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Major Characters

Murphy Pendleton

Voiced by: David Boyd Konrad, Troy Baker (Book of Memories)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/murphy_9.jpg

"I never hurt anybody who didn't deserve it. And I sure as hell never hurt any kids. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"They say time heals all wounds and life goes on no matter what losses we've suffered, but for me the world stopped the moment your smile left it forever."

The main protagonist. A prisoner at Ryall State Prison, Murphy is a man with a nebulous past who finds himself in deeper problems than before when the prison bus moving him to another prison crashes and leaves him stranded in the area around the town of Silent Hill, facing the evils of his own past made manifest in the Otherworld.

Action Dad: A deconstruction. His son was murdered, and seeking revenge has only made things worse. He's in prison and the deal he made with Sewell has him having to kill Coleridge. Even if Murphy doesn't kill him, Coleridge's death will still haunt him.
Action Survivor: He's a Silent Hill protagonist, it's a requirement.
- He toes the line between this and Badass Normal, being more experienced with and more willing to inflict violence than a few of the previous protagonists (though not quite as experienced as others). He was Sewell's designated hitman for a reason.
And Now for Someone Completely Different: The finale puts Murphy in the shoes of the Bogeyman.
And Then John Was a Zombie: ...though not permanently, given that it's Anne's hatred and revenge finally escalating to the point Murphy has become the thing she wants to kill.
Anti-Hero: A mix of Type I and IV.
Audience Surrogate: Murphy has shades of this: he's seen reacting in ways normal people would, something that was more or less glossed over in previous protagonists. Early on, during the first transition to the Otherworld, his reaction is "What the hell IS this!?". And when given the chance to mentally catch his breath, he's wondering just what the fuck this town is throwing at him.
- It's been noted that Murphy seems to be designed to yell "Fuck!" at the exact same time as the player.
Batman Gambit: The whole process of getting into jail was one in order for him to get close enough to Napier to murder him.
Beware the Nice Ones: Even some of the cops who know him as a convict can tell that he's a lot more decent than any con has a right to be. His psyche report even notes that he's soft-spoken and shy. However, the very first thing you learn about Murphy is that he can and will get his hands dirty and be cold as ice about it.
The Cameo: Appears in the joke ending of Book of Memories, cuffed in Cybil Bennett's car. The Ryall State bus that takes him to Silent Hill is also present in Silent Hill Revelation at the very end.
Character Development: Present most clearly in the good endings: Murphy comes to realize that dehumanizing Napier in the name of revenge wouldn't absolve himself from the guilt of torturing and murdering Napier, even if he more than deserved it. Murphy also takes responsibility for not only the victim of his revenge but also for the pain and suffering caused to others in his quest for revenge. With Anne's forgiveness, he moves past the guilt and earns freedom.
Combat Pragmatist: Murphy's inventory space is limited here, lacking the usual Hyperspace Arsenal of the series' other protagonists, so his weapons are confined to whatever he can find in his environment, most of them breakable. Unlike Travis Grady, however, throwing a weapon is a separate action and can be done with any of them.
Composite Character: His facial features and hair style seem to be a slight medley of both James Sunderland and Henry Townshend, with his snarker tendencies being a more aggressive take on Heather Mason's.
Dark and Troubled Past: Implied to have been involved in criminal behavior as a young man before meeting Carol and starting a family with her, with her putting him back on the straight and narrow path and forgiving him for his misdeeds. It may be the source of his mysterious scar as well, and cold capability for violence.
Deadpan Snarker: On occasion, helped by Murphy's tendency for inner monologue.
Deal with the Devil: Murphy makes this kind of deal with Sewell; he gets to kill Napier, but in exchange, he'll owe Sewell some unspecified favor. Unfortunately, this turns out to be killing Coleridge. According to the tie-in comic "Anne's Story", the "Truth and Justice" is the canon ending, so Murphy did not go through with killing Coleridge.
Driven to Suicide: Charlie's death already made Murphy an indirect Death Seeker who destroyed his own life thinking he had nothing left to lose. He finally attempts to do this in the Full Circle ending after the realization of his actions hits him, but the town won't let him go through with it.
Expy: His outlook, mannerisms, and even appearance are also reminiscent of Chuck Greene, the protagonist of Dead Rising 2.
Fate Worse than Death: In the Full Circle ending, fated to become like JP Sater, Bobby Ricks and Howard Blackwood, reliving his own personal hell over and over again until he learns his lesson.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: On his right cheek.
Grease Monkey: Was a car-mechanic and will occasionally comment on cars lying around Silent Hill.
Heroic BSoD: He's been showing his dissatisfaction with what Silent Hill's doing to him all throughout the game, but it's only at the Monastery where he finally reaches a Rage Breaking Point, leading to his Motive Rant with the Nun as she speaks over him citing a prayer after presenting the Bogeyman as his son that needs to be reclaimed, finally cluing Murphy in as to what the town wants to show him.
I GET IT! I screwed up! But I didn't see any other way! You don't know what it was like... to know it was my fault he was gone. EVERY TIME I shut my eyes I saw Charlie's face, and all I could think was 'That monster's still alive, but I'll never get to see my boy again'... Why are you doing this to me, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!
Hyper-Awareness: The "Look behind you" button will let you get a full view behind Murphy's shoulder (way more than real life peripheral vision would get you) and yet he barely cocks his head to the side. In action, it ends up looking very much like Murphy is using his hearing more than his eyesight.
Hyperspace Arsenal: Averted with weapons. Unlike in previous entries in the series, Murphy can only carry one weapon at a time. If he finds a gun, Murphy can holster it and carry a melee weapon. Played straight with regular inventory items.
Institutional Apparel: Murphy's a freshly escaped con and starts out wearing a prisoner's jumpsuit. Later in the game, he can find a different outfit.
Made of Iron: He takes damage somewhat realistically, but he can take a lot of it.
Meaningful Name: His name means Sea Warrior.

