Lakeview Hotel in the Real World.
| “ | I don't know why, but I just love it here. It's so peaceful...
|
” |
The Real World is the "normal" plane of existence that most people inhabit in the Silent Hill series. Unlike the Fog World or Otherworld, the Real World is a place with presumably little to no paranormal activity. Monsters tend not to manifest at this level of reality. However, considering the fact that the Fog World and Otherworld are able to supersede the Real World, it is assumed that supernatural beings with great power at their disposal have some direct influence on the Real World.
Unlike the other universes that exist in Silent Hill games, the Real World is rarely interacted with. In most cases, games begin with the protagonist of their respective game crossing between worlds only to find themselves trapped within the Fog World. These brief instances are typically the only in-game glimpses of the Real World that the player ever sees.
The town of Silent Hill appears to be an ordinary tourist town to most of the inhabitants of the Real World. It is also suggested that the majority of the town's citizens are unaware of the supernatural forces at work within the town, and by extension, any of the protagonist's actions during their time spent in the town's alternate realities. This is further evidenced by the fact that the protagonist of Silent Hill 2, James Sunderland, spent his entire honeymoon with his wife in Silent Hill without witnessing anything out of the ordinary prior to his return much later on.
In contrast to the games, one of the two major plotlines of the Silent Hill film takes place within the Real World. While, in the comics, the Real World is not as prominent as it is in the film, it is still present.
Silent Hill: Origins[]
Travis returns to the real world.
The game begins with Travis Grady passing through Silent Hill as a shortcut to make up for lost time on a delivery, when a shape steps out in front of his eighteen-wheeler. Stopping and hopping out of his truck to make sure no one was hurt, he notices thick smoke begin to roll in and follows it. Coming upon a burning home, Travis hears a scream inside and runs in, rescuing a small girl, Alessa Gillespie. He passes out afterwards and comes to on a bench, trapped in the Fog World.
In the canon ending of the game, Travis is shown leaving the Fog World behind in his big rig.
Silent Hill[]
Harry returns to the real world with a baby girl.
Driving to the resort town of Silent Hill for a vacation with his daughter Cheryl Mason, author Harry Mason narrowly avoids running over what appears to be a young girl walking across the road. His jeep crashes, and Harry is knocked unconscious. Cheryl has gone missing, the town is eerily quiet, and it is snowing out-of-season.
When his time in Silent Hill comes to an end, Harry, with help from a newly-whole Alessa Gillespie, is able to escape the nightmarish world Silent Hill has become. With a newborn girl in his arms, the reborn form of his daughter Cheryl and Alessa, Harry is able to carry on with his life in the Real World.
Silent Hill 2[]
Unlike other games in the series, Silent Hill 2 begins with its protagonist, James Sunderland, already enfolded into the Fog World. James is first seen at an observation deck restroom stop, going over in his mind, the circumstances that brought him to Silent Hill. As the game progresses, a character named Laura is introduced. Of note is the fact that, to her, Silent Hill appears to be a beautiful place. She may be seeing the Real World, or true version, of the small tourist town.
James's fate at the end of the game is left rather ambiguous, so it is unknown if he was able to come back to the Real World, but according to Frank Sunderland, James's father and a character in Silent Hill 4: The Room, his son "disappeared" in Silent Hill.
Silent Hill 3[]
Lakeside Amusement Park in the Real World.
The Real World is briefly seen when Heather Mason wakes up in a Happy Burger restaurant in the Central Square Shopping Center after having a nightmare. This continues until Heather encounters the Otherworld during a ride down an elevator.
In the "Normal" ending, the Real World counterpart of the Lakeside Amusement Park can be seen.
Silent Hill 4: The Room[]
Eileen and Henry in the Real World.
| “ | But I do know that if you die here... then you die in the real world too...
|
” |
Although the player (and Henry Townshend) initially believe that Room 302 itself is located in the Real World, once the door to the apartment is unlocked via the Keys of Liberation, it is revealed that Henry has been in the Apartment World of Walter's Otherworlds all along. Henry's windows and peepholes merely acted as "windows" to the Real World.
If either of the Good Endings are achieved, Henry and Eileen Galvin are brought back into the Real World after the death of Walter Sullivan.
Silent Hill: Homecoming[]
Alex and his family in front of Toluca Lake.
Similar to Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill: Homecoming doesn't begin in the Real World. Rather, it starts off in a nightmare. Alex Shepherd, in his dream, is chasing his brother Joshua through the corridors of Alchemilla Hospital.
When the nightmare ends and he's jolted awake, he is seen in the cab of an eighteen wheeler, with Travis Grady at the wheel. After brief conversation, the truck passes by a welcome sign enveloped in thick fog, identifying the area as Shepherd's Glen. Travis lets Alex off on the main street of the town and drives away. It is unknown if Travis is able to pass back into the Real World, although the canon ending of Silent Hill: Origins suggests that Travis has moved on.
Unlike Travis, when Alex has reached the end of his journey (in the Good Ending), Alex and Elle Holloway are seen walking through the still-shrouded streets of an empty Silent Hill. Whether they make it out or not is unknown.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories[]
The only time any interaction takes place in the Real World takes place in Dr. Kaufmann's office at the Lighthouse Clinic, where Cheryl must complete various psychological evaluations. The entire remainder of gameplay takes place in a child-like fantasy world of her own creation, as she imagines her heroic, demon-persevering father braving monsters and paranormal phenomena in the town.
