The real 'Silent Hill'
The game has been out since 1999 and if you haven’t experienced the adrenaline rush from this game, then the movie basically sums it up in 2-action/horror packed hours. Silent Hill is one of my many small obsessions, mainly because it was thought of through the reality of thee ghost town; Centralia.
The Game
The plot
Based around the simple story line found in any riveting horror movie or game – a lost loved one manages to lure you into going to Silent Hill to ‘save’ them. You then enter this town and in a nutshell all hell breaks loose.
Based around the simple story line found in any riveting horror movie or game – a lost loved one manages to lure you into going to Silent Hill to ‘save’ them. You then enter this town and in a nutshell all hell breaks loose.
The Town
Situated around the edge of Toluca Lake and a large forest and river, Silent Hill is similar to any small town– one tiny shopping mall, an elementary school, a church, two separate hospitals, a sanitarium…and I think you get my point.
Situated around the edge of Toluca Lake and a large forest and river, Silent Hill is similar to any small town– one tiny shopping mall, an elementary school, a church, two separate hospitals, a sanitarium…and I think you get my point.
The History
In the 17th Century Silent Hill was a home to an unnamed Native American tribe that used the land for rituals (already this bit of information should lead your mind to all kinds of ghost stories). At the end of the century, settlers arrived and founded the town, but (and this is where it gets interesting) they began to rapidly die off; the survivors built the Brookhaven Hospital to try and save the sick. Eventually the settlers abandoned the town and soon after this, this town was then used as a place to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace; needless to say twenty years later another epidemic broke out and the Brookhaven Hospital was rebuilt. The town was abandoned yet again and in the end, Silent Hill became a ‘boomtown’.
The town later served as a ‘prisoner of war’ camp and thus was turned into a resort town which (like any modern day town) was soon infested with a small series of religious zealots cults based upon the eschatology of the aforementioned Native American tribe. These groups called themselves ‘The Order’ and worshipped a sub-deity, practiced human sacrifice and necromancy.
In the 17th Century Silent Hill was a home to an unnamed Native American tribe that used the land for rituals (already this bit of information should lead your mind to all kinds of ghost stories). At the end of the century, settlers arrived and founded the town, but (and this is where it gets interesting) they began to rapidly die off; the survivors built the Brookhaven Hospital to try and save the sick. Eventually the settlers abandoned the town and soon after this, this town was then used as a place to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace; needless to say twenty years later another epidemic broke out and the Brookhaven Hospital was rebuilt. The town was abandoned yet again and in the end, Silent Hill became a ‘boomtown’.
The town later served as a ‘prisoner of war’ camp and thus was turned into a resort town which (like any modern day town) was soon infested with a small series of religious zealots cults based upon the eschatology of the aforementioned Native American tribe. These groups called themselves ‘The Order’ and worshipped a sub-deity, practiced human sacrifice and necromancy.
In short, the town manifests itself in at least three distinct parallel layers (a normal, populated town – a quiet seemingly town veiled by thick fog – and a dark, decaying town filled with disturbing hellish imagery) which cannot be helped with the town’s given history.
The Real Town
The plot
Centralia, Pennsylvania or better known as ‘Silent Hill’ to gamers and ‘The Mouth of Hell’ to the residents, draws people in without needing the aid of a lost loved relative. Instead ‘Silent Hill’ draws you in with her history and her mystery.
Centralia, Pennsylvania or better known as ‘Silent Hill’ to gamers and ‘The Mouth of Hell’ to the residents, draws people in without needing the aid of a lost loved relative. Instead ‘Silent Hill’ draws you in with her history and her mystery.
The Town
The town, Centralia is a ghost town found in Columbia County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Very similar to its reputation as ‘Silent Hill’, this town is surrounded by a forest and the usual buildings, some being - both elementary and high schools (two of these being Catholic), seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, a post office and 14 general stores.
The History
Centralia started off with Alexander W. Rea moving to the site in 1854 to start with the developing of the town and the laying out of the streets. This town was incorporated as a borough in 1866 with the coal industry being the principle employer in the community. Just like the game Silent Hill, Centralia had her own ‘cults’ and they were called the ‘Molly Maguires’, though they are nothing as hard-hitting as the cult in the game Silent Hill, they were held responsible for the murder of Alexander W. Rea including several other counts of murder and arsons.
The reason Centralia is a ghost town today:
While the coal mine industry was high there were a total of 2000 residents in this town, once the coal mine industry had slowed down the number of residents dropped down to 1000 due to people being left jobless. It was around this time that the ‘Mine Fire’ began.
There are three theories around this:
- The Centralia Borough Council hired 5 members to clean up the town’s dump site which was located in an abandoned strip-mine pit next to the town’s cemetery. The 5 members then set the dump on fire and let it burn, but they say that the fire was not put out completely and kept burning.
- The town was held responsible to install a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer within the mine trash pit, and because they had fallen behind, they had not been able to do this. A trash hauler dumped hot ash and coal into this open trash pit which allowed the hot coals to penetrate the vein of the coal underneath the pit and ultimately, start the fire.
- They say the fire had always been burning.
Regardless of which theory you want to believe, the fire remained burning underground and eventually spread into the abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. The attempts to distinguish this fire were unsuccessful and it continued throughout the 60’s and 70’s causing health risks to the residents. Realization on how bad the coal mines were getting only came to wake when 12 year old Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole that was four feet wide and 46m deep that suddenly opened beneath his feet in his own backyard. Tom was saved by his older cousin, Eric Wolfgang who managed to pull him out of the carbon monoxide infested hole.
It was then in 1984, that the U. S. Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted this and moved out the town, but many refused and stayed. In 1992, Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey claimed immediate possession of all the buildings within Centralia against the residents will. In 2002 the U.S. Postal Services revoked Centralia’s ZIP code. In 2009 Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of Centralia residents.
‘Silent Hill’ today
It was then in 1984, that the U. S. Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted this and moved out the town, but many refused and stayed. In 1992, Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey claimed immediate possession of all the buildings within Centralia against the residents will. In 2002 the U.S. Postal Services revoked Centralia’s ZIP code. In 2009 Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of Centralia residents.
‘Silent Hill’ today
The remaining church, St Mary’s, holds weekly services and appears, to this day, to not have been affected by the underground fire. The town now has four cemeteries – one which has smoke rising around and out of it. Additional smoke and steam can be seen coming from an abandoned part of Pennsylvania Rout 61 – this route was repaired several times before it finally had to be closed. The underground fire is still burning and has been estimated to keep burning for the next 1000+years. Today there are only 11 people left of the 1000 residents of Centralia.
This is the history of ‘Silent Hill’ or rather, Centralia and this is on my bucket list as one of the places I would like to see before I die.
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| St. Mary's churs - untouched by the Mine Fire |
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| Top view of the town Centralia |
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| A look at the steam coming from the ground |
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| Route 61 |
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| Route 61 |
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| Warning are situated around the town |
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