10 Terrifying Silent Hill Monsters (And Their Meaning)

In 2022, Masahiro Ito tweeted, "I wish I hadn't designed f**kin Pyramid Head". Which is an odd thing to say about creating one of the most iconic monsters in any form of media, but maybe that was his point.

Silent Hill's most famous creation debuted in Silent Hill 2, where he represented James Sunderland's frustrated sexuality and guilt over being a murderer. The sexual nature of Red Pyramid Thing - more commonly known as Pyramid Head - is made clear in his very first cutscene, where it's heavily implied he's about to assault another monster before James interrupts him. And when James finally acknowledges the reason Pyramid Head exists - that the creature is a manifestation of his guilt over killing his wife - Pyramid Head commits suicide, its purpose fulfilled after forcing James to take responsibility for his actions.

Much like the nurses that started this list, Pyramid Head was designed to tell a very specific story. And much like the nurses, Pyramid Head's meaning has been obscured in a mire of bizarre cameos that completely miss the point of the character. Homecoming turned Pyramid Head into a goon squad of Punisher-esque vigilantes who patrolled Silent Hill and murdered wrongdoers; the lightgun game (the very existence of which is almost as incongruous as the pachinko machine) chucked him in as a generic boss fight; and the movie Silent Hill: Revelation made him an outright hero, protecting the good guys and slaying the big bad at the climax of the film.

Given that, you can see why Ito would be frustrated at how his most famous creation has been handled. Then again, maybe that's the truest, deepest meaning behind the character - create a cool enough design and it'll end up bastardized in every medium imaginable, from Funko Pops to Kart Racing.