Silent Hill 2 as common enemies once again with a slightly tweaked design, and yet again in The Arcade as swarming enemies more often seen during the Otherworld sections.

Agony of the Feet: Their primary attack is to bite at the protagonist's ankles.
Big Creepy-Crawlies: Giant cockroaches, around a foot or two in length, able to crawl fast on the ground towards Harry.
Creepy Cockroach: What they most resemble, with some elements of beetles and crickets thrown in.
The Goomba: They're mild annoyances at best, usually dealing chip damage and being easily dispatched with a single stomp.
Hell Is That Noise: Their presence is signaled by their chirps and low squeals, akin to small wheels dragging on the floor.
Mook: Ever since the movie, the Creepers (or, in the case of Homecoming, bug creatures like the Creepers) are often seen following Pyramid Head around. The boss fight against him in The Arcade is full of them, and they even swarm the protagonists' friend Jessie in order to stall her so Pyramid Head can attack her. The Mama boss can also spew out a swarm of these during its boss fight.
Rule of Symbolism: They represent Alessa's fear of insects (except for butterflies and moths), of which there were many in the basement of Alchemilla Hospital during her stay. They can also be a small allusion to Lisa Garland, as she expresses seeing insects around her in one of her diary entries as she was hallucinating from PTV usage.
- Their appearance in 2 is stated in the Book of Lost Memories supplement as being a residual leftover from the first game's events, now deriving fully from the town's power to manifest and making them a construct of Silent Hill as an intelligent presence. Their sickly-green color tone in that game could also be a reference to Mary Shepherd's illness, especially since both James and Maria fight these monsters.
The Swarm: Interestingly for bug-like enemies, they actually avert this and will attack Harry/James individually or in very few numbers. The one time they follow this trope a little more closely in the main games is when James falls into a pit trap full of them at the Historical Society and they'll continuously respawn until he correctly guesses the keypad code needed to leave the room. They play the trope entirely straight in The Arcade, however, rushing at Eric and Tina by the thousands and jumping at the player's field of vision in order to soak up shots and make it harder to see incoming enemies.

Romper

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Ape-like monsters with long arms resembling adult men with brownish skin that resembles a coat, walking or "romping" around the streets of Silent Hill trying to attack their prey up-close.

Does This Remind You of Anything?: They're muscular creatures wearing what seems to be a coat that will knock down Harry and try to climb on top of him while pinning him down in order to attack him. They also make a creepily human-like "chuckling" sound when they go on the attack.
Lightning Bruiser: They can easily outrun Harry even if he tries to flee from the getgo,
Humanoid Abomination: They invoke normal male humans with their design, except their posture is primitive and their heads have "mouths" that open vertically.
Rule of Symbolism: They're the embodied form of Alessa's distrust of adults and authority figures, particularly in how they climb on top of Harry and dominate him physically, giving off a feeling of authority and oppression not unlike the Order.

Hanged Scratcher

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Reptilian creatures that inhabit the sewers of Silent Hill. Also known as Sewer Demons, they'll crawl on the ceiling in an attempt to spring a trap at Harry as he uses the sewers to move around the town.

Ceiling Cling: They can crawl on the ceiling of the sewer tunnels completely unseen by the player, attacking when they least expect it.
Interface Screw: The radio doesn't work in the sewers, so the player will be vulnerable and won't be given any indication they're in the vicinity unless they check with Harry's aiming.
Meaningful Name: They hang from the ceiling to scratch at Harry with their claws.
Rule of Symbolism: Their reptilian apperance and ceiling crawl could be a reference to dragons and Alessa's love of fairytales. But the fact they appear in the sewers could also be an allusion to things she despises, namely a few insects and scanvenger creatures. It could also be an embodiment of her paranoia regarding the Order and their tendency to abduct young girls for their cult practices.

Puppet Doctors and Nurses

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Alchemilla Hospital's staff, who have, with the exception of Kaufmann, all been taken over by a worm-like Puppeteer Parasite, resulting in them having massive red growths on their backs and causing them to hunch over. Acting much like zombies, they attack Harry with knives and scalpels.

