The Entire Silent Hill Timeline Explained

The *Silent Hill* series by Konami is widely considered the best in psychological horror. Even decades after its original release on PlayStation in 1999, the games continue to captivate and frighten players, and that interest has been renewed with the announcement of *Silent Hill f*.

The fog is incredibly dense, making it a great moment to finally unravel the complicated and confusing story of this game series. Players will find themselves wandering through deserted hospitals and streets lost in the mist, and judging by past games, it’s a world that will stay with them for a long time.

Making Sense Of The Silent Hill Timeline

This timeline is built from official information from Konami and statements by the game developers. Konami organizes the events with *Silent Hill: Origins* as the starting point, calling it “Year Zero.” All other games are placed in relation to *Origins*, so the dates are flexible and not fixed. We’re leaving out *Silent Hill: Shattered Memories* because it tells a separate story that doesn’t connect to the main series.

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

Prehistory

The Founding Of Silent Hill

Long before the fog made driving dangerous, the area around Toluca Lake was home to Native American tribes, especially the Toluca people. They considered this land sacred, believing it was a place where the natural and supernatural worlds connected, and they practiced many rituals there.

The 17th century brought dark times. European settlers established what would become Silent Hill, but did so by violently removing or killing the original inhabitants. The town’s founding was immediately followed by constant trouble – numerous deaths and the slow growth of the Order, a cult that combined local traditions with its own strange beliefs.

Silent Hill f

1960s Japan

Silent Hill f takes players back to rural Japan in the 1960s, a stark contrast to the familiar setting of Toluca Lake. The quiet village of Ebisugaoka is shaken by a string of strange deaths. Beyond the horrifying visions and physical transformations, something even more disturbing is happening, centering around the local children and whispers of dark rituals, possession, and ancient curses.

Although the connections to the original Silent Hill aren’t obvious, the game shares similar ideas like dealing with trauma and the dangers of cults. This new location – a Japanese village – shows that the psychological horror that makes Silent Hill so effective works just as well in a Japanese setting as it does in America.

Silent Hill: Origins

Year Zero

By the end of the 20th century, the town of Silent Hill was completely controlled by a secret religious cult called the Order. This group combined Christian symbols with dark, occult practices, and they were determined to summon a god they believed would cleanse the world of sin. Their plan depended on a child with extraordinary psychic abilities – Alessa Gillespie. Alessa’s mother, Dahlia, a priestess within the cult, subjected her to years of mistreatment and finally attempted to kill her in a fire, hoping to unlock Alessa’s hidden powers.

This incident is central to the story of *Silent Hill: Origins*. It involves truck driver Travis Grady and the consequences of a failed ritual performed by a cult called The Order. Their experiment split Alessa Gillespie’s soul, accidentally creating a psychic copy of herself named Cheryl, and left Alessa trapped in a state of immense pain. Because the ritual wasn’t completed, the cult’s influence and Alessa’s own tormented mind began to warp the town, ultimately setting the stage for the terrifying events that players would come to know and dread.

Silent Hill 1

7 Years After Origins

Seven years after a failed attempt to summon a god, Cheryl Mason – now adopted and living with her father, Harry – is drawn back to the eerie town of Silent Hill. A dangerous cult, known as The Order, seizes the chance to complete their ritual, kidnapping Cheryl with the goal of merging her with Alessa and bringing their deity into the world. The story of Silent Hill 1 centers around Harry’s desperate search through the increasingly terrifying town as members of the cult begin to disappear.

In the final showdown, Alessa, Cheryl, and the monstrous being they created clash with Harry in a fierce battle, leading to the cult’s downfall and the seeming destruction of their god. Afterwards, Cheryl/Alessa is reborn as a baby named Heather and given to Harry as a thank you.

Silent Hill 2

1980s

According to the game’s designer, Masahiro Ito, *Silent Hill 2* is set in the 1980s, roughly 18 to 21 years after the events of *Silent Hill: Origins*. The story begins with James Sunderland receiving a letter from his late wife, Mary, seemingly inviting him back to their vacation spot. However, players soon learn the letter isn’t real-it’s a product of James’s guilt. He actually killed Mary just days or weeks before the game begins, though his mind has blocked the memory, making him believe it was years ago. As James navigates the constantly changing town of Silent Hill, he encounters other troubled individuals-Angela, Eddie, and Maria-each grappling with their own personal demons. The monsters he faces are famously symbolic of his inner turmoil.