Motive Rant: A heartbreaking one finally bursts out of him after years of repressing it upon being confronted by the mysterious nun.
Multiple-Choice Past: Whether he killed Coleridge or was framed for it before the game began depends on the player's actions in the game. In addition, the "Execution" ending has Murphy himself as Charlie's murderer, rather than Napier. Hell, he doesn't even kill Napier in some endings. Sewell finished him off and particularly blackmailed him into doing what he wants.
My God, What Have I Done?: Eventually realizes that killing Napier wasn’t worth it and all it did was make his life and the lives of others worse.
Nice Guy: Though he can be blunt, if you do most of the side-quests, he comes off as a rather gentle man predisposed to helping others, rather than the violent grunt the game introduces him as. He borders on All-Loving Hero if you make a habit of sparing the monsters.
Not So Stoic: He's usually very cool headed and blunt with other people, but he's frantic and rushed when fighting monsters, doesn't take hits graciously, and is quite clearly freaked out by Silent Hill's various scares.
Offing the Offspring: In the "Execution" ending, it's revealed that he killed Charlie, just so his wife wouldn't get custody but this might just be Silent Hill fully manifesting the worst possible scenario of his guilt and self blame over Charlie's death after he goes off the deep end by double downing on the behaviour and beliefs causing his issues.
Pædo Hunt: Murphy arranging to murder his son's killer, his former neighbor Patrick Napier.
Papa Wolf: Deconstructed. Seeking out revenge against his son's murderer only makes things worse. He's still in prison, his wife has abandoned him, and the deal he made with Sewell has him having to kill Coleridge, which even though Murphy doesn't kill him, Coleridge's death still haunts him.
Parental Abandonment: According to text from the bonus gallery, Murphy was raised in an orphanage.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Patrick Napier killed his son so he savagely stabs him to death in the prison shower.

Revenge Before Reason: Thoughtlessly agrees to a crooked deal with Sewell to kill Napier for killing his son.
Screams Like a Little Girl: He verges on it when being chased by The Void. It also sounds incredibly painful, especially since it seems to be ripping blood or even pieces of his very existence out of him. He also screams quite a lot when he isn't currently being hurt, just out of pure terror. Not that we blame him.
Shout-Out: His name is derived from the character Randall McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a convict transferred from a prison camp in Pendleton, Oregon.
The Sociopath: Only in the "Execution" ending, where it's revealed he not only murdered Frank Coleridge, but also Charlie, just to keep his wife from getting sole custody.
Sympathetic Murderer: Except for the fact that according to the tie-in comic "Anne's Story", he couldn't bring himself to kill Napier nor Coleridge, forcing Sewell to finish the job both times. Though in the case of the former Murphy probably did kill Napier, as according to the game's producer he did, and sparing Napier was an error left in that particular ending.
Tranquil Fury: When beating Napier to a pulp, he's extremely cold and calm during the whole thing.
Murphy: "You don't recognize me, do you?"
Napier: "What? No, I... guards?! Guards! Anybody!"
Murphy: "We used to be neighbors."
Unreliable Narrator: In the "Execution" ending.
Vengeance Feels Empty: Even though Napier deserved what came to him, his death did not make Murphy's life any better, it didn't bring his son back nor fix his relationship with his ex-wife. It also came at the cost of a good man's life.
Villain Protagonist: The "Execution" ending paints him as a remorseless son killer and Cop Killer whose response to the officer overseeing his rightfully-deserved lethal injection is that they will meet again in Hell. Averted in all the other endings.
When He Smiles: As seen in the 'Surprise!' ending here.
You Killed My Father: Inverted, his reason for going to prison is a chance to kill Napier for killing and raping his son.

Anne Marie Cunningham

Voiced by: Kristin Price

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anne_cunningham.jpg

"My father was a good man. He didn't believe in revenge. But I do."

A corrections officer from Wayside Maximum Security who seems to have a particular interest in Murphy, angrily and obsessively chasing him through Silent Hill and seemingly intent to kill him. Her side of the story is explored in a comic tie-in series appropriately named "Anne's Story", which shows what happened during Anne's exploration of the town.

Action Girl: Except during her boss fight it's more implied than anything, but she had to get through Silent Hill somehow. The Anne's Story tie-in comics prove she's this trope by showing her own journey through Silent Hill.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Despite hating Murphy because she thinks he killed her father, she does try and get assistance from him early in the game, when she slips on a cliff face, even though she had been pointing a gun at the man just seconds before. Anne's Story shows that him trying to pull her up is also what he did canonically.
Anti-Villain: She's hunting down Murphy out of a misguided belief he's the one responsible for her father's hospitalization, deterioration and death.
Character Development: It's averted at first, as she succumbs to her inner demons at the end. Compared to every other Silent Hill victim in her position, she may get off very lightly. Depending on your choices, she gets a second chance and does ultimately see the good in Murphy and forgive him for his part in landing her dad in a coma, but the canon ending makes it clear she still believes in revenge as a fair motivation, only realizing that she needs to be sure on who to take action against.
*Click* Hello: Very fond of these. Every time she catches up to Murphy, you'll likely hear her put the safety off first before speaking and introduce herself with her gun pointed at his head.
Cool Shades: At the very beginning of the game. A possible Shout-Out to Cool Hand Luke.
Cycle of Revenge: She's after Murphy because he (possibly) killed her father as part of a deal to get at the man who killed his son. Whether or not she succumbs to it depends on the ending, but the canon ending outlines she's firmly intent to continue it, just targeting the right person this time around.
Daddy's Girl: Her whole involvement in the plot is based around avenging her father. Anne's Story shows that this is so deeply ingrained in her mind that the town uses her father's voice to goad her into continuing her journey, and she repeatedly calls out to "daddy" in her daze.
Death Glare: Often. It's pretty much the default expression on her face save for a few select cutscenes.
The Determinator: She will stop at nothing until she can kill Murphy, since she believes he was her father's killer.
Fair Cop: Played for drama. She's certainly beautiful enough to turn heads in her workplace, using this to her advantage so she'll sleep with the chief warden at Wayside to ensure Murphy's transfer there. Sewell also fearlessly calls her "sweetheart" when they meet.
Final Boss: She's the very last opponent you face before the game's final decision and conclusion, confronted by Murphy in full Bogeyman form, but there's an interesting variation here; for the player she's a Post-Final Boss who gets taken down in just a few hits, therefore not really a "battle" as much as a small gameplay sequence before the ending, but that's because YOU are the final boss to HER, being the large monster she "must" kill to end the nightmare. Unlike Murphy, however, who has a variety of endings depending on player choice, Anne only has one if she gets to defeat her final boss, being doomed to see things in Murphy's shoes, possibly forever.
The Heavy: Sorta, but more in a Hero Antagonist kind of way. She is the main antagonist of Downpour due to her chasing Murphy and trying to kill him, thinking he killed her father. However, as proven by "Anne's Story", Sewell is the actual Big Bad.
Hero Antagonist: Towards Murphy, as an antagonistic law officer trying to capture a heroic prison escapee.
Hero of Another Story: She's going through more or less the same thing as Murphy, for similar reasons. She's essentially just another Silent Hill protagonist/plaything. Her story is played out in the tie-in comic "Anne's Story", which also settles the ending, meaning we can actually see this other story.
Inspector Javert: Naturally, given her obsession with a single inmate and increasingly-desperate desire to catch him. Unlike Javert, she wants Murphy dead.
Jerkass: Towards Murphy until the good endings of the game, where she forgives Murphy.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Firmly believes in revenge for the sake of avenging someone good who was unjustly punished, wanting to kill Murphy over thinking he crippled and killed her father. Anne's Story reveals this mentality hasn't wavered, as the "Truth and Justice" ending is canon.
Rabid Cop: Due to her putting Revenge Before Reason when pursuing Murphy.
Revenge Before Reason:
- As Murphy points out to her at the boat, they can choose to just leave the town and end the nightmare right then and there, but Anne doesn't want it to end now. Murphy still has something to answer for and she will make him see this through to the end.
- Not to mention the implication that had Murphy tried to escape town before going to Overlook, it wouldn't have worked anyway and he'd just have gone Full Circle.
Sex for Services: "Anne's Story" revealed the nature of the "sick things" Anne said she had to to get Murphy transferred to her prison, as Warden Leonard B. Trent extorted her into an extramarital affair in exchange for his cooperation, which ended up tarnishing her reputation and ending her marriage.
Wham Line: When Murphy finally locates DJ Ricks' boat at the Port District and tries to turn it on until Anne stops him.
Murphy: After everything you've seen, all we've been through, you think going back to PRISON is all that's at stake here?!
Anne: We're not going to Wayside.
You Killed My Father: The whole reason Anne chases after Murphy. Whether he did it or not depends on the ending you get.

