Silent Hill is one of the seven scariest fictional settlements, according to Total DVD magazine. This name has become a household name today, because the city is seen as a direct participant in the events in the Silent Hill computer game series and the film by Christoph Hahn. Foggy, oppressive and otherworldly Silent Hill for some reason does not repel, but attracts people, personifying a dark force.
Where is Silent Hill?
Silent Hill is a city in the state of Maine, USA, although most games do not mention the exact location of the settlement. In Christophe Hahn's work, Silent Hill is a mining town in the state of West Virginia, in the fictional administrative district of Toluca on the shores of the lake of the same name. The lake divides the city into two parts - southern South Vale and northern Paleville. The settlement is located in a place with unique natural conditions, so there are frightening and even terrifying silence andpeace of mind.
Nearby is the smaller town of Shepherd's Glen, behind the mountains - Brahms, even further - the large city of Ashfield. Relatively close to Silent Hill is the real-life Portland, Maine.
The old part of the city (northern quarters) includes a resort area with a small amusement park and a business center. South Silent Hill has been built up since the twentieth century. This is an industrial area that also houses a former federal prison converted into a city museum, a park with a memorial complex dedicated to the victims of a mysterious epidemic, a historical society and a hospital that was once a clinic for the mentally ill.
History of a ghost town
The first settlements at the present site of the city were founded by British colonists who forcibly displaced the North American Indians. The indigenous people called these territories the sacred "Land of the Silent Spirits." It is known that the beliefs of the Indians had a significant impact on the first inhabitants of the settlement.
In the eighteenth century, the city suffered from a mysterious epidemic and was abandoned for several decades. Silent Hill turned into a real ghost town, but by the beginning of the nineteenth century, these territories were again inhabited. The founding of a hospital and a federal prison date back to that time. A few decades later, significant deposits of coal were discovered in these territories. A mine was opened that provided jobs not only for all residentscities, but also visitors.
Shortly before the American Civil War, a sect appeared in the city, but mysterious events began much later. Many cases of disappearances of people were recorded at the beginning of the twentieth century. The loudest was the disappearance of a pleasure yacht with all the crew and passengers. The game takes place several decades after the incident, approximately in the last quarter of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Exact dates are not known.
When the games unfold
It is known that before the events of the game series, the city became the center of the hallucinogenic drug trade. Production was in the hands of representatives of the sect. The authorities failed to influence the situation in any way. The action of the third part takes place almost twenty years after the events of the first. The events of the fourth part, most likely, occur before what is told in the third. When the action of the second part unfolds is unknown, but exactly before the fourth (this is indicated by the references to the characters in the newspaper).
Layers of reality in Silent Hill
The "real" Silent Hill is not shown in any game, but there are characters living in it. These heroes do not see the terrible images of the city. The "foggy" Silent Hill seems to be abandoned by people: only nearby buildings are visible through the thick fog, cars are left on the streets, the windows in most houses are boarded up, there is no water supply and electricity. In the film and some games in the series, you can see failures,similar to traces left after a strong earthquake.
The "Otherworld" city appears from time to time and looks different for different heroes. Silent Hill is a reflection of the personal fears and inner state of the characters. It is almost always dark here, traces of violence can be observed everywhere, many bars and fences, chimneys are visible against the sky. In one of the PC games, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is covered in ice and covered in snow, in another (Silent Hill 2) it looks like it's falling apart, but it's under construction.
Silent Hill video game series
The Japanese survival horror series is one of the most famous in the global computer industry. The early Silent Hill games (walkthrough and review - in the video below) are the most prominent representatives of the genre, which largely determined its further development. The main series includes eight games. Development on the ninth episode was cancelled. Additionally, there is a text quest, several games for mobile phones and a version for slot machines. According to many players, the best Silent Hill is the second part. In addition, developer-licensed games have been publishing official comics since 2004.
Silent Hill Movie (2006)
In 2006, a horror film directed by Christoph Hahn based on the Silent Hill game series was released. The plot develops around the fact that Rose Dasilva goes to the city to find out the cause of her daughter's illness. In Silent Hill, she finds herself in alternate dimensions,where the monsters are. The picture received mixed reviews. The plot was negatively received by critics, which was considered meaningless, but many appreciated the horror elements and the visual component. Silent Hill trailer (in Russian) below.
Real city prototype
The real prototype of Silent Hill is the city of Centralia, Pennsylvania. The main production of the settlement, which ensured its prosperity and active development, was the coal-anthracite industry. But in the 1960s, most of the big players went out of business. The mining industry somehow continued to operate until 1982.
The prototype of Silent Hill is a real ghost town. In 1962, workers set fire to the rubbish dump, but did not extinguish it completely. The fire spread to deep deposits. As a result, the fire spread to the mine and other abandoned industries in the area. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful. Public attention to the fire reached its peak in 1981, when a local teenager fell into a well that suddenly appeared under his feet. The boy was rescued, but the incident came to the attention of the authorities. This was greatly facilitated by the fact that the incident was witnessed by a senator, a state representative and the head of the local security service.
Preparation for the resettlement of citizens began in 1984. Most of the residents have moved to neighboring towns, but a few families have chosen to stay. Today, there are practically no residential buildings left in Centralia, andmost of the structures have been demolished by the federal authorities, but the local church holds a service every Saturday. The underground fire has not been extinguished to this day, but the only evidence of its existence are steam valves in different parts of the village and several warning signs.
