Toluca Prison

Toluca Prison, previously known as Toluca Prison Camp, is a defunct correctional facility in Silent Hill, Maine. It is explored in Silent Hill 2.

There is an older "Silent Hill Prison" mentioned in the Book of Lost Memories; however, it is unclear if this is a separate prison.

Toluca Prison was originally constructed as Toluca Prison Camp in 1862 and was used to house American Civil War POWs. Toluca Prison Camp was later converted into Toluca Prison, a normal prison, in 1866, around the time of Past Life (immediately after the end of the war). It was then closed in the early 1900s for unknown reasons, but possibly due to water damage and constant flooding as it was built next to Toluca Lake.

The exact location of the prison was on the grounds of the modern-day Silent Hill Historical Society, as stated in the Book of Lost Memories. James Sunderland enters the prison through tunnels extending to the museum, but the prison front doors are the same as the museum doors (old wooden doors with dirty glass, which are not suitable for a prison-like establishment), and earth surface can be seen through them, so descending was probably a creation of James's mind. James exits the prison and enters the labyrinth by going even further underground. Because the prison was torn down and replaced by the museum, the version of it seen by James does not exist and is likely a product of his delusions.

Silent Hill 2
Though James meets Eddie Dombrowski upon his entrance in the prison cafeteria, he is left alone for the remainder of the area and must find a way to exit back to the surface.

Lying Figures are the primary occupants of the prison but in the cell corridors the grunts and footsteps of some giant lumbering entity can be heard beyond from the walls but is never seen.

The ultimate goal of the prison is to form a handle using a horseshoe, wax doll, and lighter. The horseshoe can't be found immediately as James must also find three tablets located in various areas:


 * Tablet of "Gluttonous Pig" - Located in the cafeteria
 * Tablet of "The Oppressor" - Located in a prison cell
 * Tablet of "The Seductress" - Located in a shower area

After finding the three tablets, they must be inserted into a gallows platform in a large open area, found in the right-most area. A scream will be heard, and upon leaving the area, James will find the horseshoe. After forming the handle, James descends into a morgue, then two more holes, and finally down an elevator to the labyrinth.

Silent Hill: The Arcade
In Silent Hill: The Arcade, Eric, Tina, and Emilie Anderson visit the Historical Society in hopes of going to the lake. However, a siren blares, and they find themselves trapped in Toluca Prison. They are ambushed by various monsters, including the Greedy Worm. In the gallows, the area transforms into the Otherworld lake, and they fight the Split Worm. They then make their way to the labyrinth.

Design


The prison consists of three main sections, separated by two long corridors.

The leftmost section was used as the civilian side of the prison and includes the visiting rooms, offices, and main entrance.

The central section of the prison consists of mainly cells and the showers and other inmate essentials. The cells are arranged in four rows - two on the north end and two on the south. Each row has ten cells, though only some of the cells can be entered. It seems that the prison has a max capacity of 40 prisoners.

The rightmost section is the prison courtyard. Under the effects of the Otherworld, the courtyard is devoid of scenery, save for the gallows in the center that is used to solve a puzzle.

The prison is in a state of dilapidation upon James's entrance, and most of the prison grounds have been damaged. The prison appears to be underground, and much of its structure seems to have eroded and retained water damage. There are no signs of life, except for monsters, although notes and memos of its past inhabitants have remained.

Trivia



 * Before entering the prison, a note can be found in the prison with "September 11, 1820" on it. Silent Hill 2 was released in September of 2001, the same month of the September 11th terrorist attacks. This is probably an eerie coincidence.
 * In the cafeteria, there is a painting of the cafeteria room in its exact state which includes the decaying walls, the dead body of a man lying against the table, and the same painting located at the back of the room.




 * It is heavily implied that the prison was used as a sort of execution site. The gallows in the prison would have been used to hang the prisoners, and their bodies would then be thrown into the small hole that James eventually jumps through. The room that James jumps into also has a staircase, allowing the executioners at the prison to take the bodies and put them into the nearby morgue. The bodies in the morgue would then be thrown into another hole, as James thinks, "This corpse... into this hole?".
 * According to a photo/painting called Death by Skewering, prisoners on death row were able to choose their method of execution, such as skewering or strangling, in order to give the prisoners one last taste of freedom.
 * The swamp monument says a swamp was nicknamed Blood Swamp because "the executioners poured the water used to wash the execution tools in here".
 * The gallows has three nooses, possibly meant for James, Angela Orosco, and Eddie. The three tablets used for the puzzle are symbolic of each character.
 * It can be assumed from exploring the prison courtyard that depending on the severity of their offense, the prisoners could either be hanged or drawn and quartered, hence the sounds of running horses in the background.
 * The mysterious Prisoners make their appearance here exclusively.
 * Three mysterious paintings called Burning Man, 436 People at a Recital, and Woman in Flight can be found.




 * In the women's bathroom, if James knocks on the third stall and walks away, there is a chance of a sudden, loud noise.
 * The Order, mainly the Valtiel sect, is connected to this prison. The executioners wore red hoods in homage of Valtiel. This imagery later inspired the design of Pyramid Head.
 * It is possible that the Order was indoctrinating the prisoners, as one of the prisoner cells contains strong occult imagery and books on occultism. In the cell where the wax doll is found, a symbol very similar to the Halo of the Sun can be seen on the wall near it.
 * A framed picture of the prison can be found in the Baldwin Mansion during the Born from a Wish scenario.

Gallery
Prisión Toluca