The usual religious order and its ceremonies are mostly gone in this Silent Hill. Instead, the town acts like a personal hell, creating punishments based on a person’s own inner demons. The different endings emphasize that what’s real in Silent Hill is different for everyone. James’s fate – whether he’s condemned, saved, or stuck repeating the same events – depends on his own journey. One thing is clear: the town’s curse has changed. Now, anyone carrying enough regret, sadness, or self-hatred can become a target.

Silent Hill 3

24 Years After Origins

Seventeen years after the events of the first game, the cult that Cheryl/Alessa belonged to finds her again, this time as a teenage girl named Heather Mason. Determined to revive their god, they target Heather as the host for its rebirth. After Heather’s father, Harry, is killed, she returns to Silent Hill. She eventually faces Claudia Wolf, the cult’s new leader, and, following Vincent’s guidance, takes a special capsule her father gave her. This causes her to expel the god in its embryonic form, preventing its birth. She then defeats and destroys this incomplete deity.

Heather defeats the creature and permanently ends the Order’s control. *Silent Hill 3* concludes Alessa’s heartbreaking story, emphasizing the importance of overcoming trauma and taking control of one’s own fate. While the town’s curse remains, this particular storyline reaches a clear resolution.

Silent Hill 4: The Room

Middle Period

Although the main group has been wiped out, certain people are still tapping into the strange powers of Silent Hill. The most well-known is Walter Sullivan, who was raised within a dangerous part of the group. He began committing ritualistic murders in the 1980s, believing he could reconnect with a place he saw as his “mother” – Room 302 at South Ashfield Heights. To achieve this, he performs the 21 Sacraments, a series of horrific crimes.

Henry Townshend, a long-time resident of the apartment, finds himself trapped when his home mysteriously becomes a gateway to a terrifying otherworld in the early 2000s. Unlike previous games, *Silent Hill 4* centers on a more confined, urban horror experience within an apartment building, but it still connects to the stories and creatures from past *Silent Hill* titles.

Silent Hill: Homecoming

Later Period

As a huge Silent Hill fan, I’ve always been fascinated by how the town’s darkness spreads. It’s not just about Silent Hill itself, but how its curse reaches out and affects other places. I learned that the town of Shepherd’s Glen actually started because four families made a really creepy deal with the Order. They promised to regularly sacrifice one person from each family to keep the peace. It was a horrible tradition that went on for ages, but eventually, someone broke the agreement.

After returning home from service, Alex Shepherd discovers his brother has disappeared and his town is descending into chaos. He soon learns this isn’t a new problem, but a result of long-hidden secrets and a deliberate turning away from the truth. Ancient, malevolent forces from the haunted Silent Hill are now punishing the town of Shepherd’s Glen and the families who built it, leading to its complete destruction.

Silent Hill: Downpour & The Short Message

Contemporary Period

Silent Hill: Downpour is set in modern times, likely the early 2010s, though some believe it could be set a bit earlier. The story begins with prisoner Murphy Pendleton escaping after his transport vehicle crashes near the town of Silent Hill. Like the protagonist in a previous Silent Hill game, Murphy’s journey is about understanding himself and his own troubled past. The town itself changes and reflects Murphy’s own unclear sense of right and wrong and the darkness within him.

The *Downpour* expansion deepened the story of Silent Hill, introducing a character who enforces punishment on those condemned to the town. The cult that previously controlled things is gone, and now the town itself seems driven by a need for revenge. What happens to Murphy, like all who enter Silent Hill, is unclear, but the town’s dark cycle continues. Silent Hill still acts as a place to cleanse, punish, and occasionally offer redemption to those who find themselves within its borders.

The Short Message explores feelings of loneliness and disconnection in modern city life and the digital world. A teenage girl named Anita is lured to an abandoned apartment building by a mysterious text. While it includes classic elements from the series, the story is updated with smartphones, social media, and a sense of being constantly watched.

2025-09-25 04:42