in my restless dreams i see that town:
The philosophy of silent hill
by kelemet telwar
Plato was a very opinionated person. Most of his opinions about the world were centered
around the search for knowledge and how emotions cloud that by distracting us from the real purpose
of life. Also, his famous Theory of Forms shaped most of his other beliefs, including his religious ones
and how he feels gods should be portrayed. His ideas became widely respected, and are even used as
the basis for many pieces of modern media, including the famous horror franchise of Silent Hill. This
famous series barrows themes from Jewish mysticism, Japanese and American horror, and also Plato’s
Theory of Forms. Because of this, I’m beyond curious of what Plato would think of this masterpiece of a
video game. After lots of research, I’ve reached the conclusion that Plato would hate it with a burning
passion. The reasons why he would hate it are slightly complex, so we’ll need some background
information about Silent Hill before I continue.
The first Silent Hill game started off as an impossible dream. KONAMI wanted to cash in on the
success of Resident Evil and the entirety of the survival horror genre, so they gathered a team to create
a horror video game that imitated the style of a Hollywood movie. That team, nicknamed Team Silent,
then proceeded to mix American horror themes and Japanese horror tropes to create a masterpiece
that, ever since its release in 1999, has been considered one of the best horror video games in history.
Silent Hill became iconic as soon as it hit shelves, and it still hasn’t faded away after nearly twenty years.
Plato would not at all be pleased with the success of Silent Hill. Plato believed that emotions
cloud the mind and prevent people from seeing or seeking the truth. He believed emotions block people
from knowledge, especially the strong emotions of depression, fear, loneliness and terror that Silent Hill
makes the player feel. That factor alone would anger Plato, and the fact that people happily subject
themselves to the disturbing imagery and emotions of the game would make him go into a full rage.
The success of Silent Hill mainly comes from the game having a complicated story and
symbolism abound. The game follows Henry Mason, who gets in a terrible car crash just outside of the
town called Silent Hill. He’s searching for his daughter, Cheryl, who got lost in the crash and is now
somewhere in Silent Hill. As he looks for her in the abandoned, cursed town, he learns that nothing is
what it seems and that people are the real monsters. This raises a new question: what’s wrong with the
town? When Puritans built Silent Hill on cursed land back in the days of settlers, it disturbed a god
named Samael whose spirit lived in the coal mines under the town. He refused to make his presence
known until the late 1950s, when he presented himself to five children. In the 70s, a cult lead by those
five people arose to praise Samael and tried to birth him into the world to create an ‘eternal paradise’,
which was a hell on earth in reality.
Now, you might ask yourself, “Kelemet, what on earth does a demon god have to do with
Plato?” Actually, it has to do with Plato more than you would think. In the game, Samael creates ‘Forms’
of sorts. In a way, it’s Plato’s Theory of Forms. In Plato’s theory, the gods would create perfect,
beautiful, flawless Forms that humans would replicate and imitate during their lives but never get to
see. It’s almost like the universal concept of an object. In Silent Hill, Samael creates these Forms in a
third world, a different plane of existence similar to Plato’s theory. These Forms, though, can be
accessed by humans.
In the 70s, when the cult tried to birth the god, they used a young girl with psychic powers
named Alessa. When Alessa’s mother, Dahlia, tried to impregnate Alessa with the god, Alessa’s psychic
powers accidentally blew up a boiler in their house which started an inferno that no one could escape
from. Almost every cult member died except for Alessa’s mother and five others. Alessa died for a
temporary amount of time, which split her soul in two. One half of her soul lay incased in her charred
carcass, trapped with Samael. The other half of her soul wwent into the corporal form of a baby, which
was sent away by Alessa to try to have a second chance at a normal life. This baby ended up being Henry
Mason’s daughter. When this happened, the half of Alessa’s soul that lay trapped with Samael began to
project a different world onto the town of Silent Hill and carry the town into another dimension.
Because of this, the Forms that Samael created can be accessed. While the entirety of Silent Hill
is forever trapped in a snowy purgatory for a majority of the time, Alessa will periodically project the
third plane of existence, the world of Forms, onto the town. The world of Forms is a dark place, covered
in iron, rust and blood. The Forms Samael makes are not of objects, but of people. They are not
beautiful and flawless, like in Plato’s theory but they instead exist as hairless, disturbing piles of flesh,
blood and decay that represent rapists, bullies, abusers and the inner monsters of everyday people.
Plato would find three things wrong with this. First, Plato firmly believes all gods should be
represented as perfect, beautiful beings. In Plato’s mind, if gods can create the perfect Forms, then they
themselves must be good, just and flawless. In Silent Hill, Samael is seen as evil, and as being an ugly
creature that made of different animal parts. Plato would be deeply offended at this portrayal of a
higher power, because it is not good or beautiful. Secondly, Plato would feel the same about the Forms
and how they are seen. The Forms are supposed to exist as flawless and perfect, not disturbing and
deadly. They’re supposed to be endlessly beautiful, not a murderous monster. Thirdly, Plato hates the
mixing of religion and art. The fact a god is being ‘imitated’ would seem like blasphemy. Plato would also
hate that we tried to portray the Forms that a god would create, because according to him, we cannot
and never will see the forms.