Charlie Pendleton

Voiced by: Jonah Halperin

"It's not your fault."

"You killed him! You killed the Bogeyman!"

Murphy's young son, tragically deceased prior to the events of the game. The reason for his death is a driving factor in his father's imprisonment.

Death of a Child: It was his rape and murder that spurred his father to kill Napier.
Harmful to Minors: Was raped and killed by his neighbor Patrick Napier.
Kill the Cutie: As he was brutally killed by a pedophile.
Posthumous Character: He's murdered before the game starts but hunting down his killer sets his father on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge that steers the plot.
You Don't Look Like You: In-game example. A little boy at St. Maria's Monastery who talks to Murphy is meant to be a stand-in for Charlie, especially in how Murphy sees the Bogeyman kill him despite his efforts to prevent it, mirroring Napier's murder of his son. Murphy even breaks down and calls Charlie's name as he's Forced to Watch.

Howard Blackwood

Voiced by: William Tate

"Funny thing about Silent Hill... it don't worry much 'bout what's on the outside of folks."

"Son, you still don't get it... it doesn't matter what you want. As for me... I got mail to deliver. Good luck, Murphy. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for."

A mysterious postman seen often during Murphy's trek through Silent Hill, delivering letters despite the complete absence of citizens to receive them. His attitude and calm demeanor indicate that there's much that he knows about the town that he lets on.

Howard's actual debut was in the comic series "Silent Hill: Past Life", which shows the town's past and how Blackwood came to be a part of it, serving as its postman all the way back in the 19th Century.

Canon Immigrant: Debuted first in the comic Silent Hill: Past Life, gaining enough popularity to be brought into the games.
Dark and Troubled Past: He used to be a slave who killed an overseer and escaped, and eventually ended up in Silent Hill.
Fate Worse than Death: Implied. He's been in Silent Hill even before the 19th Century and is fully aware that time's passing around him, but also knows he can't leave and is forever a part of the town's influence.
Foil: One of many to Murphy regarding how the town makes you face your inner demons. In Howard's case, while it's not outright stated, his past as a slave was something he couldn't quite get rid of or learn to cope with, and for all intents and purposes, he actually chose his Fate Worse than Death after crossing his personal Despair Event Horizon, choosing to accept his stay in Silent Hill despite not being happy about it.
Magical Negro: He's trapped in Silent Hill but came to terms with it, and now he works as one of its more helpful emissaries.
Reasonable Authority Figure: One of the nicer staffs of the Silent Hill pantheon who helps people to face their past without using violence, only gentle prodding and Brutal Honesty on occasion.
Really 700 Years Old: He's been a part of the town's power ever since the 19th Century, possibly even before that.

John P. "JP" Sater

Voiced by: Andy Hendrickson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jp_sater.png

"Listen to us talk, as if anybody out there gives a damn... when we're the ones to decide if we can live with what we've done."

A former tour guide and ride operator for Devil's Pit and its minecart train ride that took kids from the Pit to the Hillside area of Silent Hill. He was also part of an accident with said ride that ended the lives of 8 children under his care.

Despair Event Horizon: Anne's Story shows this as his true state, having gone well beyond it and facing the nightmare happening around himself and Anne with Dissonant Serenity, just accepting it rather than facing it.
Driven to Suicide: His guilt wrecks him to the point he jumps off a balcony overlooking Devil's Pit, no matter what you say to him when the time comes. It's also implied that due to JP coming Full Circle, he's been trying to kill himself for a while and the town won't let him die.
Fate Worse than Death: Like Blackwood, JP is implied to have come Full Circle in the town and is now another manifestation under its influence. This is made even more possible in Anne's Story, where he's fully aware of the growing hellish nightmare around himself and Anne, but acts with indifference towards it and, when Anne wakes up, she's completely alone.
Foil: Another one to Murphy, as someone who was drawn to Silent Hill to face their personal issues, but in this case is emotionally unable to deal with it and likely is in denial about it even now.
Ignored Epiphany: Implied to have gone Full Circle under the town's sway, refusing to learn his lesson and face his traumas. In Anne's Story, he's also still drinking himself into stupors.
Perpetual Frowner: The only time you see him smile is when he briefly gets to enact his tour guide routine for Murphy and talk about the Devil's Pit. When he's interrupted to veer the topic back, he goes right back to sulking at the balcony with his coin.
These Hands Have Killed: Evidence suggests that because he was inebriated at the time, he either caused or failed to prevent a minecart-accident which claimed the lives of eight kids. The Devil's Pit got shut down and fell into disrepair as a result. Unlike other examples of this, though, JP is in implicit denial about the events, claiming the newspapers are "goddamn fucking liars" and accusing Anne of being one too when she starts to press him about it in the tie-in.

Bobby Ricks

Voiced by: Antoine L. Smith

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_m2fiwxJLUF1qc6icwo8_250_5585.png

"Speaking of which, this next one goes out to Murphy Pendleton. A lost soul on a stroll. You keep on keeping on, bro and your pal DJ Ricks will do the same, playing the music y'all wanna hear."

