Is there a "real world" (not real life) version of Silent Hill?

[Iggy Wolf]

It seems like the town constantly maintains only two states. Fog World and Otherworld. But could ANYONE ever really see the town as it actually is? I mean, Lakeshore Hotel had burned down. But both James and Laura see it as new.

If even Laura, with no trauma, still sees either an idealized version of the town, or simply as it was rather than how it is now, then does that mean its "real" state is never visible to any human being? That maybe only animals know how to actually looks like, since the town is unlikely to twist their perception.

[Vagrant]

Maybe.

The 1st movie confirms there is a "real world". However, none of the games features this version. It's always Fog or Otherside.

Edit: At the end of the first SH, if you get the Good ending, Harry leaves "Nowhere" and winds up in the foggy version of the town, but he apparently escaped. Perhaps the fog world IS the real world...

[リル・メイヤー]

There is a real world version of the Town.
When James and Mary go on vacation to Silent Hill, they just see a normal town.
When Henry (the Protagonist of SIlent Hill 4) goes to Silent Hill to take pictures, he doesnt experience any anomalies.

James, Laura, Eddie, Angela are in the Fog World, none of them see the real town. We dont know how Laura sees the Hotel, because she didnt have any attachments to it, she probably sees it as the burned down version (the version James sees after he watches the tape)

[Pocket Dog]

Silent Hill (real world)
Foggy Silent Hill
The Otherworld, a.k.a. Dark Silent Hill or The Other Side

So, three dimensions total.

[80TCS]

Yes, Laura, although still part of James's imagination, sees a normal world

James sees his versions, fog/rusted
Maria "sees" the same world as James, as she's a part of his imagination
Eddie sees his frozen world
Angela sees her fire world

[königplatzen]

Angela must also see the fog at the beginning on the graveyard, because she mentions it

[80TCS]

Originally posted by königplatzen:

Angela must also see the fog at the beginning on the graveyard, because she mentions it

Yes, it appears that while characters are in close proximity their worlds influence each other, just as James mentions that "it's hot" in the stairs cut-scene.

I don't believe though that either Maria or Laura can be influenced by any other worlds than James's.. Well, Laura can only see James's.. "innocent" world version.. which not even he can see.. Or I believe he does in the Leave ending.. ?

[Noobie]

Originally posted by Vagrant:

Maybe.

The 1st movie confirms there is a "real world". However, none of the games features this version. It's always Fog or Otherside.

Edit: At the end of the first SH, if you get the Good ending, Harry leaves "Nowhere" and winds up in the foggy version of the town, but he apparently escaped. Perhaps the fog world IS the real world...

Movies arent even remotely cannon to the series in the slightest. To answer OP silent hill is a REAL town in the universe it just git abandoned due to the cults shenanigans in the first game. The cursed nature of the town is also linked to its past as shown in the historical society building. The otherworld and fog world are unique. The fog world is how most everyone sees the town. Harry in the first game saw a foggy town. Harry was pulled into the otherworld through Alesa who is the whole reason these things exits. Im only giving the cliff notes there are HOURS of lore to dive into. Ill end with this. THE MOVIES MEAN NOTHING. The first movie is supposedly based on Silent hill 1 yet follows harrys wife who was dead from the very start of the game and has pyramid head in it because western filmakers missed the entire point of the series. Dont even get me started on acension. Just as bad and another slap to the face of fans

[königplatzen]

Originally posted by 80TCS:

Originally posted by königplatzen:

Angela must also see the fog at the beginning on the graveyard, because she mentions it

Yes, it appears that while characters are in close proximity their worlds influence each other, just as James mentions that "it's hot" in the stairs cut-scene.

I wonder, if James sees the fire world or if he just feels the heat. I would guess, the player sees everything from James perspective, so it would be the first

[80TCS]

Originally posted by königplatzen:

Originally posted by 80TCS:

Yes, it appears that while characters are in close proximity their worlds influence each other, just as James mentions that "it's hot" in the stairs cut-scene.