Most of Plato’s opinions about the world were centered around the search for knowledge and
how emotions cloud that, and also his famous Theory of Forms. His famous ideas became the base for
many modern media pieces. This includes the famous Silent Hill games, which Plato would hate. It
borrows Plato’s ideas in a way that Plato would not appreciate, and also it creates emotions that block
our intelligence. In conclusion, Plato would hate Silent Hill and all of us for liking it.
around the search for knowledge and how emotions cloud that by distracting us from the real purpose
of life. Also, his famous Theory of Forms shaped most of his other beliefs, including his religious ones
and how he feels gods should be portrayed. His ideas became widely respected, and are even used as
the basis for many pieces of modern media, including the famous horror franchise of Silent Hill. This
famous series barrows themes from Jewish mysticism, Japanese and American horror, and also Plato’s
Theory of Forms. Because of this, I’m beyond curious of what Plato would think of this masterpiece of a
video game. After lots of research, I’ve reached the conclusion that Plato would hate it with a burning
passion. The reasons why he would hate it are slightly complex, so we’ll need some background
information about Silent Hill before I continue.
The first Silent Hill game started off as an impossible dream. KONAMI wanted to cash in on the
success of Resident Evil and the entirety of the survival horror genre, so they gathered a team to create
a horror video game that imitated the style of a Hollywood movie. That team, nicknamed Team Silent,
then proceeded to mix American horror themes and Japanese horror tropes to create a masterpiece
that, ever since its release in 1999, has been considered one of the best horror video games in history.
Silent Hill became iconic as soon as it hit shelves, and it still hasn’t faded away after nearly twenty years.
Plato would not at all be pleased with the success of Silent Hill. Plato believed that emotions
cloud the mind and prevent people from seeing or seeking the truth. He believed emotions block people
from knowledge, especially the strong emotions of depression, fear, loneliness and terror that Silent Hill
makes the player feel. That factor alone would anger Plato, and the fact that people happily subject
themselves to the disturbing imagery and emotions of the game would make him go into a full rage.
The success of Silent Hill mainly comes from the game having a complicated story and
symbolism abound. The game follows Henry Mason, who gets in a terrible car crash just outside of the
town called Silent Hill. He’s searching for his daughter, Cheryl, who got lost in the crash and is now
somewhere in Silent Hill. As he looks for her in the abandoned, cursed town, he learns that nothing is
what it seems and that people are the real monsters. This raises a new question: what’s wrong with the
town? When Puritans built Silent Hill on cursed land back in the days of settlers, it disturbed a god
named Samael whose spirit lived in the coal mines under the town. He refused to make his presence
known until the late 1950s, when he presented himself to five children. In the 70s, a cult lead by those
five people arose to praise Samael and tried to birth him into the world to create an ‘eternal paradise’,
which was a hell on earth in reality.
Now, you might ask yourself, “Kelemet, what on earth does a demon god have to do with
Plato?” Actually, it has to do with Plato more than you would think. In the game, Samael creates ‘Forms’
of sorts. In a way, it’s Plato’s Theory of Forms. In Plato’s theory, the gods would create perfect,
beautiful, flawless Forms that humans would replicate and imitate during their lives but never get to
see. It’s almost like the universal concept of an object. In Silent Hill, Samael creates these Forms in a
third world, a different plane of existence similar to Plato’s theory. These Forms, though, can be
accessed by humans.
In the 70s, when the cult tried to birth the god, they used a young girl with psychic powers
named Alessa. When Alessa’s mother, Dahlia, tried to impregnate Alessa with the god, Alessa’s psychic
powers accidentally blew up a boiler in their house which started an inferno that no one could escape
from. Almost every cult member died except for Alessa’s mother and five others. Alessa died for a
temporary amount of time, which split her soul in two. One half of her soul lay incased in her charred
carcass, trapped with Samael. The other half of her soul wwent into the corporal form of a baby, which
was sent away by Alessa to try to have a second chance at a normal life. This baby ended up being Henry
Mason’s daughter. When this happened, the half of Alessa’s soul that lay trapped with Samael began to
project a different world onto the town of Silent Hill and carry the town into another dimension.
Because of this, the Forms that Samael created can be accessed. While the entirety of Silent Hill
is forever trapped in a snowy purgatory for a majority of the time, Alessa will periodically project the
third plane of existence, the world of Forms, onto the town. The world of Forms is a dark place, covered
in iron, rust and blood. The Forms Samael makes are not of objects, but of people. They are not
beautiful and flawless, like in Plato’s theory but they instead exist as hairless, disturbing piles of flesh,
blood and decay that represent rapists, bullies, abusers and the inner monsters of everyday people.
Plato would find three things wrong with this. First, Plato firmly believes all gods should be
represented as perfect, beautiful beings. In Plato’s mind, if gods can create the perfect Forms, then they
themselves must be good, just and flawless. In Silent Hill, Samael is seen as evil, and as being an ugly
creature that made of different animal parts. Plato would be deeply offended at this portrayal of a
higher power, because it is not good or beautiful. Secondly, Plato would feel the same about the Forms
and how they are seen. The Forms are supposed to exist as flawless and perfect, not disturbing and
deadly. They’re supposed to be endlessly beautiful, not a murderous monster. Thirdly, Plato hates the
mixing of religion and art. The fact a god is being ‘imitated’ would seem like blasphemy. Plato would also
hate that we tried to portray the Forms that a god would create, because according to him, we cannot
and never will see the forms.
Most of Plato’s opinions about the world were centered around the search for knowledge and
how emotions cloud that, and also his famous Theory of Forms. His famous ideas became the base for
many modern media pieces. This includes the famous Silent Hill games, which Plato would hate. It
borrows Plato’s ideas in a way that Plato would not appreciate, and also it creates emotions that block
our intelligence. In conclusion, Plato would hate Silent Hill and all of us for liking it.