Transcript of Stephen King in Silent Hill - Monsters of the Week - RagnarRox
RagnarRox
0:03When you're talking about Psychological Horror
in video games,0:05you pretty much won't get around mentioning
Silent Hill.0:08And in the same way, when it's about movies
and literature,0:11Stephen King's name will come up eventually.0:13His writing has spawned so many horror cult
classics0:16that his name is inseparably intertwined with
this genre.0:20So it's actually not that big of a surprise0:22that Silent Hill, too, drew a lot of inspiration0:25from King's works and themes.0:27There are, for instance, some quite obvious0:29nods and references scattered over the games.0:32The "Bachman Road" in Old Silent Hill for
example,0:35hints at Richard Bachman, King's pseudonym
he used0:38between 1977 and 1982 for novels such as0:41"Roadwork" and "The Running Man",0:43to see if his works would be successful0:45even without his established name attached
to it.0:48Also, In Silent Hill's Café 5to2, we can
find a poster of0:52Stephen Kings "Study, Dammit!",0:53while the pinball machine in the Café0:55is a reference to "Children of the Corn".0:58There's also movie posters for Carrie and
Pet Sematary1:00hanging on a wall across Green Lion Antiques.1:03And in one of the back alleys in Bloch Street,1:05we find the word "Redrum" smeared in blood
on a garage.1:09But it gets more interesting when we take
a look at1:11some of Silent Hill's themes and plot outlines
that were,1:14either openly or at least very obviously,1:17influenced by King's stories.1:18Starting with the fact that the town of Silent
Hill itself1:21is most likely located in Maine,1:23which builds the setting for a large part1:25of Stephen King's books.1:27A lot of evidence in the game hints at that,1:29for example The Book of Lost Memories,1:31which states that the town is located in New
England.1:34Or the Gillespie House, where Alessa grew
up1:37was based on the actual Olson House from1:39Andrew Wyeth's 1948 painting Christina's World -1:42which is located in Maine.1:44Also, after Harry Mason leaves the town1:46at the end of the first game,1:48he moves with Heather to Portland.1:50The city of Portland, Maine just so happens1:52to be Stephen King's hometown.1:55But back to that Redrum bloodsmear.1:57You know what story that's from, right?1:59Right. The Shining.2:00The story of a writer that goes mad2:02during a winter he spends in an2:03abandoned hotel with his family.2:05But not only the iconic anagram on the door2:08and a lot of the eerie, looming and sterile
atmosphere2:11were direct influences for Silent Hill.2:14In the movie by Stanley Kubrick,2:16the Hotel is built upon ancient Native American
burial ground.2:20The tribe that inhabited the land was2:22fought off by settlers and up to this day2:24the wrath of their spirits haunts the place2:27and causes people to go mad and2:29get plagued by demons and hallucinations.2:31And according to Silent Hill's Timeline2:33mentioned in "The Book of Lost Memories",2:35before settlers came from Europe,2:37the area was a holy place for Native Americans2:40who conducted "mysterious rituals" on this
sacred ground2:43because the land seemed to passess a mysterious
power.2:46But they were also fought off by settlers.2:48And like in "The Shining", the place's ancient
powers2:51have caused mysterious incidents over the
centuries2:53and it served as a spiritual estuary between2:56the real world and the spirit world.2:58Centuries later, the nihilistic cult called
"The Order"3:01employed Alessa Gillespie as a catalyst to3:03gain control over the town's ancient powers.3:06And her story happens to share a lot of3:08similarities with Stephen King's "Carrie".3:11Both girls were raised by an abusive, overly
pious cultist mother,3:16both grew up as an outcast for being different
in school3:19and both developed poltergeist abilities,3:21such as telekinesis, telepathy and projected
hallucinations,3:24during their teen years.3:26But they don't only share mental powers3:28that manifested through a childhood of intense
mental abuse.3:31It's also noteworthy that both girls projected
their soul3:34to inhabit a newborn child at the end of the
Story.3:37Carrie occupies the unborn fetus of Sue3:39right before she dies, because she finds out3:42- via telepathy -3:44that Sue has been the only person that3:45never meant her any harm.3:47Sue's child is later shown to develop the
same kind of powers;3:50only now growing up in a happy and joyful
environment.3:54With Alessa... Well, let me explain.3:56Alessa's soul is actually split in half;3:59the other half living inside of Cheryl,4:01the protagonist's adoptive daughter.4:03At the end of Silent Hill 1's canonical ending,4:06Alessa realizes, also telepathically,4:09that Harry was good to her -4:10or rather to her soul's other half in the
form of Cheryl4:13and transcends their reunited soul into an
infant.4:16This baby grows up to become Heather,4:18the protagonist of Silent Hill 3.4:20And like Carrie, in this incarnation,4:23Alessa's soul lives on to grow up in the4:25happy and joyful home she never had in her
former life.4:29Now, when most people think about Silent Hill,4:32they think about Fog... or Mist...4:34and yes, "The Mist" by Stephen King happens
to be4:37another major influence for the setting of
the game.4:40Because as we all know, Silent Hill, or at
least4:42the fog world, is covered in a thick layer
of mist4:44with lurking monsters and evil creatures.4:47Well, in "The Mist", a peaceful coastal town
in4:50- surprise - Maine,4:52gets suddenly overtaken by an unnaturally
thick mist4:54filled with malicious creatures that attack4:57and kill the town's inhabitants.4:58And the fog gets even announced by a loud
fire siren5:01alarming the population5:05- just like in Silent Hill.5:11And I'll be damned, but the very first encounter
in the book5:14is a Pterodactyl creature that breaks into
the supermarket5:17and attacks the people hiding in there.5:19Sounds familiar?5:20Yes, the first monster in Silent Hill is actually a5:23Pterodactyl-ish creature that breaks through5:26the café's window and attacks Harry.5:30Silent Hill shows that it's like in movies:5:32Stephen King as an influence can make for
some5:34outstanding video games;5:36as long as he's not directly involved in the
production. *cough*5:40Seriously, try out F13, the game by Stephen
King5:42that came out at about the same time as Silent
Hill.5:44It's... an interesting play to say the least.5:48Thanks for watching Monsters of the Week.5:51Now it's your turn to choose where the path
leads.5:54Until then.5:55Remember.5:56The Truth Is Out There.
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