Ambiguous Innocence: Whether or not they were related to the Order, and by how much, is debatable, but it was enough of an ambiguity for the Otherworld to exploit and corrupt these people into barely-human monstrosities.
Battleaxe Nurse/Deadly Doctor: They weren't this in life, but certainly have devolved into this as a whole horde of hostile medical staff members.
Body Horror: They look otherwise human except for the towering red tumor on their backs that force them to be hunched over all the time, which is where the parasite has taken refuge within their bodies.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Defeating them with a melee weapon like the Steel Pipe or Emergency Hammer causes them to go down clutching at their face and thrashing around in agony for a long moment before they expire. It's fairly unnerving to watch.
Early-Installment Weirdness: The Nurse enemies have become a staple of the franchise, but this is the only game where they're non-sexualized, have faces, and are real humans under the control of a living parasite. This is also the only game in the franchise to date with male medical personnel featured as enemies.
Logical Weakness: Given that they might represent the Order's influence over the town, using Aglaophotis on the doctors and nurses will immediately defeat them. Unlike with Cybil later on, however, they'll still simply die from it.
Our Zombies Are Different: As they are Alchemilla's staff that got infected and controlled by a Puppeteer Parasite, acting similarly to classical pop culture depictions of zombies except for being able to use weapons.
- Technically-Living Zombie also applies, as it's unclear if they're fully dead under the parasite's sway. Cybil certainly isn't, but she was infected not long before Harry finds her at the Amusement Park, so it's still difficult to say.
Puppeteer Parasite: The "worm" that controls them and later Cybil, resulting in the giant red tumors on their backs.
Rule of Symbolism: They presumably represent Alessa's fear and hatred of the doctors at Alchemilla Hospital, as their treatment of her and insurance that she was kept alive was perceived as part of the Order's plans to ensure the god's birth, thus instilling the feeling of paranoia within her and seeing every member of the staff as a "puppet" serving them. The fact that Dr. Kaufmann, the hospital's director, was also a drug dealer and had Alessa's nurse Lisa under his sway in order to continue his dealings could also be a factor to the parasite's existence, assuming Alessa caught a glimpse of Lisa using PTV or dealing it for Kaufmann. There is also a likely possibility that the parasite is a result of the Order's god attempting a direct form of control over the townspeople, which would explain their weakness to Aglaophotis.

Bloodsucker

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A weird creature only encountered twice, in Alchemilla Hospital and Nowhere. The Bloodsucker is essentially composed of three giant octopus-tentacle-like leeches contained behind a wall, and is immune to Harry's attacks - the only way to get past it is to distract or trap it.

Gate Guardian: Both times you face a Bloodsucker, they're guarding an important key item necessary to progress.
Invincible Minor Minion: It's the only genuinely hostile enemy in the game that can't be harmed by Harry's weapons - to get past it, you need to throw it a blood pack and run, or trap it in the fridge it comes out of during Nowhere.
One-Hit Kill: In Nowhere, if you fail to trap it in the fridge.
Puzzle Boss: Because they're invincible and guarding important key items, Harry needs to make use of alternate means to deal with them. In Alchemilla, he needs to use the blood pack found in the storage room to distract them while he grabs the item near it, while in Nowhere he must use the Ring of Contract to hold a fridge shut so the creature won't emerge while he reaches for an important key.
Rule of Symbolism:
- They can be a reference to Alessa's fear of serpentine creatures and leeches.
- Another interpretation is that they represent being "sucked in", pulled into something unwanted or unpredicted, which holds meaning for both Harry and Alessa, the former being roped into the Order's business while only wanting to find his daughter, and the latter being pulled into the Order's machinations as an unwilling participant.
- One other idea is that they embody Greed with their voracious apetite for blood, representing Dahlia and her aspirations to hasten the Order's god in a selfish attempt to make her vision a reality.
Unique Enemy: Only two are encountered in the whole game, and they can't be killed by Harry in any way.

Split Head

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A large reptilian creature with no discernible facial features and a malformed head that, as its name makes clear, can split itself open horizontally to reveal a toothless "maw" of flesh and blood. Harry fights this creature at the Otherworld version of Midwich Elementary School as the first boss of the series.