A radio DJ who mysteriously seems to know who Murphy is, sending out song dedications on his radio show heard on sound systems found around Silent Hill. His studio, located at the Centennial Building, is also a prison he isn't capable of leaving on his own.

All There in the Manual: His exact transgression that condemned him to Silent Hill's purgatory isn't explicitly stated in the game itself, only revealed through DLC for Book of Memories: he had, albeit inadvertently, encouraged one of the callers to his show to murder the man the caller's girlfriend was cheating with.
Dirty Coward: Perfectly understandable given the monsters, but this seems to be his problem in Silent Hill. For everything he knows about the rules, and that there is a way to escape, he is too petrified to try to escape the building and leave Silent Hill alone. Instead he tries to use Murphy as his means of escaping, and the town, being omniscient, punishes him for this, for refusing to learn whatever lesson it is trying to teach him. As such he seems to be trapped in a Full Circle Ending of his own.
- As Anne's Story reveals, he's been trapped long enough to have become another manifestation under the town's sway, aware of the "rules" but gleefully letting himself be disembowled by Screamers if it means he doesn't have to see what's keeping him there. He outright tells Anne that, unlike him, she needs to have enough guts to see her story through and not everyone has it in them to do so.
Dissonant Serenity: In Anne's Story, as he's being disembowled by Screamers in the suspended cage he and Anne are trapped in.
Foil: The last one to Murphy as someone who has issues to confront in Silent Hill, but is too afraid to actually do it.
Jive Turkey: Deliberately as part of his radio DJ persona. He drops it when he's being serious.
What Happened to the Mouse?: After the Screamers (implied to have been sent by the town itself after Ricks breaks the "rules") attack the studio, he is nowhere to be found, although there are implications that he was dragged off to the Otherworld. Anne's Story reveals he survived and was trapped with Anne in a cage in front of the clock of the Centennial Building until being disemboweled by Screamers. It is unknown if this genuinely killed him or if he was just sent right back to the station and forced to start his Full Circle fate over again until he got it right.

Frank Coleridge

Voiced by: Leer Leary

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_m2fiwxJLUF1qc6icwo6_250_7516.png

"Truth is like the sun, boy, you can shut it out, but it ain't going away."

A former corrections officer in Ryall State during Murphy's incarceration. Coleridge was a model officer investigating some of his colleagues under suspicion of corruption, all while seeing Murphy as a good man under a lot of issues and trying to help him. Prior to the game's events, Frank ended up in a vegetative state and died of unknown causes.

And I Must Scream: After the incident that got Murphy transferred to Wayside, Coleridge ended up a vegetable, barely alive but unable to move, speak or even function properly, staying like this until he died.
Cool Old Guy: He was a fair and just man when he was alive, being a firm believer on the good side of people, including prisoners.
The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: Apparitions of Frank will show up in mirror reflections if there's one in the room when he's heard talking.
Posthumous Character: He's beaten to near-death by Sewell and dies before the events of the game. It is with his death on her conscience that his daughter starts pursuing Murphy.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Was fair and reasonable when he ran the jail, which ended up being why Sewell wanted him gone.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: A great father, family man and exemplary police officer. A good person with a heart of gold... in a Silent Hill game.
Whispering Ghosts: Makes his disembodied presence known with a soft, unintelligible whisper sometimes.

George Sewell

Voiced by: Joel Bernard

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_m2fiwxJLUF1qc6icwo2_250_3307.png

"Come on, rise and shine, cupcake. You know the drill."

A corrections officer at Ryall State like his superior, Frank Coleridge, except Sewell is corrupt and has a habit of making deals with the prisoners in exchange for "favors". He also made one such deal with Murphy, who took him up on his offer.

Big Bad: He's distant from the actual happenings within the game but he is directly responsible for the conflict between Murphy and Anne. The fact that "Truth and Justice" is the canon ending also means that the plot concludes with him being very likely killed.
Damned by Faint Praise: The nicest thing anyone can say about him as a corrections officer is that he's had perfect attendance.
Dirty Cop: He makes crooked deals with prisoners to get what he wants, and by the time Murphy was incarcerated, Frank Coleridge was trying to get an investigation going to lock up Sewell for corruption.
Even Evil Has Standards: As unpleasant as he is, he shows nothing but contempt for Napier and criminals like him, although it might have been part of how he got Murphy dancing to his tune.
Expy: Looks almost exactly like the G-Man.
Faux Affably Evil: Does everything with a crafty smile on his face, even though his interests lie solely with himself.
Good All Along: Surprisingly, in the "Execution" ending, he doesn't do anything evil at all besides assist in Murphy's well-deserved execution. He maintains his smug attitude, but in this case his contempt towards Murphy is completely justified.
Jerkass: To put it mildly. He’s a corrupt bastard perfectly willing to kill to keep his unjust power.
Karma Houdini: In all endings except "Truth and Justice", though "Execution" presents the possibility that he didn't need any comeuppance to begin with. However, according to the tie-in comic "Anne's Story", "Truth and Justice" is the canon ending, so he did likely get his comeuppance.
Laser-Guided Karma: Heavily implied in the "Truth and Justice" ending, possibly killed by the daughter of the man he himself ended the life of.
Manipulative Bastard: Has a history of offering "deals" with prisoners, which saw him trying to get Murphy to murder an innocent man.
Non-Action Big Bad: Although he isn't the main antagonist up front, he, along with Napier, is responsible for the events of Silent Hill: Downpour. He's solidified as this in Anne's Story, which deems "Truth and Justice" to be the canon ending.
Sir Swears-a-Lot: Sewell is very liberal in his use of curse words and delivers an onslaught directed at Murphy when he refuses to kill Coleridge in return for Sewell's "favor".
Smug Snake: His default expression is a crooken grin.
Terms of Endangerment: Sewell addressing Murphy as "cupcake." It's more of a condescending and mocking kind of term than it is endearment.

Patrick Napier

Voiced by: John Grace

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_m2fiwxJLUF1qc6icwo7_250_7912.png

"I'm a sequestered prisoner. You're not supposed to be here!"

A neighbor of the Pendleton family who was later arrested and sequestered after Charlie Pendleton's death. He's a convicted pedophile who killed Murphy's son.

