The Flauros is an important recurring pyramid-shaped item in the Silent Hill series. Though it was first introduced in the original Silent Hill, chronologically the Flauros first appears in Silent Hill: Origins.
Origin[]
According to a memo found in Silent Hill: Origins, the first recorded use of the Flauros was in the writings of a poet named Chang Ch'ien, adviser to the early Han dynasty of China. It was, jokingly, claimed by Ch'ien that he could trap demons in his "three-sided box". When he died, the Flauros disappeared.
Later, it was said to have come into the possession of a Lutheran monk who claimed that it could control and amplify thought. He also claimed it to be of holy origin, connecting it to God, rather than being linked to a demon.
- "Flauros Device: Origin unknown.
- The device is first mentioned in the
- poetry of Chang Ch'ien, an advisor
- to members of the early Han
- dynasty. In one of his tracts, Chang
- Ch'ien jokes he trapped a demon
- inside his 'three-sided box'.
- When Chang Ch'ien died in a
- terrible fire at the imperial palace
- in 115 BC, the device appeared
- lost.
- It was later rumored to be in
- possession of Lutheran monk M. G.
- Lewis, who in 1796 spoke of its
- ability to control and amplify
- thought. It was Lewis who linked it
- not to a demon, but to God
- himself, claiming it was a weapon
- left by angels as a force for good."
The Silent Hill Guidebook claims that the Flauros was once "excavated from ancient ruins".[1]
Inspiration[]
Flauros is first mentioned in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (Hierarchy of Demons). Pseudomonarchia Daemonum was written by a 16th-century Dutch physician/occultist named Johann Weyer. In it, Flauros, known by other names such as "Haures" and "Flavros", is placed as a high-ranking demon, a Great Duke in the hierarchy of Hell, where he governs 36 legions of fallen spirits.
Flauros later appeared in the occult work Lesser Key of Solomon, also known as the Lemegeton. Flauros is one of the seventy-two demons that appears in the Lemegeton, a book of magic said to have been compiled from the writings of King Solomon of Israel.
Fitting to his representation in the Silent Hill series, Flauros, in the Lesser Key of Solomon, is described as a demon capable of seeing one's past, present, and future. However, he may also deceive and lie, and unless he is commanded into a magic triangle, only then will he speak the truth.
Silent Hill: Origins[]
The Flauros glowing after Travis's encounter with Alessa's Dream.
Used by Dahlia Gillespie originally to amplify the rampant psychic abilities of her daughter Alessa (possibly to help in the ritual to birth her cult's god), she later uses it as a device to contain Alessa's power; once contained, she separates it into its five component pieces – Past, Present, Future, Truth and Falsehood – and hides them.
Shortly after rescuing Alessa from a fire in her home (which in truth had been a ritual started by Dahlia in order to bring about the revival of her cult's god), Travis Grady is forced into the overlapping realms of the Fog World and the Otherworld in an effort to recombine the pieces of the Flauros and stop Dahlia's plans.
Travis holding the Flauros.
Facing down the ghosts of his past and the horrific manifestations of Silent Hill, Travis is able to reconstruct the device and heads off to bring a stop to the Order's plan: a ritual that is intended to complete the revival of God and is being conducted within the hidden areas of the Green Lion Antiques shop. Michael Kaufmann, an intimate confidant of the Order, attempts to prevent Travis from interfering any further by sedating him. As Travis lays prone on the ground, he is drawn into a nightmarish confrontation with an entity that seems to have been imprisoned within the Flauros.
When the demonic entity is defeated, barbed wire lashes out of the Flauros and ensnares it, drawing it back into the ancient device. The Flauros then falls to the ground and the nightmare ends. As the ritual continues, the Flauros begins to levitate and it unleashes a stream of energy at Alessa. As the stream fades out, a small form is seen above her, making noise.
Piece locations[]
Future Piece
- Located in the Otherworld iteration of Alchemilla Hospital, on the first floor in the Doctor's Office.
- A Straightjacket must be defeated before this piece can be obtained.
Past Piece
- Located in the Otherworld iteration of the Cedar Grove Sanitarium, on the first floor in Female Seclusion Room 05.
- Momma must be defeated before this piece can be obtained.
Falsehood Piece
- Located in the Otherworld iteration of the Artaud Theater, on the cave stage.
- A Caliban must be defeated before this piece can be obtained.
Truth Piece
- Located in the Otherworld iteration of the Riverside Motel, in Room 500.
- Sad Daddy must be defeated before this piece can be obtained.
Present Piece
- Located in the Storage Box Room underneath Alchemilla Hospital.
Silent Hill[]
Harry obtaining the Flauros.
Harry Mason finds this in Balkan Church; it is given to him by Dahlia Gillespie, who calls the Flauros a "cage of peace" and also claims it can "counteract the wrath of the underworld", but there is a strong possibility that Dahlia is lying about the Flauros' purpose. The Flauros is Dahlia's secret trump card.
When Harry confronts Alessa at Lakeside Amusement Park, the Flauros automatically activates, striking Alessa down, badly weakening her. Alessa's world begins to fall apart as she loses control of it after the Flauros is used on her, resulting in Lisa Garland's strange behavior and the creation of Nowhere. The Flauros disappears after its use and isn't seen again.
Play Novel: Silent Hill[]
The Flauros is referenced in a note in the Play Novel.
Page 4 (Flauros and key on altar)
The Flauros.
That is certainly what that woman had called this.
I try picking it up.
And then I place it back on top of the desk right away.
Page 5
It is power.
The overwhelming power of the gods rests inside this four-sided object.
It was a sensation like an electrical current passing into the palm of my hand, and then power moving throughout every nook and cranny in my body.
Page 6
I pick it up once more.
This time I calmly take it into my hand and then place it in my pocket.
For some reason I am convinced that this object will help me find Cheryl.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories[]
The Flauros on the shelf.
The Flauros makes a cameo in the UFO Ending on Dr. Kaufmann's shelf.
Trivia[]
- In Silent Hill 4: The Room, Jasper Gein has an Incubus T-shirt with the word "Haures" beneath it, which is another name for Flauros.
- The Flauros bears a striking resemblance to the Triforce from the Legend of Zelda series.
- In the 1987 movie Hellraiser, there is a similar item, a puzzle box called the Lament Configuration. When solved, chains come out of the box, ensnaring the solver and tearing them apart, similar to the capturing of Alessa's Dream by the Flauros.
Gallery[]
Silent Hill[]
Silent Hill: Origins[]