Animalistic Abomination: It resembles a large quadruped lizard creature in terms of physique, but its entire body is just a mass of flesh with a head that splits open down the middle in an impossible manner.
Attack Its Weak Point: Like the fairytale book indicates, the player needs to goad it into opening its head, as it's vulnerable on the inside. Two shots from the Shotgun will be enough to put the creature down.
Boss Room: The boiler room of the Otherworld Midwich Elementary School.
Foreshadowing: Harry can read a book at the Otherworld School's library that tells a fairytale about a warrior who fights a large lizard monster and kills it by shooting an arrow into its open maw. Not only does it warn the player about the upcoming boss fight, it also reveals how to effectively kill the creature.
One-Hit Kill: If it closes its "maw" around Harry, it will swallow him whole and cause an instant Game Over.
Rule of Symbolism: The monster is a result of Alessa Gillespie's association between the fairy tale and a memo, presumably a scripture or warning, found at the school's reception that hints at how to turn the boiler on (changing the clock tower's time to 5 o'clock). The monster is basically her belief that the lizard from the tale would make itself manifest at the boiler room at that time. The arena also brings to mind Alessa herself, specifically the large fire in the middle that might be a reference to her own immolation.
Warm-Up Boss: While it's large and imposing, baiting it and shooting at the correct time will kill this thing in a few shots.

Twinfeeler/Floatstinger

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Two versions of the same boss that Harry fights in the public areas of Silent Hill. The Twinfeeler is a huge larva that can burrow into the ground, while the Floatstinger is the creature's adult stage, a giant moth-like creature.

11th-Hour Superpower: Downplayed, but the player can acquire the hunting rifle in Twinfeeler's arena, which can be a great boost in damage against it even with scarce ammunition.
Alien Blood: Both forms of the boss bleed purple when they're hit.
Beware My Stinger Tail: As its name implies, the Floatstinger has one such stinger, and it does make use of it to hurt Harry during its fight.
Big Creepy-Crawlies: A giant moth larva that later reaches its mature stage as a giant moth that flies far above ground.
Boss Room: The Twinfeeler is faced at the Otherworld version of Silent Hill's town center within the previously-inaccessible gun shop, while the Floatstinger is confronted at the roof of the post office in the Otherworld Central Silent Hill area.
Dig Attack: The Twinfeeler is fought in a sand pit that now covers the gun shop in the Otherworld, burrowing into the sand and emerging on another part of the arena so it can rush at Harry or spit acid at him right afterwards.
Foreshadowing: When the Twinfeeler is defeated, it cries out in pain but burrows into the ground before breaking down a door and escaping, making it clear that it's not done fighting you and might be a threat again later.
Hollywood Acid: One of its main attacks is to spew a harmful green liquid at Harry, implied to be acid. It can do this in both forms, so it's a natural trait of its "species".
Macabre Moth Motif: They're the larval and adult stages of a moth-like monster fought exclusively in the Otherworld, and this motif in particular is part of what it ultimately symbolizes.
Rule of Symbolism: The boss' two forms are representations of Alessa's fascination with moths and butterflies, the only insects she truly likes. That being said, each form also has its own symbolic weight to them;
- The Twinfeeler brings to mind the idea of arrested development, being a huge larva "stuck" in its current stage and so overfed that its progress is stalled, much like Alessa stalling the growth of the Order's god within herself.
- The Floatstinger, being the Twinfeeler reaching its adult stage, carries the idea of metamorphosis and growth, such as Alessa's transformation after being reunited with Cheryl, although the fact that it's a moth also harkens back to the idea that this is a terrible thing, as it means the Order will succeed in bringing forth death through its deity.
Sequential Boss: A variation. You don't fight them one right after the other, but the Floatstinger is the next boss in the story after its larval stage.
We Have Reserves: Harry finds more than one Twinfeeler at the town center, but the trope is downplayed as only one of these creatures is fought, the biggest one at that.

The Order's Deity (SPOILERS UNMARKED)

General Tropes

The Order's mythology depicts their God as a seemingly female being who descended to Earth sometime in the distant past and relieved humans of suffering. According to the myth, "God's strength ran out" and then it died. However, before dying, God promised that they would return to Earth if people remained faithful to It. The Order's ultimate goal is the reincarnation of this "God" into the physical world, whereupon resurrection it would bring about "Paradise".

For further tropes pertaining to the god's physical incarnations in other games, refer to the character pages for Silent Hill 3 & Silent Hill: Origins.