Asshole Victim: Regardless of who ended up killing him, Murphy will indirectly note later in the game that while he might regret killing Napier, he's still not sorry about it, and it is hard to be given the circumstances.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Murphy takes his time with killing him, to put it lightly.
Dirty Coward: He remorselessly prayed on children, but the second the father of one of the children he murdered confronts him, he spends his last moments begging and running away.
Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Murphy dishes out a serious beating on him, but whether or not he could bring himself to land the killing blow depends on which ending you get. According to the tie-in comic ''Anne's Story'', since "Truth and Justice" is the canon ending, he didn't do it. Although according to Tomm Hulett, a producer of the game, he did, and this was an error left in the game.
Fat Bastard: Very overweight and takes Would Hurt a Child to the extreme.
Greater-Scope Villain: Despite only appearing in the scene where he is murdered, the entire plot of the game wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t rape and kill Murphy’s son.
Karmic Death: Possibly subverted. According to Anne's Story, "Truth and Justice" is the canon ending, so Sewell killed him, not Murphy. He's still killed, but it's not karmic. Although according to the game's producer Tomm Hulett, Murphy did carry out the deed.
The Killer Becomes the Killed: Goes from hunting children to being hunted in prison.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Looks disturbingly like Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Oh, Crap!: Has a major moment of this when Murphy calmly reveals upon confronting him in the prison showers that they used to be neighbors.
Posthumous Character: He's killed near the start of the game, although, being the one who drove Murphy into the situation he's in, remains significant to the plot.
Predecessor Villain: Was a vicious killer who preyed upon children until he was arrested before the events of the game. Still, his villainous actions give the Big Bad the means he needed to manipulate The Hero into working with him.
Serial Rapist: Raped at least one boy prior to Charlie, molested Charlie before killing him, and then raped and killed one last child before being caught.
Small Role, Big Impact: A minor but significant character, Napier is responsible for the events of the game.
Would Hurt a Child: He’s a Serial Rapist of young boys, going as far as to murder two of them.

Minor Characters

Nun

Voiced by: Bethan Dixon Bate

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nun.jpg

"Revenge is a long, treacherous road, isn't it Mr. Pendleton? Where do you suppose it ends?"

A nameless nun somehow still working at St. Maria's Monastery despite the whole place practically falling apart. Murphy meets her after being told by Blackwood that he has something to do there.

Ambiguous Situation: Nothing is made clear about who she is, with the only possible explanation being a manifestation conjured by the town based off the fact Murphy grew up in an orphanage.
Brutal Honesty: Downplayed. The Nun is never abrasive and remains patient as Murphy breaks down, but she also doesn’t mince words and firmly explains that Murphy is still refusing to face how revenge and denial have only made things worse.
Cycle of Revenge: Discussed, as her quote shows. She exists in the plot to give Murphy this epiphany regarding Charlie's death and some of the events afterwards.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": No name is given to the Nun.
Mouth of Sauron: While the Nun’s dialogue is obscured slightly though her role’s religious framework, she’s fairly direct with Murphy about the lesson he needs to learn before Silent Hill will permit his escape, only stopping short of spelling it out. What she says seems to come directly from the town itself.
What Happened to the Mouse?: She disappears after Murphy defeats the Bogeyman. However, as she is implied to be a manifestation, this is likely justified in-universe.

Sanchez

Voiced by: Alfonso M. Rodriguez

"You have a good nap, güero? Tell me something, puta, that true what I heard about you? Did you really do it?"

A prisoner at Ryall State who was in the bus en route to Wayside. He also survived the crash long enough to meet Murphy... one last time.

Freeze-Frame Bonus: If a transfer file seen in Anne's clipboard is to be believed, his first name is "Richard".
Foreign Cuss Word: He often peppers his dialogue with Spanish insults.
Tattooed Crook: Has quite a few on his body.
You Have to Believe Me!:
- Uh-huh, Sanchez, sure, it just looked like you were killing and/or raping that woman and gloating about it in the process. Oh shit it's a Screamer.
- Since Silent Hill tailors its monsters to fit its visitors, who knows what Sanchez is seeing? Since it kills him, then attacks Murphy, it's probably not something nice.

Carol Pendleton

"Forgiveness? You have the balls to ask me for FORGIVENESS? How can I possibly forgive you when you've destroyed everything I had left in this world? Every time I look at you, all I can see is his face. I only ever asked one thing of you, and that was to be a good father to our son. You failed me, Murphy. You failed me, and you failed Charlie, and now there's no way we'll ever have him back. Don't call me. Don't write. I never want to see you again."

Murphy's ex-wife, who left him after Charlie's death.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Downplayed severely, since the reasons for it are very understandable; Losing Charlie to a person they thought would bring no harm was certainly tragic and would definitely fill them both with grief, but in the heat of the argument, not only did Carol put the entire blame for his death squarely on Murphy's shoulders, she told him off via letter and never came back, leaving him to suffer alone. The non-canon "Execution" ending completely averts this.
Divorce Assets Conflict: In the "Execution" ending, Murphy himself killed Charlie just so Carol wouldn't take custody.
The Ghost: She has only two scenes showing her fully in the game, during a flashback showing her and Murphy at the hospital after Charlie was born and during the "Execution" ending as one of the attendees, and is never even heard speaking.
Informed Attribute: Murphy considers her a very loving and forgiving person and thinks that he doesn't deserve her. When the chips are down she blames Murphy for something that wasn't at all his fault, abandons and refuses to forgive him when he writes to her.
Never My Fault: Murphy already blamed himself for Charlie's death, but Carol also accused him of failing to protect Charlie and left him to suffer the loss on his own, despite the fact neither of them could possibly know their neighbor was a child molester and that Carol was also not present when Charlie was taken. If anything she needed a visit to Silent Hill every bit as much as Murphy did.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: With Murphy already blaming himself for Charlie's death, Carol leaving him and blaming him further for it was pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back and initiated his downward spiral that led to his revenge scheme and arrest.

Homer

Voiced by: John Grace

"You just gotta think like a rat, see? A rat's vermin, but he knows how to survive. How to... stay out of the rain."

A homeless man living in the Pearl Creek subway station and the quest giver for the "Homeless" Side Quest, granting Murphy access to the underground subway in exchange for some necessities.

Ambiguous Situation: Once you give him all the items he needs, coming back to Pearl Creek will show that he's now lying down on the ground beside the fire he was warming up on, and it's unclear wether or not he's dead or only sleeping.
Death by Irony: Assuming he is dead when you see him lying on the floor, it falls under this trope when you remember that he uses the tunnels to escape the rain and the monsters... and yet there's a Doll in one of the accessways, which likely attacked him.
Fetch Quest: His sidequest boils down to this; he'll ask three items from Murphy - food (a chocolate bar), warmer clothes (a coat) and a fishing rod - and in return, he'll open up a new tunnel for Murphy to travel faster through the town.
Game-Breaking Bug: After you give him the coat, the door in the Pearl Creek station that allows access to the tunnel connecting the Hillside and Chastain Heights districts will lock itself and become inacessible for some reason, even when you complete the quest and have all other tunnels unlocked.
Homeless Hero: Downplayed. He's helpful and gives Murphy good advice on how to escape the rain and the creatures, but he's mostly aloof and is not above guilt-tripping the player if they talk to him without the item he requested.
Meaningful Name: "Homer" is likely a nod to his homeless status.
Quest Giver: The only human NPC in the game that isn't restricted to a cutscene, meaning he has something he wants Murphy to do, asking for some goodies in exchange for letting Murphy access the subway tunnels.

