Otherworld shifts in Silent Hill: Homecoming

[St. Aatos]

This theory, as with all of my theories contains major unmarked spoilers.


Part 1: Shifts caused by guilt: Sam Bartlett and Martin Fitch.
The first time it happens is when Alex finds the watch that Mayor Bartlett was supposed to give his son Joey for his birthday. As soon as Alex examines the watch he's knocked out due to a 'headache'. When he wakes up he's in Silent Hill. During this stage he eventually finds Sam Bartlett (the mayor.) When Alex shows Sam the watch, Sam chucks the watch down, and this is when Sepulcher makes its appearance, and kills Sam.

As soon as Alex defeats the Sepulcher a large chasm opens up, and Alex plummets down. When he wakes up he's back in SG in the sheriff's station.


The same thing happens when Alex finds the doll that was supposed to be given to Scarlet for her birthday. Upon finding it, Alex is pulled into the nightmare world. This time however he may not be in Silent Hill, but in a nightmare version of the doctor's office. Alex finds Martin Fitch (Dr. Fitch), and upon giving him the doll, Scarlet rises from the ground. She cradles Dr. Fitch in her arms, and then bites off his head. Upon defeating her, Alex sinks into the ground, and wakes up in the same spot he was pulled in.

So what happened? The following seemed to have happened. Alex finds an important item linked to two of the sacrificed children. When he does he's pulled to the otherworld. Upon defeated Sepulcher and Scarlet, Alex is brought back to the foggy world.

For some reason this doesn't happen when Alex receives the locket from Elle.

Also, the only time Alex is pulled into the nightmare world (as opposed to the landscape changing in real time.) is when he finds Scarlet's doll.

I've been asking why this is, and I'm beginning to think that it's not just Alex or Josh causing the shifts. I believe that the town is tapping into everyone's unconscious and conscious minds, causing the shifts.

Alex finds Mayor Bartlett in the atrium of the hotel. The hotel has nothing to do with Alex, but it has a lot to do with Sam Bartlett. Examine all of the notes, and you'll discover that a woman by the name of Carol was cheating on her ill husband with Sam. I can only conclude that Sam and Carol met in the Grand Hotel, and started having their affair. I also have a hunch that Sam killed his son in the atrium, and that Sam visited the atrium to beg his son for forgiveness. In short, the hotel is the area important to Sam, and the area that contains his guilt.

The same can be said for Dr. Fitch. The doctor's office he worked at was probably the area that Dr. Fitch went to talk to Scarlet. (Notice how he did up his office to look like his daughter's room.) It could be surmised that the reason Alex isn't teleported when he finds the doll, is because he's already at the location that's housing Fitch's guilt.


Part 2: Shifts caused by the family.

The next time the nightmare world appears is in Alex's house when his mother is kidnapped. In order to escape the house, Alex has solve a series of puzzles, each one related to the four members of the Shepherd's. The first puzzle with the masks is representative of Lillian. The second puzzle with the dark army medals may represent Alex. The puzzle with the clock and the Robby doll represents Joshua. (Joshua it's believed died at 2:06 am) The knife puzzle represents Adam Shepherd. When these puzzles are solved, Alex is freed from the house.

Most curious is one of the messages that Alex finds. In a nutshell the message says they are trapped, and that only Alex can free them. However, who actually causes this shift? I doubt it was entirely Alex. Perhaps it was the collective unconsciousness of the Shepherd family as a whole.

The next time the shift happens is after Lillian Shepherd dies in the prison. It seems rather odd that as soon as she dies the world changes around Alex. Or is it? I can only guess that upon Lillian's death her spirit became trapped in Silent Hill, and her conscious and unconscious mind helped create the otherworld seen in the prison.

But a more likely explanation is that once Lillian dies; Alex is overcome with guilt for not being able to save her. Have Alex examine his mother after her death, and he will say one of the following.

(If the machine killed her.) "I should have done what she asked. I'm such a failure."

(If Alex kills her.) "I should have found a way to get her out."

No matter which action Alex takes he regrets it, believes he should have done the other choice, and is filled with guilt.


The final shift occurs after Alex fully realizes that he killed his brother. It's also during this time that Amnion appears.

So tl:dr version. The shifts are caused by guilt, and they are not solely caused by Alex.

[vehilli]

I think it has something to do with indiana Jones' whip of maniacle terror.

[Lolli]

Alex must play a larger role though otherwise the parents, who I assume have been suffering from guit for quite a while would have been punished already. Fitch has been slicing himself open for a while because he says he must let the sin out "Everyday" and I'm sure Mayor Bartlett didn't become an alcoholic overnight. Also, if it were entirely about guilt, then why does Asphyxia appear? I don't believe Judge Holloway feels any guilt for killing Nora or sentencing Elle to death.

If it were about guilt I would say Alex acts as a vessel to transfer that guilt. Alex is the one who has the watch, doll and locket when the otherworld occurances take place thus giving the children's souls their link to the otherworld allowing them a physical form.

In other words, without Alex, the children wouldn't be able to appear via their parents guilt alone. Furthermore, Alex has the flashlight throughout the majority of the game and when he remembers that he killed Josh his guilt doesn't cause Amnion to appear there and then (through the flashlight's presence) like the other bosses do.

[St. Aatos]

re-read the theory again.

[Lolli]

Nevermind what I said, I'm a huge moron and got the scenes mixed up in my head