10 amazing facts you didn't know about Silent Hill

One of the greatest, beautifully gory horror video game franchises of all time has got to be Konami’s Silent Hill franchise by a mile. The series’ amazing storylines, wonderful characters, as well as its multiple endings have made the series a cult favourite (no pun intended if you know what I mean). However all good things come to an end and the next instalment in the Silent Hill series, which has been wowing us since 1999, titled Silent Hills was cancelled by Konami. All is not lost though as the franchise may receive a new lease of life if that signature campaign started by a fan to revive the series bears fruit. Until that becomes a reality, feast your eyes on these 10 amazing facts about Silent Hill.

The School Featured In Silent Hill(1999) Is Based On Kindergarten Cop

The school in the original Silent Hill is almost a perfect replica of the one featured in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer Kindergarten Cop. The reason for this could be because Konami, which is based in Japan, didn’t have the funds to send executives to scout for locations for Silent Hill which is set in America, which is why looking at American films was the next best option. The school was copied with such detail that even the posters that adorned the walls of the school in the film are present in the game.

The First Game Contains A Lot Of Horror Movie Easter Eggs

Since Silent Hill is a survival horror game it isn’t surprising to see so many nods to American horror films. If you observe carefully, and if you’re a horror film buff you’ll notice quite a few posters of Stanley Kurbrick’s ‘The Shining’, a stairwell identically to the one shown in Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’, a shop named Cut Rite Chainsaws which is based on the one appearing in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 as well as several other easter eggs.

The Series Spawned Two Films

In case you didn’t know the Silent Hill series spawned two films titled Silent Hill (2006) and Silent Hill: Revelation (2012), both starring the actor who holds the distinction of dying in nearly every film he stars in – Sean Bean. Fortunately Bean makes it through both these films. Both the films have a plot similar to the games but differ in several aspects. The first film did decently well, but the second one was panned by critics and holds a 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes which symbolizes just how bad it was.

Silent Hill Takes Inspiration From The Ghost Town Centralia

Silent Hill was inspired by many different towns the main one being Centralia situated in the state of Pennsylvania. Centralia is a ghost town whose residents abandoned it because of a coal fire back in 1962. The town now has just 7 residents and is now classified as a ‘ghost town’. However even though it’s a ghost town it isn’t populated by a secret cult or have any monsters roaming the street, so all you Silent Hill geeks can pay it a visit on your next trip to the States.

The Series Spawned An Arcade Game!

I know it’s hard to believe but a Silent Hill arcade game does indeed exist and is aptly titled Silent Hill: The Arcade created back in 2007. All you have to do in the arcade game is basically shoot all the monsters featured in all the previous games while avoiding losing your life. However the arcade game was widely panned by critics with many calling it an unnecessary addition to the series. So if you see Silent Hill: The Arcade game machine anywhere I wouldn’t recommend playing it unless you want to lighten your wallet of all its quarters.

The Fog That Covers The Town Was Actually Meant To Hide Bad Graphics

You got to hand it to Konami for being ingenious because the above fact was a real masterstroke of their part. Since computer graphic cards weren’t that powerful back in 1999 and since Silent Hill was a cutting edge game in terms of graphics not everything in the game could be rendered. As a result Konami decided to cover the bad looking parts with fog which led everyone to believe that the fog was meant to add to the spookiness of Silent Hill. As a result the fog became synonymous with the series and featured in every game since then.

Players Can Ring The In Game Konami Helpline In Shattered Memories

The reboot of the Silent Hill series entitled Silent Hill: Shattered Memories didn’t bring much to the table, but had its share of moments. And one of those moments was the player’s ability to dial the helpline of the franchises developer Konami on the in game cell phone. However dialling the helpline won’t bring you any relief as the in game customer service executive informs you that you’re “beyond even their help”. Wish the game had a complaint line too. Sigh!

Silent Hill: Origins Was Suppose To Be A Black Comedy

I’m sure Silent Hill loyalist are familiar with the series’ many joke ending, but did you know that Climax Studios, who were responsible for the development of Origins, wanted to take that to a whole new level and make Origins a comedic game, taking inspiration from comedy horror films such as the Evil Dead 3. However they decided that the concept just wouldn’t work and reverted back to the pure horror script.

Silent Hill: Downpour Contains Many Easter Eggs From Previous Games

Silent Hill contains a lot of Easter eggs, the contents of which you’ll discover later in the slideshow but did you know 2012’s Silent Hill: Downpour actually contains Easter eggs of previous games in the franchise? The Easter eggs vary from music from Silent Hill 2 playing on a radio at a gas station, Henry’s apartment in Silent Hill 4: The Room, the abandoned truck of Travis the protagonist of Silent Hill: Origins among several other goodies.

Silent Hills’ Streets Are Named After Famous Horror Authors

If you look carefully you’ll find that Silent Hill contains numerous references to pop culture, but did you know that quite a few streets in the original game are named after several bestselling horror authors. The authors that are honoured in the game include Richard Bachman (Stephen King’s pen name), Ira Levin author of The Perfect Day, Richard Matheson, Robert Blotch as well as Ray Bradbury.