Elle Holloway

"Look, I didn't say it before, but I'm glad you're back. I feel safer with you here. Everything's just been falling apart around us, you know but you just keep moving forward.
 * —Elle to Alex Shepherd"

Elle Holloway is a character in Silent Hill: Homecoming. She is Alex Shepherd's friend from high school. Elle is the daughter of Margaret Holloway and older sister of Nora Holloway.

Elle survives the initial attacks on their hometown of Shepherd's Glen and assists Alex a few times on his journey. She is unaware her mother is one of the main leaders of the revived cult.

Personality
Alex describes Elle as always being clumsy. James Wheeler notes in his diary that Elle did not listen to him much and he felt she had no attention span, feeling it's a symptom of her generation. Elle is also shown to be involved with illegal activities out of boredom or fear; she snuck into her old high school when it was abandoned out of boredom, and stole food from a grocery store, although it was out of fear due to running out of food during the crisis.

In an unused memo, Nora felt Elle is spoiled, saying Elle could do whatever she want and get away with it. Elle also once left a passive-aggressive notes for her mother when she felt the fridge did not have enough food. However, at this point, Elle was 22 and still living with her mother for unknown reasons, and it is unclear if she has a job yet to afford her own food, perhaps hinting to her spoiled nature.

Elle is implied to be a bit of a recent loner. It is implied she did not go to college with her friends. She once commented the library computer is her new best friend, mentioning good friends are hard to come by, and she felt she could not make friends with other townspeople, feeling no one else in Shepherd's Glen has any perspective. She deeply misses her friendship with Alex, and has not forgiven him for not saying goodbye to her, although she is unaware Alex became delusional after a tragic event in 2003.

Wheeler did note, however, that Elle is a fighter and very driven. She is shown to be compassionate, helping to find an answer to the missing townspeople. Unfortunately, the recent events have made her become rather jaded and stressed.

Background
Elle was born in 1985 to Margaret and Harrison Holloway. Later on, Elle was given a younger sister Nora when she was seven years old.

Since the Holloway family often worked with the Shepherd family, Alex often encountered Elle and they used to accompany each other as children, although this eventually stopped as time passed.

When high school began, Alex initially ignored Elle and acted like they never met, which frustrated her, but they eventually resumed spending time together, and Alex often visited the Holloway house since his father was often busy, and his mother couldn't care less. Alex had a strong desire to leave Shepherd's Glen, feeling tired of all the pressure to live up to his family's name, but had a hard time discussing this with Elle. He admired Elle for not allowing the family pressure of being a Holloway to affect her. Elle also used to run track.

After graduating high school, Alex and Elle spent much time together that summer, but this was suddenly breached when summer ended. Shepherd's Glen hosted a large party in 2003 to celebrate its 150th anniversary, and Elle worked with her mother at the dunk tank. About a week after the anniversary, Alex suddenly disappeared without saying goodbye, leaving her extremely disappointed and somewhat angry at him. Elle visited Adam and Lillian for information, but Adam simply told her that Alex had left and never said anything further.

Elle notes most of her friends went to college, possibly implying she did not decide to go to college with them.

At an unspecified point in time, Nora disappeared when Margaret suffocated her. Elle took a locket containing photos of her and her sibling from Margaret's room and began wearing it. Elle and her mother's relationship gradually deteriorated to the point they barely spoke.

In September 2007, Elle began writing a online diary blog about the recent activities in Shepherd's Glen via a library computer. Margaret was spending less time around the house, presumably involved with Order activities. One morning jog, Elle found mayor Sam Bartlett drunk and unconcious in front of his house. Elle poked him with a stick to make sure he was still alive and was relieved when he was. Another day, she secretly snuck into the town's high school out of boredom. Elle noticed that people in the town were disappearing. In late September, Elle began working with Deputy Wheeler, putting up missing fliers around town.

In October, Elle had an argument with her mother in which Elle said they should get out of town, but Margaret was not convinced, so Elle stayed behind only for her mother. Elle went to an abandoned grocery store to steal canned food, but justified it because the town was in a crisis. She also began interacting with Lillian and promised to check on her once a week to make sure she was okay. One day, Elle felt there was someone in her house which spooked her enough that she began staying in the library for a couple days, but her mother convinced her to return. Eventually, her mother disappeared and the town became covered in thick fog, prompting Elle to stay in the library once more. However, Elle heard something trying to break into the library, and so she made the police station her new home. She posted on her blog that Shepherd's Glen was too dangerous.

Silent Hill: Homecoming
Alex meets Elle outside the Shepherd's Glen Police Station, where he finds her stapling fliers to the missing persons board. While pleased and surprised to see Alex after so long, she expresses some negativity and faint anger in regards to him leaving so abruptly. Elle gives Alex a radio before he heads off, showing that even though he'd been gone for quite some time, she still wanted to renew their friendship.

Elle appears a second time just outside of the police station after Alex is released from police custody by Deputy Wheeler. When Alex saves her by fighting off a Siam, Elle suggests they might be safer underground, as they are surrounded by monsters in the parking lot. Once inside the sewers, Alex discovers Elle's younger sister Nora has gone missing along with the countless other Shepherd's Glen citizens. Elle throws the fliers on the floor in frustration. Alex assures Elle they will find Nora and Joshua, Alex's missing brother, before they head off in search of a way out of the sewers. Elle goes missing before they can find a way out, leaving behind her radio and smeared blood, leaving Alex to fear the worst.

