Summary
TheSilent Hillfranchise is rife with mature themes, so there are a lot of heart-wrenching moments that spawned countless memorable quotes, particularly very sad, thought-provoking lines from some of the series' most tortured characters. Asthe philosophy of theSilent Hillgamesrevolves around existentialism and nihilism, a lot of the quotes from the games are cryptic and symbolic. Some are more conspicuous, while others are more ambiguous phrases.
A lot ofSilent Hillquotes relate to abuse, despair, loneliness, and angst, which makes them incredibly depressing.Silent Hillis known for evoking strong emotions with its harrowing material, but even though it’s easy to quote the entirety of the franchise for meaningful lines, some quotes just stuck out more than others, particularly because they hint toward upsetting circumstances. Here are thesaddest quotes fromSilent Hill(most of which are fromSilent Hill 2, unsurprisingly).
In James and Angela’s final confrontation inSilent Hill 2,they reunite inside the Lakeview Hotel, which is ablaze inside. They have an interaction where Angela mistakes James for her mother, signaling that she’s hallucinating and having a mental breakdown. Angela thanks James for saving her, but she tells him that he shouldn’t have bothered. She asks him for her knife back, possibly intending to use it as a means of committing suicide, but James refuses.
Angela turns and begins to ascend the staircase, to which James says “It’s hot as Hell in here.” Angela replies, “You see it too? For me… it’s always like this,” possibly insinuating that, due to her debilitating mental illness, her entire life feels like one burning ‘Hell.’ The phrase perfectly encapsulates how depression can put a negative spin on a person’s perspective and make them feel hopeless.
7"There Was A Hole Here. It’s Gone Now."
Found On The Window Of Neely’s Bar
James Sunderland can stumble across Neely’s Bar on the corner of Neely and Sanders inSilent Hill 2. At Neely’s, James will get one step closer to the apartment gate key. There will also be a message scrawled on the window that reads: “There was a hole here. It’s gone now.” While the quote itself doesn’t evoke any particular emotion, it’s the implications of it that make for some distressing subtext.
It can be interpreted in many ways, but one theory is that James is an alcoholic (hinted at when he examines some beer bottles), and drinking “fills the void/hole,” so “there was a hole there, but it’s gone now.” It’s also significant that the message is scribbled on a bar to further support this theory. There’s also the possibility of the quote referring to an actual hole, which, inSilent Hilllore, indicates the passageway to the Otherworld, so there was a passageway to the Otherworld from Neely’s at one point, but it’s not there anymore.
6"Beat Me Up Like He Always Did!"
Spoken By Angela Orosco To James Sunderland
When Angela encountersAbstract Daddy inSilent Hill 2, she takes her revenge on the physical manifestation of her childhood trauma/abuse by getting a few good kicks and then smashing him over the head with a TV. Abstract Daddy also serves as the abstract form of James' memories, specifically those pertaining to Mary.
James comes to check on her, but Angela turns on him and misinterprets his intentions as an attempt at sexual assault. She compares James to her father, saying he could “force her” or “beat [her] up like he always did.” This whole scene is the first in-depth look at Angela’s complicated history and trauma responses, but the admission that her family not only sexually but also physically assaulted her is truly haunting and would make anyone sympathize with Angela.
In the Daisy Villa Apartments inSilent Hill 3, Douglas discovers Harry Mason’s corpse, much to the dismay of Heather. Douglas has a change of heart here, despite his reluctance to turn on Claudia, andhe agrees to take Heather to Silent Hillto avenger Harry’s death.
When Heather informs Douglas of the dangers that await them, specifically once Claudia learns of his betrayal, he replies: “That’s fine. Nobody’s gonna cry over my grave anyway.” Heather can kill Douglas in the “Possessed” ending, which only makes the quote even sadder, considering that Douglas tells Heather that she reminds her of his late son. It’s clear that Douglas is a lone wolf with no remaining family, so he isn’t afraid of dying.
4"Thank You For Saving Me… But I Wish You Hadn’t. Even Mama Said It — I Deserved What Happened."
It’s quite heartbreaking to know that Angela consistently speaks some of thesaddest quotes in the wholeSilent Hillfranchise, despite only appearing in one game. In the same flaming staircase scene from earlier, she utters another unmistakably disturbing quote pertaining to her childhood. She thanks James for saving her, but she tells him he needn’t have bothered, since her mother said she deserved all the abuse she received.
All of this to say, not only did Angela suffer abuse at the hands of her father and brother, but her mother didn’t actively try and stop it, even going so far as to say Angela’s abuse was her own doing.Angela’s storyline inSilent Hill 2is extremely poignant, and it’s a fantastic interpretation of an abuse survivor’s fight or flight response to the world around her — a world Angela feels she doesn’t belong in.
3"Along With You Died Joy. All That Remains Is Despair And A Future Of Meaningless Tomorrows."
Written On A Tombstone In Born From A Wish
Silent Hill 2’s side story —Born from a Wish— follows Maria, whom James Sunderland meets in Rosewater Park and sporadically re-encounters. When Maria finds the red and black boards outside in the secret garden, there’s a grave nearby. Maria can find the secret garden by climbing the ladder found inside the fireplace in the mansion’s living room.
If she inspects the grave, she can find a square depression in the center of the tombstone and an epitaph that reads: “Along with you died joy. All that remains is despair and a future of meaningless tomorrows.” It is presumed that the grave belongs to Earnest Baldwin’s late daughter, Amy, as he likens her to all the joy in the world, which is now gone as of her passing.
Spoken By Mary Shepherd-Sunderland To James Sunderland
Silent Hill 2landed the ultimate plot twist when it was revealed that James Sunderland killed his own wife by smothering her with a pillow, then convinced himself that she had simply passed away due to her debilitating illness. He began to tell himself that Mary had died under unforeseen circumstances and that there was nothing he could do. When James is sitting at Mary’s bedside during their final talk, once the truth has been revealed,he tries to reconcile with his wifeby saying that he couldn’t watch her suffer any longer. But even James can’t believe his own lies anymore.
He’s finally honest with Mary when he admits that he hated her and “wanted her out of the way,” so he finished her off. But in one of the hardest scenes to watch, Mary replies: “James, if that were true, then why do you look so sad?” Suddenly, it becomes clear that no one will ever know James' motive for killing Mary or whether he even regrets it at all.
1"I Can’t Tell You To Remember Me, But I Can’t Bear For You To Forget Me."
Mary’s letter to James inSilent Hill 2is essentially a hand-written apology, despite her being the one whoslowly passed away from an illnessshe couldn’t have predicted. In the letter, Mary recalls Silent Hill and her time with James, telling him that by the time he reads the letter, she’ll already be dead. Most of Mary’s last words are impactful and soul-crushing, but there’s one particular line that stands out more than the rest: “I can’t tell you to remember me, but I can’t bear for you to forget me.”
Mary proceeds to apologize for everything she did to James in the last few years and signs off forever with “James, you made me happy,” and everySilent Hillfan proceeded to bawl their eyes out. Any line from Mary’s letter could be referred to as one of thesaddest quotes inSilent Hillhistory, but Mary’s plea to be remembered strikes a particularly painful chord.
