Nightmares of Blood and Flesh: Trauma and Resilience in Silent Hill

by Anton Cancre

There is no hyperbole in saying that Silent Hill changed the landscape of survival horror games in the late 1990s. It didn't do anything all that revolutionary in terms of gameplay, gore, or scares. It was the story and, more importantly, how that story was told. The use of the medium itself, bringing together tactile connection, player choice, visual metaphor, and impact of actions taken created something new and intense. The effect of Silent Hill on subsequent games cannot be understated.

This book is an in depth, highly personal analysis of how the plot, symbols, psychological manipulations, gameplay, and player choices create a story that delves into the long term effects of trauma and how it changes who a person is without ever feeling didactic or preachy. At the same time, it is a look at how this piece of art interacts with the experiencer and how that interaction profoundly changed at least one person. Or, it is just some obsessed dude raving about his favorite game. Whatever works better for you.

167 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2023

Reviews

[Nathaniel Darkish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great analysis of SH1

The analysis here is solid and well-argued, I just wanted more. More depth, particularly. That said, if Cancre drops another book about SH2 or 3, I'll definitely pick it up immediately.

[Carm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Silent Hill. The OG survival horror classic came out at the perfect time. I was 19 years old… living in my first apartment… surrounded by other teenage idiots staying up all night, scaring the shit out of ourselves, playing this game over and over. Then buying the Prima Official strategy guide and replaying it over and over to get all the endings… and then speed running it and trying to beat my previous record. The game was very important to me. I enjoyed both movies (one more than the other… you be the judge) and have come back to the franchise every time a new addition was added… except P.T. which was pulled from the PlayStation store before I even knew it existed. Alas, poor Yorick! It’s been in my periphery off and on for 25 years. I’ve watched tons of YouTube videos, read myriad articles and I will admit, I mostly listened to Akira Yamaoka while reading this book. I’ve played the game a lot… I know the story… but I LOVE reading interpretations. I love a good psychology lesson with my bloody, rusty metal gratings! The ideas in this book are insightful… and there are takes hear that I’ve never heard nor considered before. You can tell the author loved writing this book and loves the source material. I’ll be sure to read more if this becomes a series.

[Michael]

DRP publication -- no review.

There is no hyperbole in saying that Silent Hill changed the landscape of survival horror games in the late 1990s. It didn't do anything all that revolutionary in terms of gameplay, gore, or scares. It was the story and, more importantly, how that story was told. The use of the medium itself, bringing together tactile connection, player choice, visual metaphor, and impact of actions taken created something new and intense. The effect of Silent Hill on subsequent games cannot be understated. This book is an in depth, highly personal analysis of how the plot, symbols, psychological manipulations, gameplay, and player choices create a story that delves into the long term effects of trauma and how it changes who a person is without ever feeling didactic or preachy. At the same time, it is a look at how this piece of art interacts with the experiencer and how that interaction profoundly changed at least one person. Or, it is just some obsessed dude raving about his favorite game. Whatever works better for you.

[Melisa Lambright · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Silent Hill lover, this book is amazing. The perspective is great and pretty much spot on. It also has wonderful insights into trauma.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best thing I’ve ever read like y’all the amount of joy I got was absolutely incredible. I understand that anything that’s about silent hill is very subjective for me because this has to be one of my favorite interests(I’ve never played the games but watched both movies more times I can count, one day I’ll play the games) This author made the best decision to even think about writing a book going deep into the meaning behind the imagery, y’all please give the author a chance and read this book it will be amazing.