10 UNSETTLING Facts About Your Favourite Games
9. Mary’s Serial Killer Influences (Silent Hill 2)
Mary Shepherd-Sunderland is a tragic figure in gaming and one who many would call one of the most unfortunate souls in the whole medium. As the dead wife of James Sunderland, Silent Hill 2's protagonist, her tragic life and death is a tale of pain and sadness. That's why it feels all the more soul-crushing to know the real-life tragedy that inspired her namesake.
According to the official Silent Hill 2 Wiki, Mary's name is a direct reference to the bookends of the infamous Jack the Ripper's killing spree. The game's creators chose to call her Mary in reference to both Mary Ann Nichols and Mary Jane Kelly, the Ripper's respective first and final victims. Knowing that she is so heavily tied to such tragic fates wrought upon innocent souls lends itself to the phrase, "Life imitates art."
Silent Hill is a franchise known for taking inspiration from art and pop culture. However, it was genuine history that added another layer of melancholy to this forlorn figure.