Ambiguous Gender: The gender of the God remains an enigma: the cultists believe "God" to be male in 1 and female in 3, and indeed, God's canonical final-boss form in either game mirrors the contemporaneous belief. The reason for these different forms is likely due to It taking on the appearance of what the host or ritual performer perceives the God to look like. It could also be considered Alessa's monster form.
Ambiguously Evil: Her followers and their mythology present Her as a benevolent being, one who performed miracles like the creation of linear time, night and day, and the emotion of joy, as well as death to solve Who Wants to Live Forever? It is believed that Her rebirth will usher in a "Paradise" which various devotees like Dahlia and Claudia believe will have no pain, hunger, sickness, old age, greed, war, etc. From what we see, though, there is very little suggesting that this thing is in any way a kind and compassionate being, though all of Her manifestations admittedly were Imperfect Rituals involving an unwilling vessel who was horribly mistreated by the Order.
Anime Anatomy: Its form in the third game lacks nipples, being only an emaciated corpse.
Arc Symbol: The "Halo of the Sun", a series of circles inscribed consecutively with different meanings containing each other.
Big Red Devil: Its form in Origins (as perceived by Travis) invokes quite a bit of this imagery.
Body Horror: Its form in the first game is hideously emaciated, has a goat's head, and has no stomach or waist, just a spine and pelvis.
Boss Room: Whichever incarnation of the god is fought at the end of the original game, they'll be faced at the final area of the realm known as Nowhere.
Chest Burster: In the first game, It is expelled from Alessa's body by literally tearing through her back.
Eldritch Abomination: Most of the other eldritch horrors seem to be related or directly spawned from Her, and when It is finally manifested into a physical being, some of the forms It takes are purely and simply wrong.
Final Boss: It always achieves a physical form at the end of the games where it's mentioned, only to be killed by the protagonists as the final boss of those games. Namely, it's the final threat faced in the original, 3 and Origins, with some slight hints that it might also be the case with 4.
Fetus Terrible: Seems to get stuck in this form a lot, as the general driving forces of the games that It is directly involved in revolve around The Order's efforts to reincarnate it. Considering how Alessa is stated to be its daughter and mother, the fetus imagery is somewhat of a requirement, as the Order's belief is that she will birth it through her suffering.
Full-Frontal Assault: Both of Its forms have visibly naked breasts on emaciated, fleshy corpses.
Genius Loci: Assuming the perceived sapience of Silent Hill itself isn't a product of only Alessa's will, the God's powers could very well be partially responsible for it.
God of Evil: The Order worships this creature as a deity, and it's a creature said to be born out of a lot of suffering and pain, not to mention bringing forth unspeakable horrors of the human psyche along with it. It might even be Satan himself.
God of Light: The Order explicitly worships this thing as a solar deity. Strangely, It is quoted as saying that It will be worshipped "even" under the sun, implying that the trope may be subverted.
Greater-Scope Villain: Not only one for the series as a whole, with the driving force of The Order being to resurrect their "God", but in 4 and Homecoming, due to being the ultimate goal of the former's Big Bad (even if he isn't aware of it) and the one responsible for the state of Shepherd's Glen in the latter.
I Have Many Names: It has several possible aliases given throughout the series, each of them with its own meaning and possible contradictions:
- One of the names given to it the most is that of the Talmudic angel/demon Samael, according to Dahlia herself. The usage of the name was also done in Origins, though that was from an outsider cult who believes the Order's deity is a demon, and given that Dahlia was trying to trick Harry into thinking she wasn't a believer, she might have used the name deliberately to mislead him.
- Another common name is just "Holy Mother", with an entire sect of the Order dedicated to the title and worshipping it as a motherly saint who will descend through a conjurer performing a ritual to summon it. Given that one said conjurer was Walter Sullivan...
- Downpour hints that its true name might be "Kwekwaxawe" ("The Raven"), a deity worshipped by the Native-American people that once inhabited the land upon which the town was built years later.
Light Is Not Good: The myth manuscripts regarding the Order's worship refer to this being as a deity of the Sun, and therefore a harbinger of light. This is further evidenced by the Order's most recurring symbol being the "Halo of the Sun" in a direct reference to It. But while their tenets talk about a being that brought joy and light to the world, the Order makes use of several cruel tactics to hasten Its return, and the "Paradise" It promises consists of a dark, rusted hellscape filled with monsters and other horrors.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: By the standards of a series that already features monsters anyway. The Book of Lost Memories supplement suggests that It may not necessarily be a god, but just another kind of monster born from Silent Hill. The only times It appears are as a final boss, which makes it hard to determine exactly what It is. It could also just be a monstrous entity born of Alessa's vengeful will.
One-Winged Angel: Yet another theory is that this "God" is Alessa combined with the power of the Town's spirits, culminating in one really pissed off little girl.
Satan: A possible interpretation as to its identity, given that The Order is a Satanic Cult in all but name.
Satanic Archetype: One of the obvious takeaways from Its various appearances and the mythology of The Order, but especially in the first game, where its form as the True Final Boss is almost identical to Baphomet.
Superpowered Evilside: Possibly one for Alessa, as It could be the dark aspects of her combined with the power of the town's spirits.
You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Implied, with how its perceived form seems to vary from person to person. Notably, Travis, a somewhat simple-minded trucker, sees It as a pretty archetypical Big Red Devil, while Harry, a novel author, perceives it as a weirdly sexual, goat-headed demon.

