Toluca Lake



Toluca Lake is a large lake surrounded by forest in the Silent Hill series.

Geography
Though its precise size is unknown, it is estimated to be roughly 60 acres. It is known that Toluca Lake must be large enough to accommodate the construction of two mid-sized towns upon its shores, with those towns being a boat-ride apart from each other. Numerous hills encompass it, suggesting it may rest in a valley. In addition to hills, rivers and swaths of pine forest are also shown to be plentiful.

Background
Once part of an area claimed as "holy land" by indigenous native tribes, the area containing the lake entered into the hands of European settlers in the late 1600s when the original inhabitants were forced out of the area.

With the towns of Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen built right upon its shores, it was hoped that with income lost from coal mining when deposits ran dry, Toluca Lake would become a beacon of tourism.

Toluca Lake began to become a famous touristic destination even before the coal mines closed. Many tourist offices opened across the town of Silent Hill, as well as boat launchers, hotels and motels, giving the tourists many options to choose where to relax during their trips in the region.



The Lakeview Hotel, for example, was one of the most notables ones, and is built right on the shore of the lake, offering the tourists immediate access to the lake for swimming at warm periods.

Even with the lake being an attractive destination for many tourists, some infamous but mysterious maritime accidents occurred in the lake at past times. It's a possibility that the area has seen a steep decline in terms of tourist economy.

Landmarks and destinations


A list of locations beside or on the lake.


 * Lighthouse - A lighthouse built on the northern shores of Toluca Lake, found in the Resort Area. It's said to be one of Silent Hill's older structures.
 * Lakeside Amusement Park - A theme park overlooking the lake. It contains several entertainment attractions typical of venues of its type, such as a merry-go-round, a roller coaster, a haunted house, and a divination tent.
 * Lakeview Hotel - A once-prominent feature of Silent Hill's Resort Area, the hotel has since been consumed by fire.
 * Toluca Graveyard - A small graveyard and church, overlooking the lake.
 * Rosewater Park - A park built along the lake.
 * Toluca Prison - A defunct prison.
 * Water Prison - A panopticon.
 * Church of the Rebirth - A small church on Toluca Lake Island.
 * Devil's Pitstop - A diner near the shores of Toluca Lake.
 * Wish House Orphanage - An orphanage near the shores of Toluca Lake.
 * Log cabin retreats, where tourists can stay overnight during their time in Silent Hill.
 * Cybil Bennett says there is a lookout tower on the opposite side of the lake in the Silent Hill film. This only applies to Toluca Lake in the film canon, not the game canon.

Maritime disasters


With the influx of visitors to the area over time, accidents, in particular boating accidents, were an inevitability.


 * At some point in time, 67 people died of illness and "sleep beneath the lake".
 * In November 1918, a ship named Little Baroness goes missing. Its fate is unknown.
 * With the closing of the area coal mines in 1939, coupled with an increase in tourism, a rather prolific rash of boating accidents occurs on the lake.
 * In 1991, Walter Sullivan apparently drowned Sharon Blake in the lake.
 * In 1993, a freak thunderstorm occurred and caused a schoolbus to be stuck in Toluca River. Details on this can be found in a newspaper article.
 * In Silent Hill 2 (exact date unknown), James Sunderland may have been driven to suicide in the lake with his wife's corpse with him, in the "In Water" ending. The canon ending of Silent Hill 2 is ambiguous.
 * In 2003, during an argument with his brother Alex Shepherd, Joshua Shepherd accidentally drowns while trying to take the Shepherd family ring. His death marks the beginning of the dark times that have befallen the town of Shepherd's Glen.
 * In 2004, Ariadne Johnson drowns in the southeast corner of the lake.
 * During his transfer to Wayside Maximum Security Prison, Murphy Pendleton and Anne Marie Cunningham, among others, crashed their transport bus on the shores of Toluca Lake.

Trivia

 * For the backdrop of Toluca Lake in Silent Hill 2, it appears to be an edited photo of the real-life Derwentwater in England.
 * On one of the maps in Silent Hill 2, Toluca Lake is written as "Toruca Lake".
 * In Silent Hill: The Arcade, the lake is shown to have an Otherworld version of itself, with bloodied waters and many monsters hidden within the deep, including the Split Worm and Tremers.
 * Although portrayed as a fictional place in the games, a real-life Toluca Lake does exist. It also may be possible that Toluca Lake (or at least its name) is based on Toluca, Mexico. However, according to Jeremy Blaustein, the lake was actually named after the homonymous lake in The Little Rascals.
 * It is known that in the comics, Silent Hill is built on the shores of Toluca Lake. Any history regarding this incarnation of the lake is unknown.