Monsters

Screamer

A monster resembling a tattered, desiccated female corpse with bawled fists from which needles are piercing out of, and a gaping mouth that they use to loudly scream, hence their name.

The Goomba: The enemy most often seen in the game and weak enough to be dispatched quickly, but still dangerous if fought in groups.
Humanoid Abomination: They look vaguely female and are bloodied all over, but their teeth, deformed hands and flesh-like clothing make it clear they're inhuman monstrosities.
Make Me Wanna Shout: They're called "Screamers" for a reason. They'll let out a piercing scream around Murphy that can briefly stun him and leave him wide open for punishment from other monsters in the area. Their screams can also summon said other creatures to attack Murphy.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: If they're aggravated, they might flail their arms rapidly at Murphy for a lot of damage.
Rule of Symbolism: Their piercing screams could be a nod to prison alarms or police sirens, especially in how they emerge from the "police cars" roaming the streets of Silent Hill should they catch Murphy;
- Their female shape and bloodied, fleshy visage could be a reference to murder victims, particularly on how they scream when struggling against their assailants. In particular, they're the first monster to appear, introduced by Sanchez attacking one and Murphy thinking he's attacking some innocent lady before it rises up and kills Sanchez in retaliation, possibly indicating they're part of Sanchez' psyche as a possible sexual predator or murderer.
- They can also be a reference to either Carol Pendleton or Anne Cunningham, the former blaming Murphy for Charlie's death (particularly in how Screamers will occasionally act like they're cradling a child in their arms) and leaving him, the latter chasing Murphy around and blaming him for her father's death as well, both of them strong female presences in Murphy's life that hurl nothing but abuse at him, represented by their aggressiveness and screams.

Weeping Bat

Humanoid creatures with scrunched-up faces and elongated limbs, first seen at Devil's Pit and often appearing in closed-off areas.

Animalistic Abomination: They're named after a species of bat that inhabits Devil's Pit, with their faces resembling that of vampire bats and they're also seen inhabiting the caves in the area, but they are also human-looking enough to use their long arms to attack Murphy.
Fragile Speedster: They're fast and can hit hard if the player's not careful, but they're also frail and can't take much punishment in return.
Mook: A huge pack of them is seen in the caves within Devil's Pit guarding Monocle Man, implying they're his personal mooks to a degree.
Nightmare Face: Their facial features resemble that of bats, but distorted and deformed inwards.
Rule of Symbolism: Their tendency to look over their shoulders indicate they're associated with paranoia or a desire to escape a pursuer, such as the authorities. Their propensity to appear in closed areas can also symbolize solitary confinement, something Murphy might've endured in prison. It can also be a physical embodiment of Murphy's fear of gang members, especially in how they flank Monocle Man when the player sees it.
Wall Crawl: Ceiling, rather, but they'll jump straight up to the ceiling and crawl around in it to try and swing their arms at Murphy from above.

Prisoner

Voiced by: Pavel Černohous (Minions), Martini Skipp (Juggernauts)

Male monsters resembling shirtless prison inmates with torture devices on their heads forcing them to show wide-open eyes and wide smiles. They come in two variants, Minion and Juggernaut, with the latter only appearing at Overlook Penitentiary. Minions themselves have two types, Brawlers and Stabbers.

Body Horror: The devices on the Minions' heads stretch their eyes and mouths so they're always made to smile. The Juggernauts have barbed wire merged to their skin doing it for them.
The Brute: Juggernauts, which are hulking monstrosities that use their brutish physique to attack Murphy and deal a lot of damage.
Devious Daggers: Stabber Minions wield prison shanks and are appropriately more twitchy and erratic, dodging out of the way more often and being overall trickier to fight due to their agility.
Good Old Fisticuffs: Brawler Minions fight barehanded and will flank Murphy to viciously punch him down. Juggernauts also use no weapons, having enough power to deal a lot of damage with their bare fists.
Humanoid Abomination: To the point they can almost pass for actual humans at first glance, but the discolored skin, torture implements and inhuman voices quickly disprove that notion regardless.
Elite Mook: Juggernauts are this, only appearing at the final level and being far more dangerous than any other creature seen in the game until that point.
Mook: The Minions, which roam the streets of Silent Hill but are easy to deal with in controlled capacities.
Rule of Symbolism: They're Murphy's embodied fear of the other inmates during his time at prison, particularly of their savagery and tendency to start fights for no real reason. Their smiles, wide and forced upon them, could be a nod to their early design ideas, which showed them as having clown make-up and attire, as well as the idea of a forced state of conformity upon inmates by the authorities.
Tattooed Crook: Both variants have actual prison tattoos on their navels, letters and everything, as if they belong to a faction.

The Void

A floating red light, similar to a vortex, that pulls in and consumes everything around itself. It cannot be killed by Murphy in any way and will chase him through certain sections of the Otherworld sequences.

Expy: The fact that it's an immortal creature chasing the protagonist in the Otherworld makes it a stand-in for the Raw Shocks of Shattered Memories.
Hell Is That Noise: It's sentient enough to protest when Murphy gets away from it, growling and roaring distortedly in its rage.
Implacable Man: It cannot be killed or fought in any capacity. Murphy can only run away from it when it appears.
Rule of Symbolism: It's the truth of what happened at Ryall State chasing Murphy relentlessly, his inner guilt and desire for self-punishment consuming him until there's nothing left, even if he's not quite aware of it. It might also be a flat-out need on Murphy's part to destroy himself over Frank Coleridge's death, especially given how it will often be introduced with Frank's quotes.
Unrealistic Black Hole: It's red, glowing and it consumes anything in its path, small enough to fit in tight hallways and it will actively chase Murphy until it consumes him or Murphy escapes it into an area it cannot reach.

Tormented Soul

Bodies trapped in metal cages that stretch their flesh across it. It's entirely passive and can be used as a distraction against the Void.

