Pendulum

Pendulums are large hovering monsters from Silent Hill 3. They are first encountered in the Central Square Shopping Center and can be found throughout Lakeside Amusement Park and the chapel. In addition to their game appearance, Pendulums are also featured in the Paint It Black comic book.

Appearance
The Pendulum has the appearance of two human torsos cut in half and connected at their hips by a metal circular device. Its arms are tied and bandaged behind their backs, with each torso facing the opposite direction of the other, and a pair of stilt-like, bladed legs sprout from the center of the mechanical device. It also has a blade attached to each of its heads and rotates its torso (like a pendulum swinging in a single direction) while it moves as an attempt to cut Heather Mason. It makes a horrible, loud screeching sound similar to that of rusty metal grinding, a noise which alters to a sound similar to a broken instrument's when harmed and grounded.

Character
Pendulums float in mid-air, slowly moving towards Heather until they start slashing her with their blades. They are very difficult to fight using melee weapons, so utilizing firearms is a much more effective method to take them out. They are notorious for hiding in dark areas, but their signature noise can help the player to detect their presence quite easily.



Some Pendulums, especially those found outside in South Vale and also in the underpass, tend to walk on their blades rather than float. Should Heather approach them, they will lunge forward with their blades; furthermore, should Heather attack them, they will begin to float and resume their rotating attack.

The first time Heather injures one with a firearm, it will charge very quickly in mid-air, a particularly difficult move to block on time.

Pendulums don't usually fight alone; if one is found, there may be more of them in the area and will usually approach once Heather instigates a battle with just one. This makes fleeing from their group a wise decision.

Symbolism


According to Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicle, the name "Pendulum" is derived from the creature's method of attack and the way it rotates its body. In contrast to Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2, series creature designer Masahiro Ito only designed five of the monsters in Silent Hill 3. As such, several creature designs were more abstract and created without fully fleshed out symbolism in mind. When asked about the meaning of the Pendulum, Ito stated "Some of creatures from SH3 have nothing special meaning. That is the same."

Behind the scenes

 * The Pendulum was designed by Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room creature designer Jun Inoue.
 * In an early draft of the film, Pendulums appeared in the hospital scenes.