The Incubator

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_e1983.JPG

One of two possible forms taken by the Order's God at the end of Silent Hill, only fought if the player didn't save Dr. Kaufmann, locking them into the Bad and Bad+ Endings. The Incubator resembles an adult version of Alessa Gillespie in a flowing white dress and a shining aura around her.

Angelic Abomination: To this day, this creature is the closest to a real human figure ever seen in the series, essentially just resembling an adult Alessa in a shining white dress, while also bearing a true "divine" feel to her appearance. But at the end of the day, she’s still just a cruel monster capable of being killed.
Barrier Warrior: She's surrounded by a force field that prevents Harry from getting too close, forcing the player to shoot at her from a distance.
Ethereal White Dress: Which is surrounded by a glowing power aura.
Final Boss: The Incubator will appear regardless of the player's actions, but she's only fought as the final boss by Harry in the Bad and Bad+ ending routes.
Fling a Light into the Future: After she dies in the Good and Good+ endings, she presents Harry with a new baby that he takes with him out of Silent Hill.
Fusion Dance: The result of the fusion between Alessa and her other half, Cheryl, along with the god's presence in her womb.
Glass Cannon: She has far less health than her Good ending counterpart, but hits about as hard with her lightning strikes.
Light Is Not Good: Surrounded in a glowing aura of light and more closely associated with the god's status as a deity of the Sun because of it, but still essentially a creature that attacks Harry and can be killed in battle.
Meaningful Name: An "incubator" is a device meant to aid with the growth of underdeveloped babies, which is all that Alessa is for the Order as the bearer of their god.
Rule of Symbolism: She’s an idealized image of the Order's god and Alessa's own childish interpretation of what she'd look like, having a saintly image despite the fact she’s still a hostile monster.
Shock and Awe: Her main form of attack is to fire blue lightning at Harry.
Stationary Boss: The Incubator will stay put at the middle of the arena and discharge lightning at Harry while he's forced to fight from a distance.

Incubus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_e1985.JPG

The other possible form of the Order's god that can be fought as the final boss of Silent Hill, only encountered if the player saved Dr. Kaufmann beforehand, locking them into the Good and Good+ endings. This creature, a far more monstrous variation with wings and a disgusting body, is the canonical Final Boss of the original game.

Ambiguous Gender: Despite the seemingly male name, it has a prominent pair of female breasts and its dying wail when defeated sounds very distinctly feminine.
Baphomet: What it resembles the most in terms of design, essentially looking like the most famous artistic depiction of the entity (see trope page) but bloodier and fleshier with an exposed spine instead of a Caduceus symbol. Fittingly, the Baphomet was once considered a symbol of fertility for Pagan sects before Christian doctrine associated it with Satanic worship.
Body Horror: It has a human-like body structure, but with an exposed spine and flesh that seems dry and rotting. Despite the name implying this creature is male, it has visible breasts sagging on each side of its torso.
Eldritch Abomination: It's far more demonic in appearance than anything else in the game and resembles actual beings associated with demonology in Christian dogma, as well as being a large creature that is hostile and attacks on sight while remaining incomprehensible in its overall plans, if it even has any.
- Tellingly, its boss theme is less "music" and more heavily implied to be Harry's radio going absolutely apeshit trying to register the threat that the Incubus poses.
Foil: To the Incubator, naturally, as a far more disturbing interpretation of the Order's worshipped deity, essentially revealed as the inhuman monstrosity it truly is.
Rule of Symbolism: The creature bears a great deal of references to classical and religious mythology, from the way it resembles a Baphomet to the fact that it uses lightning as its main weapon and is meant to represent some kind of deity or powerful entity that is perceived as both angelic and demonic depending on whose side of the argument you look into. Unlike the more angelic-looking Incubator, however, the Incubus is clearly more demonic in design, meant to show the Order's twisted ideals and possibly even the expectations of Dahlia Gillespie and her daughter Alessa as to what the god would ultimately look like, or even serving as a reflection of the Order's cruel and twisted ideas of Paradise and the inhumane tactics they utilized to hasten the god's return to Earth.
Shock and Awe: It can fire off lightning like the Incubator, only red instead of blue.
Stationary Boss: Like the Incubator, it stays in one spot over the ground and doesn't move away from it, casting down lightning at Harry from its spot.
Storyboard Body: It's possible to see letters inscribed onto its wings and, in its official HD render, its biceps. What they ultimately mean is unknown, with designer Masahiro Ito citing that he believes them to be Greek symbols, but speculation still exists as to what they collectively translate as.
True Final Boss: It's fought if the conditions for either the Good or Good+ endings are met. Fittingly enough, it's considerably more challenging than the Incubator due to it's higher amount of health, and equal level of firepower.

