Charlie Pendleton

"It's not your fault.
 * —Charlie to his father."

Charlie Pendleton is a character in Silent Hill: Downpour. He was the young son of Murphy Pendleton who was murdered prior to the events of the game. He appears as a manifestation and is a driving factor in Murphy's search for answers in Silent Hill.

Biography


Charlie Pendleton was the son of Murphy Pendleton and his ex-wife, Carol Pendleton. When Charlie was alive, he had a close bond with his father. They enjoyed flying kites and playing various other games together. They also shared a passion for cars. Murphy feels great grief and responsibility over the death of his son.

It is revealed that the Pendleton family were neighbors with a man named Patrick Napier. Napier was a pedophile who showed a keen interest in young boys. Napier managed to lure Charlie into his van when Charlie was walking home from school and was then driven to a remote location. After presumably sexually assaulting Charlie, Napier put Charlie into a brown sack. He then proceeded to throw Charlie into a lake. Charlie died from drowning, and his body was later pulled out of the water by the police as Murphy looked on in horror.

In the "Forgiveness", "Truth and Justice", and "Full Circle" endings, the culprit responsible for Charlie's death is Napier. Murphy then purposely got himself into prison in order to avenge his son.

In the "Execution" ending, Murphy drowned his own son in order to get revenge on his wife, who wanted to get full custody of Charlie after their divorce. This ending, however, was confirmed to not be the canon ending in Anne's Story. Instead, the "Truth and Justice" ending was confirmed to be the canon ending.

Silent Hill: Downpour
While visiting St. Maria's Monastery, Murphy encounters a small boy playing with a car. This boy bears a striking resemblance to Charlie, and Murphy even talks to the boy as if he is his son. Murphy is then sent on a quest to search for a rhyme, which will ward off the Bogeyman. When Murphy returns with the full rhyme, the Bogeyman sneaks up behind the young boy and kills him before Murphy can finish reciting it. Murphy exclaims, "Oh Charlie, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." after the boy's death.

A flashback then appears of Charlie Pendleton's body being retrieved from the lake where it was dumped. After the flashback, Anne Cunningham's younger manifestation appears and blames the boy's death on Murphy, even when Murphy tries to prove his innocence. This may symbolize Murphy's feeling of guilt towards Charlie's murder due to him being absent when his son was abducted, as well as his feeling of helplessness.



After Murphy kills the Bogeyman in the monastery's morgue, a manifestation of Charlie makes an appearance, and he reassures his father that his death wasn't Murphy's fault. Murphy then apologizes to the Bogeyman's corpse (which has taken both Murphy's form and Napier's) for his crime of vengeance. The manifestations' purposes are then vindicated, and both Charlie and the corpse disappear.

Quotes

 * "Do you know the rhyme?"
 * "She told me the secret rhyme that makes the Bogeyman go away. If you say it fast enough, he can't hurt you." (referring to Anne's younger manifestation)
 * "You killed him! You killed the Bogeyman!"

Trivia



 * Murphy's comment on Charlie is, "I wonder if the pain of losing you might ever become at least bearable. They say time heals all wounds and life goes on no matter what losses we've suffered, but for me the world stopped the moment your smile left it forever."
 * Charlies appears in flashbacks scenes in the "Bird Cage" sidequest.
 * There is a kite on a bench in Logan's Park that can be found if Murphy examines it. It has the initials C.P. and seems to have belonged to Charlie. Murphy mentions that he and Charlie used to enjoy flying kites together.
 * In St. Maria's Monastery, Murphy can find a wet canvas sack in one of the classrooms. This is most likely the same sack that Charlie was in when he was was dumped into the lake.
 * The newspaper article of Charlie's kidnapping states that he was six years old, but in the "Execution" ending, it is stated that he was seven.
 * Charlie is somewhat similar to Joshua Shepherd in that they both died very young via drowning, their death torments the protagonist throughout the game, and they both appear to a family member as a manifestation. However, Joshua's death was accidental while Charlie was murdered on purpose.
 * Murphy model's textures are named "Charles", suggesting Charles was a concept name. "Charles" could have inspired the name of Charlie.

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