I wonder, if James sees the fire world or if he just feels the heat. I would guess, the player sees everything from James perspective, so it would be the first

That's a good question, considering that he's not mentioning any specific visuals, but probably not..

[Vagrant]

Originally posted by 80TCS:

Originally posted by königplatzen:

I wonder, if James sees the fire world or if he just feels the heat. I would guess, the player sees everything from James perspective, so it would be the first

That's a good question, considering that he's not mentioning any specific visuals, but probably not..

Masahiro Ito said that the fire staircase can only be seen by James. Angela apparently sees something different.

[80TCS]

Originally posted by Vagrant:

Originally posted by 80TCS:

That's a good question, considering that he's not mentioning any specific visuals, but probably not..

Masahiro Ito said that the fire staircase can only be seen by James. Angela apparently sees something different.

Was that not maybe a poor interpretation by a non native speaker ? As in maybe he said it like that, but did he specified that at that scene, we, the player/s were seeing James's world ourselves, or maybe for that particular scene we were seeing Angela's world (of course, while James would still see his own version for himself.. )

[Vagrant]

Either way, I wish Ito would stfu about Silent Hill.

Killing the mysteries is killing the conversations.

[80TCS]

Originally posted by Vagrant:

Either way, I wish Ito would stfu about Silent Hill.

Killing the mysteries is killing the conversations.

So, I have found the source of what you were mentioning.. It didn't really made it a clear case resolution for me.. For one, he is mentioning that he's quoting from the OG's walkthrough manual, secondly, that might not apply to the remake now with the slight alterations.. Idk..

Also... Angela is in reply to James confirming that it is hot as hell, it is always like that for her.. So, what would be that hot if not flames.. ? I believe something's amiss here..

And one more.. As, James we can still see what could obviously make up for Angela's nightmarish hell.. Skin walls, dad/brother skinned on the fiery staircase, "pistons" in the boss room in the og, which.. we know what those are, etc.. That is clearly Angela's nightmare/hell.. and we do see it as the player.. Not necessarily as James.. Is it anywhere at all confirmed with 100% certainty that we, the player/s are always seeing James's world view.. ??

[pythonfp]

Originally posted by 80TCS:

And one more.. As, James we can still see what could obviously make up for Angela's nightmarish hell.. Skin walls, dad/brother skinned on the fiery staircase, "pistons" in the boss room in the og, which.. we know what those are, etc.. That is clearly Angela's nightmare/hell.. and we do see it as the player.. Not necessarily as James.. Is it anywhere at all confirmed with 100% certainty that we, the player/s are always seeing James's world view.. ??

In Silent Hill 4, Henry who is a complete nobody (he was just in the wrong place at the wrong moment a.k.a the room) experiences various locations through the subconscious mind of Walter Sullivan.
Considering the case of Silent Hill 2, I sincerely doubt the protagonist's world view remains unaffected while in "the other side" if he is in close proximity of another lost soul.
The freezer sequence for example could also be Eddy's world view.

[klimat13]

I believe there is a real world Silent Hill where people actually live.
No one in the series ever mentioned anything about Silent Hill being actually abandoned. Douglas describes Silent Hill as "one screwed up town" with "a lot of nasty rumors" about it. Sounds shady, but still doesn't sound like a completely disfunctional place.
Every time a new character enters, there are new subplots about actual people living in Silent Hill to discover, like Leonard being locked up in a mental institution (Brookheaven) by Claudia

Fog world is already an alternative dimension, just of a lower level, much closer to actual reality, hence it's mostly the same for everyone who gets dragged there. It's foggy in SH1 for Harry, in SH2 for James (and we know for a fact for Angela too), in SH3 for Heather and so on.
Otherworld is an alternative dimension of a higher level where much more things get much more specific for those projecting: bleeding walls, rusted metal meshes and bars for Alessa/Heather, rot and sheets for James, cold for Eddy, fire for Angela.
And then there is Nowhere, which is the highest level alternative dimension.