Silent Hill: Downpour[]
Murphy and Anne in the real world.
In Silent Hill: Downpour, the Real World is featured at the very beginning when Murphy Pendleton is in prison and is being transported from one penitentiary to another. It is shown briefly as he first begins to escape the town in Riggs' boat, just before Anne drags them both back, and is also shown in the two good endings of the game when Silent Hill "releases" Murphy and Anne Marie Cunningham.
Silent Hill: The Short Message[]
.jpg){kind=link}
A Kettenstadt at sunset can be seen from the apartment complex.
In Silent Hill: The Short Message, the Real World is briefly seen at the end, when Anita Planert again plans to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of the Villa complex. The fog lifts from the surroundings when Amelie, her friend, invites her to go shopping to talk openly about their problems.
Silent Hill film[]
Silent Hill, West Virginia in the real world.
The Real World is seen extensively in the Silent Hill film. Areas such as Brahms, and even Silent Hill itself are seen as the rest of the world sees it. While searching the town of Silent Hill, West Virginia for his missing wife and daughter, Christopher Da Silva remains in this universe the entire time, while Rose Da Silva is trapped in both the Fog World and Otherworld counterparts. The town of Silent Hill in the Real World is seen as dilapidated and abandoned, but seemingly no more strange than a common ghost town, its occupants having left due to an underground coal fire. Ironically, Rose never sees the town in this state for the entire duration of her stay.
This universe is referred to as the "Paradise Dimension" by director Christophe Gans.[1] It has been likened to Heaven, likely referring to the scene with Rose embracing Sharon in a field.[2]
Silent Hill: Revelation[]
Vincent walks Heather home.
The Real World is featured prominently in the first half of the film, and reappears briefly during the ending. It shows Sharon Da Silva, now known as "Heather Mason", in her home, reunited with her father (using alias "Harry Mason"). Although suffering from sporadic delusions spawned by the Otherworld, Heather remains in the Real World through her first day of school at All Hallows High School, all until she is knocked unconscious by a monster at Jacks Inn. At the end, Sharon and Vincent managed to return to the Real World.
Comics[]
Silent Hill, viewed from Toluca Lake. (Sinner's Reward)
The Real World is the plane of existence the majority of the main characters introduced throughout the series originate from. The Real World, referred to most often as the Mortal Realm by characters such as Whately and Samael, is the target of many otherworldly incursions. These assaults, centered on Silent Hill, are the product of Whately's plan to birth Samael into the human world. By seeding the thoughts of humanity with knowledge of the strange events that occur in the town, Samael is able to feed off of the emotions such thoughts produce, until she obtains enough power to cross into the Real World.
References[]
- ↑ "And at one point in the film I thought it’d be interesting to show the paradise dimension." Gans, Christophe (2009). Silent Hill: Metropolitan Édition Haute Définition [Blu-Ray; Disc 1/2].
- ↑ Silent Hill: Director Interview & Exclusive Image
Gallery[]
.jpg "Movie-024 (1).jpg (174 KB)")
.jpg "Silenthill4 (1).jpg (104 KB)")
.jpg "Silenthill5 (1).jpg (25 KB)")
.jpg "Image view (18).jpg (507 KB)")
| v · e · d |
|---|
| Characters |
| Major Characters |
| Rose Da Silva - Christopher Da Silva - Cybil Bennett - Dahlia Gillespie - Thomas Gucci - Anna - Christabella - Sharon Da Silva - Alessa Gillespie - Dark Alessa |
| Other Characters |
| Sister Margaret - Eleanor - Adam - Colin - Lisa Garland - Jennifer Carroll |
| Monsters |
| Armless Man - Colin - Creeper - Dark Nurse - Grey Child - Red Pyramid |
| Locations |
| Brahms - Brookhaven Hospital - Church - Da Silva House - Gans County - Grand Hotel - Midwich Elementary School - Nathan Drugs - Pete's Bowl-O-Rama - Sacrificial Chamber - Silent Hill, West Virginia - Smitty's - Toluca County Archives - Toluca County Mining Museum - Toluca County Orphanage - Toluca Lake |
| Terms |
| The Brethren - Monster - Flashlight - Manifestation - Otherworld - Fog World - Real World - Siren - Great Knife - Welcome Sign - Brethren Symbol |
| Archives |
| Soundtrack |
| v · e · d |
|---|
| Characters |
| Major Characters |
| Heather Mason - Christopher Da Silva - Vincent Cooper - Claudia Wolf - Leonard Wolf - Dark Alessa - Douglas Cartland - Alessa Gillespie |
| Other Characters |
| Rose Da Silva - Dahlia Gillespie - Suki - Travis Grady - Order Soldier - Detective Santini - Mannequin Girl |
| Monsters |
| Armless Man - Delusion - Leonard Wolf - Lobotomy - Mannequin Monster - Memory of Alessa - Missionary - Nurse - Pyramid Head - Valtiel |
| Locations |
| All Hallows High School - Brookhaven Asylum - Central Square Shopping Center - Jacks Inn - Sanctuary - Silent Hill, West Virginia - Lakeside Amusement Park |
| Terms |
| The Brethren - Halo of the Sun - Monster - Manifestation - Otherworld - Fog World - Real World - Robbie the Rabbit - Seal of Metatron - Siren - The Order - Great Knife - Welcome Sign |