The Silent Hill franchise loves to play homage to its predecessors. Since the first game’s release in 1999, every single installment in the Silent Hill series has included a variety of references to other media, including books, films, fairy tales, and, in one particularly chilling case, a Madonna music video.
While the franchise honors artists of all kinds, Silent Hill pays particular tribute to the writers behind its influences. From the Stephen King poster in the café to the Shakespeare puzzle in Silent Hill 3, the franchise honors the creators whose influence proliferates the series. Nowhere is this more apparent than the games’ street names, every one of which references a notable writer of horror, mystery, or science fiction.
With so many staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are looking for an opportunity to put down their devices and escape the never-ending barrage of Zoom calls. Those in search of a spooky read to close out the Halloween season need look no further than the street names in Silent Hill to find their next favorite author. Here are the inspirations behind each of the street names in the Silent Hill series.
1. Finney Street
Finney Street is named for American author Jack Finney. Finney wrote numerous thrillers and sci-fi stories, most notably The Body Snatchers, the inspiration for the 1956 classic horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
2. Bloch Street
Bloch Street is the namesake of author Robert Bloch. A prolific writer, Bloch is best known as the author of Psycho, the novel that served as inspiration for the monumental Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name. Bloch was also a protégé of H.P. Lovecraft, another notable horror author and frequent source of inspiration for video games.
3. Matheson Street
Matheson Street takes its name from author and screenwriter Richard Matheson. Matheson was the mastermind behind the frequently adapted I Am Legend, a monumental work of post-apocalyptic horror fiction that has influenced countless vampire and zombie stories over the last few decades.
Matheson also wrote multiple episodes of The Twilight Zone, and several adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe’s works. The street name is also a reference to Matheson’s son, Richard Christian Matheson, who has followed in his father’s footsteps and written multiple horror stories for the page and screen.
4. Bachman Road
Richard Bachman may not be a name immediately familiar to casual horror fans, but many will recognize the author by his regular moniker – Stephen King. Bachman Road takes its name from King’s own pseudonym, Richard Bachman, under which he published The Running Man and several other titles. The concept of split identities is integral to Silent Hill, making Bachman Road a particularly apt reference.
5. Bradbury Street
Bradbury Street is named after Ray Bradbury, one of the most celebrated authors of American fiction. Bradbury’s bibliography spans multiple works of science fiction, dystopia, and horror, including Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and the film It Came From Outer Space, for which he wrote the story.
6. Levin Street
Levin Street takes its name from American author and playwright Ira Levin. Levin is best known to horror fans as the author of Rosemary’s Baby, a monumental work of horror fiction that was adapted into the famous 1968 film and a miniseries in 2014. The novel’s strong themes of occultism and exploration of the demonic child trope tie perfectly into the story of Silent Hill.
7. Ellroy Street
Ellroy Street is named after crime fiction author James Ellroy. Ellroy is perhaps best known to horror fans as the author of The Black Dahlia, a novel based on a real and particularly gruesome 1947 murder – and likely the inspiration for the name of the first game’s antagonist.
8. Sagan Street
Sagan Street is, of course, named after renowned scientist Carl Sagan. Outside of his invaluable work in astronomy, Sagan’s influence on the worlds of horror and science fiction is far-reaching, as his writings made a variety of complex scientific concepts accessible to a wider audience.
Sagan also wrote his own science fiction novel, Contact, which was later adapted into the Robert Zemeckis-directed film of the same name.
9. Koontz Street
Koontz Street takes its name from master of suspense Dean Koontz. Koontz’s bibliography boasts over a hundred novels that span horror, sci-fi, and thrillers, making him a household name and one of America’s most popular contemporary authors.
10. Crichton Street
Crichton Street is the namesake of celebrated science fiction author Michael Crichton, best known for his monumental work Jurassic Park, the novel that spawned the popular film franchise and its many spin-off works including comic books and video games. Crichton wrote more than twenty-five novels in his lifetime, and also wrote and directed the 1973 science fiction film Westworld, which served as the inspiration for HBO’s critically acclaimed series of the same name.
11. Wilson Street
Wilson Street takes its name from Colin Wilson, a British writer and philosopher whose work focuses on true crime, spirituality, and paranormal phenomena. Much of Wilson’s fiction features themes and other elements from H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, tying his works into the greater horror canon.
