Silent Hill Shattered Memories is the spiritual sequel to Silent Hill 1, as it has a somewhat similar visual style, character names, and the main objective of finding a dear lost one. However, Shattered Memories was starkly different from previous entries, as it delivered more psychological horror, opposed to the typical monster-filled worlds seen in its predecessors. The physical life-threatening chases, like most horror games, weren’t the most horror-inducing elements of the game. The conversations and interactions with the characters had a chilling essence, which in fact made Silent Hill Shattered Memories an unforgettable experience. We have explained all the characters from Silent Hill Shattered Memories down below.
All Silent Hill Shattered Memories Characters, Explained
1. Harry Mason
Harry Mason is the protagonist of Silent Hill Shattered Memories and the father of Cheryl Mason. The game begins with Harry waking up in his car in the snowy town of Silent Hill. He discovers that his daughter, Cheryl, is missing from the car, and he begins looking for her. Harry lights his torch and begins to investigate the streets and abandoned buildings of Silent Hill for any clues that could lead to Cheryl. He encounters spirits, spine-chillingly scary creatures, and multiple life-threatening situations during his search for Cheryl. Harry sees reality shifting to a hellish nightmare in front of his eyes, and he isn’t sure about what is tangible and what is a figment of his imagination.
Harry represents a father figure-like personality in the game that Cheryl Mason craved for her entire life. He is the messiah, the savior that would hold Cheryl’s hand and pull her out from the dreadful rut that her life has become. Harry represents Cheryl’s last shot at redemption in life, love, and happiness in general.
2. Cheryl Mason
Cheryl Mason is the daughter of Harry Mason, and a product of her parent’s broken marriage. The entire journey of Harry Mason’s search for her wasn’t real, as it was a product of Cheryl’s surreal visions. Cheryl created the idea of having a dad who loved her, and these ideas began manifesting into her having hallucinatory episodes that entangled with her real-life. She couldn’t stop blaming herself for her parent’s failed marriage. Cheryl isn’t able to trust her boyfriend fully as she thinks her fate is going to turn out like her mother’s. It is later revealed in the game that Cheryl’s father, Harry died in her childhood, leaving her mother all alone.
Somehow, Cheryl started blaming herself for her mother’s loneliness. It resulted in Cheryl having surreal episodes where she imagined an entire persona of Harry Mason that was going to save her. Cheryl’s character represents childhood trauma and emotional turmoil that restricts a person to live their to the fullest. In the game’s climax, Cheryl is closing the box of her childhood toys, which means she got the emotional closure she always needed.
3. Cybil Bennett
Cybil Bennett is a police officer from the Silent Hill Police Department. She meets Harry for the first time when he tries to barge into a house similar to his own to find his daughter. Cybil takes Harry around the city and ensures that she will get his daughter back. She is slowly growing suspicious of Harry, as she hasn’t seen him or any person that he has mentioned. Cybil checks the records and finds out that a Harry Mason existed 18 years ago. Just like Harry Mason, Cybil is also a figment of Cheryl’s imagination, and she appears whenever Harry is about to die or cheat on Cheryl’s mother.
Cybil Bennett represents the moral police, which curbs Harry from indulging in infidelity and also saves him from grave punishments that are created in Cheryl’s visions. Cybil’s presence in the game means that Cheryl believes Harry will find her despite all odds.
4. Dr. Kaufmann
Dr. Kaufmann is a psychoanalyst who is evaluating Cheryl’s psyche by having her fill out forms & puzzles, that are like a gazing mechanism into Cheryl’s psyche. He is also a living character in the game, just like Cheryl Mason and her boyfriend. Kaufmann is trying to figure out what kind of a person Cheryl is in her love life and what her past was like. Each time Cheryl interacts with Dr. Kauffmann, she begins imagining her dad, Harry Mason, in the same scenarios – it feels as if Cheryl is visualizing her traumas and living them vicariously through Harry Mason.
Dr. Kaufmann represents the need for professional help and intervention in Cheryl’s life. He liberated Cheryl by helping her accept her father’s demise.
5. Michelle Valdez
Michelle Valdez is a girl that Harry Mason sees performing alone without a crowd, in what looks like a school reunion. She tells Harry that a Cheryl Mason used to study above her and shows him a photo of that Cheryl. Michelle helps Harry to gather info on Cheryl by breaking into the principal’s office and wishes him luck as he leaves. Michelle starts chatting with Harry about her boyfriend, John, who lives in Massachusetts, and how they are trying to live together as a couple. Michelle offers Harry a ride, but he gets off in between, as John and Michelle get into a loud argument.
Michelle Valdez represents the cute, feminine, full-of-life, flirtatious, hilarious, and large-hearted woman that Cheryl so desperately wants to become. Michelle’s fight with John represents the qaurrels that Cheryl goes through in her own relationship.
6. Dahlia
Dahlia gets introduced to Harry through the flirtatious texts that she sends to him out of the blue. She goes heavy on the makeup and short on the dresses. Dahlia’s demeanor is overtly seductive, and she seems to address Harry as if she knows him. Dahlia can’t stop using sexual innuendos while conversing with Harry, and it’s making him a little uncomfortable. Dahlia gives a lift to Harry on his way to the lighthouse, and she starts seducing him, and Harry gives in to her sexual urges.
Dahlia represents the loose character of Harry Mason, according to Cheryl. Dahlia’s name being similar to Cheryl’s mom’s symbolizes Cheryl’s belief, that her dad left mom for a younger girl who was prettier & more attractive than her mom. Dahlia also represents Cheryl’s insecurities of losing her boyfriend, John, to a girl better than her.
7. Lisa Garland
Lisa Garland is a registered nurse that Harry finds outside Silent Hill’s Alchemilla Hospital, who has blood dripping from her forehead due to a visible injury. She hugs Harry for comfort after seeing him and invites him to her nearby apartment. On their way to the apartment, Lisa discusses the tough working conditions that medical professionals have to endure with Harry and asks him about his daughter. Lisa Garland welcomes Harry to her house, tells him to find her medication, and instantly goes to sleep after taking them.
Lisa Garland’s deteriorating health symbolizes Cheryl’s loosening grip on her sanity and mental health. Lisa’s oversharing nature also represents the loneliness that Cheryl feels in her lackluster love life.
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