A Look At Silent Hill

Though I am hesitant, if not incapable of playing many horror games (due to my debilitating knack for getting FAR too connected to the game, particularly to the protagonist character), I am continually fascinated and drawn to the Silent Hill series.  A franchise based on psychological horror, Silent Hill takes place mostly in, of course, the fictional town of Silent Hill, which is the home to a fanatic religious cult (known simply as The Order [http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/The_Order]) hell-bent on birthing their vision of God and the paradise she will bring after cleansing humanity with fire.  The town itself, twisted by its tragic and death-filled past, The Order's rituals, and the psyche of its inhabitants and visitors, is often subject to shifts of reality:  Different versions of Silent Hill, referred to as realities or worlds, manifest themselves frequently.  These worlds change depending on factors such as the psyche of the protagonist and supporting characters, changing to reflect their fears, wishes, or anguishes.  The most prominently featured worlds are the "Fog World" (http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/Fog_World), a dangerous, fog filled version of Silent Hill, and the "Otherworld" (http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/Otherworld), its more dangerous, bleak, and terrifying counterpart, presumably a step further away from the real world that the Fog World.  Within in these alternate worlds exist "monsters" that similarly cater to the psyche of the characters, representing for example fear of insects (http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/Creeper), desires of punishment(http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/Pyramid_Head), or sexual frustrations (http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/Bubble_Head_Nurse).  Interestingly, it is hinted and often speculated that members of The Order do not see the "monsters" as monsters, and that they are perhaps just human beings.  Because of the conditional, representative nature of the monsters and the alternate worlds, Silent Hill can replicate an image able to scare or disturb virtually anyone, making for a unique and terrifying experience.  Because many fears, anguishes, or desires represented in Silent Hill are nearly universally shared or at least widely shared, many in-game (or in-movie, novel, comic, etc.) experiences are extremely effective in inspiring horror in the mind of the beholder.  As the series expands to accommodate even more new, deeply disturbed characters, Silent Hill becomes more and more able to strike terrifying chords in the hearts of it's consumers.  While my experiences with Silent Hill are mostly objective, I am still left utterly moved and fascinated by the series and its excellency in psychological horror.  Any fan of horror should definitely check this series out, and it may also interest anyone already interested in psychology or the human mind.