Body Horror: They look like flayed human bodies stretched and torn within the metal frames.
Chase-Scene Obstacle Course: Their purpose is to be dropped behind Murphy during a chase sequence so the Void will consume them and slow down enough for the player to get a good distance advantage.
Invincible Minor Minion: Murphy's weapons can't kill these things, but their purpose isn't to be a direct aggressor anyway.
Rule of Symbolism: Murphy toppling these creatures down to be consumed by the Void can be a reference to all the other people he's involved in his own suffering, sacrificing them for his own safety. They might also represent himself, trapped and unable to escape his past and his guilt.
- The idea of these monsters representing inescapable guilt is supported by the fact that they also appear to JP Sater during Anne's Story, as he talks about living the nightmare he's in, indicating they might also symbolize JP's guilt over the accident.

Wall Corpse

Human-like corpses stuck on walls by circular metallic frames. Their only purpose is to be an obstacle as Murphy runs past them.

Body Horror: They're skinned humanoid corpses strapped to metal frames by spikes going through them.
Bloody Murder: Their only attack is to fire a spray of blood from their abdomen.
Gate Guardian: Very minor variation. There are Wall Corpses in the Otherworld Penitentiary who will roll out of cells to block Murphy's way at the final stretch of the game.
Invincible Minor Minion: They can't be killed, their only purpose being an environmental hazard during chase sequences. A variation seen at the Penitentiary can take damage, but it won't die, just roll out of the way.
Rule of Symbolism: Like Murphy, they're trapped and unable to get themselves out of the situation they're in, only able to lash out at whoever comes too close. The female-esque figure could also symbolize Murphy's awareness of his ex-wife Carol's pain and grief over losing Charlie, especially since the Wall Corpses spew blood from where the uterus would be located.

Doll & Shadow

Voiced by: Kateřina Koutná

"YOU REMEMBER THE VOWS YOU MADE, DON'T YOU, SLUT? IN FRONT OF GOD. AND GOD HEARS, ANNE, GOD REMEMBERS. GOD PUNISHES."

A woman-shaped, real-sized doll with long white hair, their faces often deformed or suggestive like sex dolls. The Doll itself cannot attack Murphy, but it will create a small group of Shadows to attack for it. Killing the Doll takes out the Shadows as well.

Creepy Doll: Monsters that resemble plasticine sex dolls or mannequins, often with blood around their mouths and that attack Murphy aggressively.
Five-Second Foreshadowing: Murphy will find (and comment on) an inert Doll he finds at the Centennial Building's library soon before they become an active threat against him. Said Doll is also the one you'll hear cackling as Murphy enters the building.
Glass Cannon: Hit the Doll itself a few times and it'll drop almost immediately. Doesn't mean that it can't deal a lot of damage against you, though.
Keystone Army: A single Doll will project two or three Shadows to attack Murphy all at once, but they'll all vanish if you just attack and take down the Doll itself.
Living Shadow: The Shadows it projects are this, but it's played with in that they're not actual shadows but more like invisible silhouettes of negative space. The only way to really see them is with a UV flashlight.
Murderous Mannequin: You'll only see a Doll move fully once as you cross a plank over a huge gap in the upper floors of the Centennial Building. Otherwise they move stifly and tend to strike single poses as they summon Shadows.
Rule of Symbolism:
- The Doll's ability to project Shadows to keep Murphy away from it could be an abstract interpretation of Murphy fighting the symptom of a problem instead of the problem itself, making it so it still exists and continues being an issue that he refuses to admit.
- Alternatively, their appearance in Anne's Story could indicate they're Anne's monsters, and the fact they're sexualised might allude to Anne cheating on her husband with another man, especially with the Doll calling her a "slut".

Monocle Man

"Did you enjoy the ride, Murphy?"

A giant stretch of flesh forming a face with a huge searchlight frame in place of its left eye that makes it look like a monocle, hence his name. It appears to Murphy at the end of his train ride at Devil's Pit.

Body Horror: It's nothing but a face stretched out over a cavern, hooked up to the walls around it by chains, hooks and even the tracks themselves.
Combat Tentacles: Was supposed to have these in its scrapped boss fight, using it to slam the ground around Murphy and throw ride cars at him.
It Can Think: One of the few monsters in the series to display actual intelligence and the capacity to speak.
Rule of Symbolism: The fact that it speaks similarly to JP Sater means it's likely an interpretation of JP as a monster, either from Murphy or himself, especially since it mirrors the accident that cost Sater his career. The searchlight as a monocle might be symbolic of how the last conversation Murphy had with JP nearly exposed him as a criminal.
The Unfought: A leaked trailer for Downpour showed that Monocle Man was supposed to be a boss fight in the game, complete with tentacles throwing ride cars at Murphy. Due to a tight release deadline, the fight itself was scrapped but Monocle Man was kept in the game to cap off Murphy's hellish train cart ride.

The Bogeyman

Poor little Steven Skelter. Even the chaplain won't forgive you. Forever lies, your pleading cries, but Suzy knows you felt her. Nowhere left for you to run, every fault laid bare in the open. Along with your skin, splayed out from within, once the monster has his fun. Take heed, it's not too late, mistakes needn't haunt you forever. Though you have regret, you can't just forget, you alone decide your fate. -The Bogeyman Rhyme

A hulking monster that resembles a large human figure wearing a heavy raincoat and a gas mask that completely hides its features. It wields a huge hammer that it carries on both hands that is capable of creating shockwaves and opening gaps on the floor.

Murphy Pendleton faces this creature as his own recurring tormentor throughout the game, although Anne Cunningham sees it too for different reasons that are kept unclear until the very end.

