Nurse (Silent Hill 3)

The Nurses are monsters in Silent Hill 3 encountered by Heather Mason, scattered exclusively throughout Brookhaven Hospital. Though it is unknown whether they are pure manifestations or humans transfigured into monsters, their appearance echoes Heather's memories of the nurse Lisa Garland and their strange mouths represent Alessa Gillespie's inner torment. Wielding handguns and iron pipes, the creatures stalk Heather mercilessly as she combs through the hospital, regaining faded memories along the way.

Appearance
These nurses have a more "human"-like appearance in opposition to those of the past two installments; they lack parasitic growths on their backs like Puppet Nurses, and they have faces unlike Bubble Head Nurses. Their black hair is all uniformly cut into bob cuts, and they share the Bubble Head Nurses' attire because they are also Brookhaven nurses. The Nurses also appear to have purple eyeshadow and lipstick. Their eyes are always closed.

They each have an ambiguous red square-shaped substance around their mouth, implying that they have either coughed up blood or have been feeding on a bloody carcass. This substance could be blood, paint, or make-up. The Bubble Head Nurses in Silent Hill 2 also have red squares over their mouths, which may be an homage.

They make heavy panting noises, and when injured, actual screams. They are hunched over with bad posture while making twitching spasms and limp towards Heather. They can also be surprisingly fast.

Character
The Nurses carry weapons as well, either the iconic pipe weapon or revolvers. If the perfume is equipped while in the hospital, then they will attack in much greater numbers.

Nurses are generally more dangerous than other creatures encountered at the time, particularly those with the revolvers. Those armed with pipes swing away at Heather when she comes close enough, limping towards her until they're in range. They are also capable of jarring the pipes forward, an attack which deals more damage. Those with revolvers should be dealt with immediately, as they can attack from quite a ways away and deal a large amount of damage. They can also pistol-whip Heather if she is in close enough range.

Symbolism
According to Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicle, the Nurses in Silent Hill 3 may have been human nurses in Brookhaven Hospital that were transformed into monsters, similar to the Puppet Nurses of the original game, but "the details are unclear". Design-wise, creature designer Masahiro Ito describes the Nurse as an amalgamation of the Puppet Nurse and Bubble Head Nurse, but stated that Silent Hill 3 features a different nurse because it has a separate protagonist from the previous games. He clarified that the design does not have a special meaning, but is influenced by Heather's subconscious memories of Lisa Garland. The third game's intense, chaotic Otherworld is reflective of Heather's state of mind, as well as Alessa's consciousness. The red squares on the Nurse's mouths are tied to the Otherworld's fleshy "mouth" squares. "Mouth" represents the "shrieking insanity" from Alessa's inner turmoil, having suffered at the hands of bullies and the abuse by her mother. The red squares on the Nurse's faces symbolize inner madness. In Silent Hill 2, the motif of mouths was also used to convey Mary Shepherd-Sunderland's own shrieking insanity, with the Bubble Head Nurses possessing a floating red square in front of their faces tied to the nine red squares.

Trivia

 * Their hair and face structure resemble the Fukuro Lady.
 * Some characteristics link them to the Puppet Nurse from the original Silent Hill game:
 * Like the Puppet Nurses, they walk with an arching upper torso, and more closely resemble real people as opposed to disfigured monsters.
 * The Nurses' garments are naturally bloodied, but more so toward their upper spine, the same place the Puppet Nurses developed their possessing growths.
 * When they are hit, they slowly sway to correct their stance in an awkward manner, almost as if they are being held by invisible puppet strings.
 * These Nurses were the base for the ones found in Silent Hill: The Arcade.
 * In Silent Hill 4: The Room, a uniform akin to a Nurse's can be found in Rachel's apartment room.