The Secret Ending (SPOILERS UNMARKED)

The Greys

"You drive stick?"

Alien creatures from another planet that invade Earth in flying saucers. They're a recurring presence throughout the series as a Running Gag involving the games' secret "UFO Endings".

Alien Abduction: They really seem to love doing this, abducting Harry Mason in the first game, James in the second, Emilie and Hanna in The Arcade, and later Alex Shepherd and Elle Holloway in Homecoming. Travis in Origins is the exception, they just towed his truck and he came along willingly to retrieve it.
Art Shift: Each time a UFO ending happens, the art style is always different between each game, from a sci-fi comic book to full-on manga.
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: "In-universe", The Arcade's UFO ending reveals that Eric's grandpa was in league with the aliens all along, and he's kidnapped Emilie and Hanna, forcing Eric and Tina to chase them through space.
Gainax Ending: The UFO Endings are goofy easter eggs that make no sense and exist purely to be abstract comedy in a game franchise that otherwise deals with dark and disturbing themes.
The Greys: They're the most basic alien design possible, with the traditional big heads and huge dark eyes. Naturally, this is part of Rule of Funny.
Non-Protagonist Resolver: In Silent Hill 3's UFO ending, Harry, absolutely pissed that the cult has attacked his daughter, decides he's done playing Mr. Nice Guy and persuades the aliens to just vaporize Silent Hill altogether.
Ray Gun: A reward for unlocking the UFO Ending is often a stupidly powerful weapon that makes the game a breeze on a new playthrough (at the cost of deducting points from the final game score in the original quadrilogy), and it's often an alien ray gun of some kind.
Running Gag: The so-called "UFO Endings" are a series staple, essentially goofy joke endings present in nearly every game in the franchise with a few exceptions, requiring the player to do a small sidequest in order to unlock the ending at a specific moment in the game or just by finishing it as usual with certain conditions met.
Shout-Out: Several depending on which game you unlock the UFO ending for. The original game's ending is done in a style reminiscent of old sci-fi comics like Flash Gordon, for example, and The Arcade ends with Eric and Tina chasing the aliens through space in a spaceship played by Robbie the Rabbit in a video game that is essentially Gradius in all but name.
Walking Spoiler: Their endings are all available for unlocking only after the player finishes the respective games at least once (with the exception of Homecoming, which lets you unlock it from the getgo provided you know what to do), and while they're merely a series-long gag, they're still enough spoiler material to warrant this trope and a warning tag.

Characters / Silent Hill

Main Characters

Voiced by: Michael Guinn

Voiced by: Sandra Wane

Voiced by: Susan Papa (SH1), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Book of Memories - cameo)

Citizens of Silent Hill

Voiced by: Liz Mamorsky (SH1), Laurence Bouvard (Origins)

Voiced by: Sandra Wane (SH1), Jennifer Woodward (Origins)

Voiced by: Jarion Monroe (SH1), John Chancer (Origins)

Voiced by: Thessaly Lerner (SH1), Jennifer Woodward (Origins)

Other Characters

Monsters

The Order's Deity (SPOILERS UNMARKED)

The Secret Ending (SPOILERS UNMARKED)

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Characters / Silent Hill

Edit Locked

Main Characters

Voiced by: Michael Guinn

Voiced by: Sandra Wane

Voiced by: Susan Papa (SH1), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Book of Memories - cameo)

Citizens of Silent Hill

Voiced by: Liz Mamorsky (SH1), Laurence Bouvard (Origins)

Voiced by: Sandra Wane (SH1), Jennifer Woodward (Origins)

Voiced by: Jarion Monroe (SH1), John Chancer (Origins)

Voiced by: Thessaly Lerner (SH1), Jennifer Woodward (Origins)

Other Characters

Monsters

The Order's Deity (SPOILERS UNMARKED)

The Secret Ending (SPOILERS UNMARKED)

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