Cycle of Revenge: One part of what he symbolizes.
Defeat Means Playable: A variation; Neither the monster nor its weapon can be unlocked or used in Downpour, but the trope is done for storytelling purposes here. Murphy defeats it at the Monastery, and you later play Murphy as the Bogeyman to strike down Anne as a boss fight of sorts.
Disc-One Final Boss: You fight it right after the reveal of why and how Charlie died, giving Murphy closure on the death of his son and his feelings of revenge towards the person responsible... Except it's only a prelude to the actual final level of the game, where the Bogeyman is still a relevant figure.
Dishing Out Dirt: His hammer creates shockwaves through the earth when he slams it down. He can also send out fissures through the ground and create huge gaps.
The Dreaded: Much like Pyramid Head before him, he's an enigmatic, faceless behemoth who lumbers around with a massive weapon, and other monsters seem to fear him. Most noticeable in the final boss fight, when the Prisoner Juggernauts (the strongest non-boss enemies) seem to outright hesitate in attacking it.
Expy: Unlike the Butcher from Silent Hill: Origins, the Bogeyman bears only tangential similarities to their infamous predecessor Pyramid Head; both are large, monstrous figures with face-concealing attire that represent judgement and a desire for punishment in some capacity. Unlike Pyramid Head, however, the Bogeyman is a desire for punishment onto others rather than oneself (unless it's Murphy), being a symbol of hatred and dehumanization of a target of one's desire for revenge. Pyramid Head also embodied sexual reprivation and had a lot of its body on display because of it, using a large bladed implement (the Great Knife, later the Spear) to assault its targets, while the Bogeyman's reason for existing forces it to conceal all of itself with no sexual themes present, and it uses a huge blunt weapon instead.
Final Boss: As pointed out with Anne, while she's the final opponent the player needs to defeat in the game, Anne is essentially facing HER personal final boss with the player filling that role through Murphy as Anne's personal Bogeyman. Unlike Murphy's many possible endings, though, Anne only gets one ending if she kills Murphy during the fight, and it's not a good one.
Gas Mask, Longcoat: And a hammer to smash you into pieces.
The Heartless: He's a Silent Hill monster, that's part of the job. And then partially deconstructed when it turns out he embodies the dehumanization of objects of revenge — to Anne, he can appear as Murphy, but to Murphy, he can appear as Napier and also as Murphy himself.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Murphy finishes off the boss fight with it by stealing its hammer and laying the smackdown with it.
Humanoid Abomination: It can almost pass itself as an actual human if its sheer size and strength weren't so monstrous, along with the fact that there are no visible eyes or a face underneath the gas mask.
Implacable Man: It can brace through a lot of damage as it chases Murphy around in some Otherworld sections, but it's ultimately a Subverted Trope; it can take damage and die. It dies to Murphy when fought at the end of the Monastery, and Bogeyman!Murphy can be shot down and killed by Anne if the player takes too long to stop her.
Mighty Glacier: Slow, hulking and hits like a freight train with its hammer.
Rule of Symbolism: The lack of obvious attributes and hulking figure are all part of it representing the demonizing of others for the sake of revenge, literally dehumanizing the target of hatred until it becomes a faceless monstrosity, a person's own "bogeyman" they feel compelled to kill and later justify their killing of it. It also brings with it the idea behind the Cycle of Revenge and how it can destroy a person's life. The long coat and hammer also brings to mind a judge and gavel and passing judgement on others;
- For Murphy, the death of Patrick Napier felt entirely justified, but it didn't make things better. It didn't bring his son back or fix his marriage, and he was still in lock-up as a felon, doomed to Sewell's "favor" that would later get him chased down by Anne for her father's death. In the end, Napier might've been Murphy's Bogeyman, but Murphy himself ended up becoming his own Bogeyman as well due to his own string of terrible decisions after Charlie's passing, reflected in how the monster's face after its defeat flickers back and forth between Napier and Murphy.
- For Anne, her desire for revenge against Murphy consumed her to the point that she offered her own body to Wayside's chief warden just to get Murphy transferred there, and not only did the rumor about the affair tarnish her reputation, it cost her marriage when her spouse Mark found out without her telling him why she even did it. This, plus her journey through Silent Hill, all could have been avoided if she had actually tried to let go of her rage and try to look further into it, but she just felt it necessary to hunt that Bogeyman and make it pay.
Shock and Awe: Noticeable in his encounters, he'll occasionally generate electricity around himself.
Vader Breath: Courtesy of the gas mask it wears.
The Voiceless: This would normally go without saying, but a surprising number of Murphy's manifestations like to talk to him (Monocle Man, Frank, Blackwood). Not the Bogeyman. It barely even grunts despite the huge weight it carries.

The Wheelman (SPOILERS UNMARKED)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_wheelman.png

A monstrous being confined to a wheelchair as its only means of locomotion and with tubes going into and out of its body, seen often by Murphy following him around during his trek through Silent Hill until it finally becomes a threat near the end of the Overlook Penitentiary as a giant boss battle. The Wheelman is a posthumous incarnation of Frank Coleridge, Anne Cunningham's father, and Murphy's haunting memory of what happened to him, as well as Anne's primary reason for revenge against him.

And I Must Scream: A monstrous version of Frank Coleridge in his vegetative state after the prison riot at Ryall State. Much like how Frank was reduced to an immovable-yet-living condition, the Wheelman seems to be in constant pain and suffering from a design perspective alone. Even as a boss it will always sound like it's struggling to breathe whenever it moves or does an attack.
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: It becomes a giant in its boss fight, taking up the entire middle space of the room it's fought in.
Body Horror: Its life support tubes and part of the metal framing of the wheelchair are fused to its body. As a boss, it completely lacks its lower torso, leaving its ribcage visible, along with new, bigger tubes that reach into his body through them.
Dark Lord on Life Support: The tubes on the monster's body are life-support machinery parts. Cutting off its life-support is also how Murphy kills it at Overlook Penitentiary. Unlike usual examples of this trope, however, Frank Coleridge was a good man, but his monstrous form is still hostile towards Murphy.
Facial Horror: Its face is a pulpy mess of flesh with only one eye faintly visible. The damage done to Coleridge in real life was only slightly less severe than this.
Final Boss: In terms of gameplay, it poses more of a challenge than the fight with Anne, effectively being this for Downpour.
Hell Is That Noise: You'll constantly hear it having trouble breathing as a boss, as if each movement it makes is painful. Not only that, it will also choke violently as it breaks into convulsions.
Mind over Matter: Its most frequent attack as a boss is to gather up a bunch of debris from its arena and throw it at Murphy's general direction through telekinesis.
Puzzle Boss: It can't be killed through direct confrontation. Murphy has to use the searchlights around the catwalks to blind it temporarily before quickly descending and unplugging the monster from its life support.
Rule of Symbolism: It's the memory of Frank Coleridge reduced to a monstrous, diseased form to reflect his vegetative state after Murphy/Sewell's attack on him. Said form could be attributed to Murphy as a reflection of his decaying sense of morality through the poor choices he made in his life after Charlie's death. It might also be that the monster is Anne's, representing how, in her own words, she "saw a monster" whenever she looked at her father in his wheelchair, thinking of Murphy and how his actions reduced a model officer into a barely-functioning creature.
Shock and Awe: It will cause electrical shockwaves around its arena when Murphy starts removing its life support system plugs. If you see it start to convulse, run.
Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Murphy spots it during the Centennial Building's Otherworld sequence interacting with the young manifestation of Anne. Given that this is her father, it's pretty safe to say it wouldn't bring any harm to her.

Characters / Silent Hill: Downpour

Major Characters