Penitentiary Riddles



The Penitentiary Riddles is a puzzle found within Overlook Penitentiary in Silent Hill: Homecoming. It is located in the Otherworld prison in Silent Hill. It must be solved in order to proceed.

The puzzle consists of a series of riddles on a pillar in the middle of the room, inside of which there appears to be a giant, organic creature. There are three dials and a hole located on the pillar's sides. All three dials must be properly positioned, with the correct choice facing upwards, before reaching into the hole. If the player has made an incorrect choice, Alex Shepherd will be damaged by the beast and will immediately be confronted by a Needler.

Riddle 1



 * I stand beside the holy man
 * The monarchs fear my wrath
 * None may move the way I can
 * Ever the crooked path

The choices given are all chess pieces. The answer is the knight.


 * He stands beside the "holy man," the bishop.
 * He moves in a "crooked" L-shaped path no other piece can have.
 * "The monarch fears (his) wrath" refers to the fact check mate can easily be achieved with your knights still on the board.

Riddle 2



 * ''The man who devised it
 * ''Does not want it
 * ''The man who bought it
 * ''Does not use it
 * ''The man who used it
 * ''Does not realize it

Some choices on the dial can be identified: a skull and crossbones, a coffin, a knife, and a set of bars. The answer is the coffin.


 * The man who built the coffin doesn't want it
 * The man who bought the coffin won't be using it for himself
 * The man in the coffin cannot realize it for he is dead

Riddle 3



 * ''What man loves more than life
 * ''Fears more than death or mortal strife
 * ''What poor men have, the rich acquire
 * ''And all contented men desire
 * ''What misers spend and the wastrels save
 * ''And each man carries to his grave?

This riddle is arguably the more complex of the three. The choices given are: a heart ("love"), a Ω symbol ("omega", or "end"), a $ symbol ("money"), an empty space ("nothing") and a clock ("time"). The answer is nothing.


 * The poor man has nothing
 * Contented men want nothing
 * Misers (one who hoards) spend nothing