Elle is not seen again until after Alex escapes the sick "Hell House" version of his home. Elle takes a boat ride with Alex and Wheeler to Silent Hill, where they hope to find answers about the dismal state of Shepherd's Glen. She gives Alex her locket, but before they can dock the boat, Order Soldiers capture Elle and Wheeler and Alex is knocked into the water.

Elle is seen being terrorized by Order member Curtis Ackers with his saw in the underground part of the Church of the Holy Way, known as the lair. Alex saves her by killing Curtis, and she assists him in finding Wheeler in the underground, where Alex tells her it is probably best for her to find a way out of the area.

If the player receives the Good ending, Alex is seen coming out of the sewers at the same time Elle makes her way onto the road. After several hugs and a brief conversation, Elle assists Alex out of Silent Hill.

If the player receives the UFO ending, Alex and Elle are beamed into an alien spaceship while Wheeler witnesses the whole scene.

Quotes
Elle's Diary


 * "I managed to get one of the old computers in the library to work! See, typing works!!!! I CAN TYPE IN CAPS TOO!!!"
 * "If someone told you they had a computer for a best friend, would you think they were crazy? I would. But then again, good friends are hard to come by."
 * "I opened the fridge and there was about half a glass of old apple juice and a jar of mustard. Seriously, THAT’S WHAT WAS IN THE FRIDGE. I wrote a note to Mom on the door. It said, 'Hey! Can we PLEASE buy some food? There are humans in need of nourishment still living in this house!' Think she’ll get the message?"
 * "But seriously, no wonder everything has gone to hell around here. The freaking mayor is sleeping on his own front lawn like he’s some high school freshman who didn't make it home from a party. How embarrassing."
 * "I'm not sure what has happened, but my mom and I used to be friends. Not like hang out at the mall friends, but at least she acted like a mom who had a daughter."
 * "Maybe tomorrow, aliens will land in front of the town hall and take me on board. Doubt it. That would almost be a relief."
 * "Whoever said that curiosity killed the cat might have been right. But cats have nine lives. I'm pretty sure I only get one."

Silent Hill: Homecoming
 * "UGH, DAMMIT!" (accidentally falling off a chair)
 * "Alex? Oh my God! Alex! My God, it's so good to see you. It feels like it's been forever. Hey, you know. I... I didn't think I'd ever see you again. You took off without saying goodbye."
 * "Everyday there are more flyers to put up... every day more people disappear!"
 * "Trouble? Look around you, Alex! This whole place is in trouble!"
 * "Alex. I hope you find what you're looking for."
 * "It's getting worse, Alex. The whole town is falling apart, and there's nothing we can do about it. We're never gonna find them."
 * "You know, I never understood why you left. One day, you were just... gone. Look, I didn't say it before, but I'm glad you're back. I feel safer with you here. Everything's just been falling apart around us, you know but you just keep moving forward."
 * "I took it from my mother's room the morning Nora disappeared, and I haven't taken it off since."
 * "What about you? Be careful, I can't lose you, too."
 * "Yeah, I think so... What did you see in there?"

Trivia



 * Elle's design was recycled from the original model for Heather Mason. Elle also bears a strong resemblance to one of Heather's concept art depicting her in jeans and a jacket.
 * Elle was originally supposed to be an older version of Laura from Silent Hill 2, and was even supposed to wear James's jacket in the boat ride to Silent Hill. However, this idea was scrapped.
 * In deleted text files, it is revealed she was originally named "Laura Elizabeth Holloway".
 * Elle mentions having a father in her diary, however, he is never seen nor mentioned in the game. Elle incongruously comments, "He's found the best way to deal with life is just to pull the covers over your eyes and pretend no one can see you." In deleted text files, it is revealed Elle's father's name is Harrison Holloway.
 * During the sewer level, should Elle run into a corner, she will likely be unable to leave that area, forcing a save reload. This glitch is most prominent in the PC version of Homecoming.
 * In the lair, the player can backtrack to Margaret's corpse after rescuing Elle. Elle shows no reaction to her mother's corpse, even with the drill still embedded in her throat. This was likely overlooked by the game developers, as in a real life situation, Elle would have likely had a strong emotional reaction. It may also point to Elle's traumatized mental state, having just been tortured and almost murdered by a man working under the orders of her mother, as well as discovering her mother is the leader of a homicidal cult which has been killing innocent people, including children. Also, Elle's diary shows she seems to resent her mother and is indifferent. It is possible that Elle may have begun grieving her mother's death at a later time, when her mental state had returned to normal.
 * Throughout the game, it is implied Elle may have intimate feelings for Alex more than just high school friendship. Elle initiates a hug with him when they reunite. When Alex says he is leaving to find Joshua, Elle appears hurt. She also appears hurt that he is more interested in finding his brother than talking to her. Just before he leaves she also gives him a radio, stating it's "just in case she hears anything" about Joshua, although her almost shy behavior hints that she may also have given this to him for safety, or even to have a way to contact him. In the Good Ending, Elle initiates two more hugs. There are also several romantic implications heard in "Elle Theme", such as the line, "It feels good, just holding you."
 * Alex once wrote in a diary "I think I love her." However, he oddly does not warn her about the various monsters he's seen and attempts to leave her alone in the monster-infested town after a mere two minutes of their initial reunion. Alex does touch her shoulder in the sewers, although it could merely be him trying to comfort her and does not necessarily indicate romantic interest. During the boat ride, he says, "I'm just glad to see that something's gotten better since I left", apparently complimenting her hairstyle has improved, although this does not necessarily prove romantic interest and he may simply be trying to make her feel better after dissing her past hair. It is unclear what happened to Alex and Elle after the game.

Silent Hill: Homecoming
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