12. Simmons Street
Simmons Street is named after author Dan Simmons, a prolific writer of horror and science fiction. Simmons is the author of multiple works including Hugo Award winner Hyperion and Drood, a fictionalized account of the last few years of Charles Dicken’s life named after the author’s unfinished work The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
13. West Sandford Street
John Sandford is the inspiration for West Sandford Street. Sandford is best known for his Prey series, an immensely popular series of dark crime novels that has spawned more than thirty instalments.
14. Craig Street
Craig Street is speculated to have a couple of possible namesakes. The first is Craig Rice, the pen name of author Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig, who adopted a male pseudonym in order to get her detective fiction taken seriously.
The other possible inspiration is Kit Craig, another male pseudonym adopted by a female author, in this case science and speculative fiction author Lillian Hyde Craig.
15. Nathan Avenue
Nathan Avenue is the namesake of prolific American author Robert Nathan, whose works combined multiple genres including mystery, fantasy, and the supernatural. His 1940 novel, Portrait of Jennie, was a notable influence on another Silent Hill inspiration, Ray Bradbury.
16. Wiltse Road
Wiltse Road pays homage to screenwriter, playwright, and novelist David Wiltse. Among his many works, Wiltse wrote the television film Revenge of the Stepford Wives, a made-for-television sequel to the satirical horror film The Stepford Wives, itself based on the novel by Levin Street inspiration Ira Levin.
17. Lindsey Street
Lindsey Street takes its name from David Lindsay, a Scottish writer whose work A Voyage to Arcturus was a notable influence of another Silent Hill street namesake, Colin Wilson. A Voyage to Arcturus influenced several other notable authors including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and its meditation on the nature of good and evil ties perfectly into the plot of Silent Hill.
18. Vachss Road
Vachss Road is the namesake of crime fiction author Andrew Vachss, In addition to his writing, Vachss is an attorney, and exclusively represents children and youth. The battle against child abuse is a strong theme in Vachss’ writing, and ties well into some of the darker elements of Silent Hill’s story.
19. Martin Street
Martin Street is a reference to American crime author David Lozell Martin, whose notable works include the novels Cul-de-Sac and Lie to Me.
20. Katz Street
Katz Street takes its name from horror author William Katz. His works Surprise Party and Facemaker are cited as influences in Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicles, an additional document included with Konami’s Silent Hill 3: Official Perfect Capture Guide.
21. Sanders Street
Sanders Street was inspired by best-selling crime and mystery writer Lawrence Sanders, whose debut novel The Anderson Tapes served as source material for the Sidney Lumet film of the same name.
22. Neely Street
Neely Street is a reference to mystery author Richard Neely, whose works The Plastic Nightmare and Madness of the Heart are cited as influences in Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicles.
23. Harris Street
Harris Street takes its name from the author behind one of the greatest horror villains of all time, Hannibal Lecter.
Thomas Harris wrote the terrifying Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs, as well as two additional novels featuring Lecter, cementing the character’s status as a horror icon.
24. Saul Street
Saul Street is a reference to John Saul, a best-selling horror and suspense author. Konami has cited Saul’s novels Creature and Guardian as being particularly influential on the Silent Hill series.
25. Munson Street
Munson Street is a reference to horror and suspense author Ronald Munson. Cited by Konami as a particular source of inspiration, Munson’s novel Fan Mail is told entirely through memos, phone messages, faxes, e-mails, and tape transcripts – a style that undoubtedly influenced the exploratory elements of Silent Hill’s gameplay.
26. Rendell Street
Rendell Street is an homage to murder mystery and thriller author Ruth Rendell, best known for her character Chief Inspector Wexford. A prolific writer, Rendell published more than fifty novels in her lifetime, including several under the pseudonym Barbara Vyne. Her works won multiple awards and spawned several screen adaptations, including The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, an anthology series that ran for a remarkable twelve seasons.
27. Carroll Street
Though Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is undoubtedly creepy, Carroll Street is not a reference to author Lewis Carroll (though the game contains several other references to the author and his works, including featuring the book itself in Alessa’s bedroom). Rather, this Silent Hill street takes its name from horror and fantasy writer Jonathan Carroll, whose bibliography includes a number of novels, novellas, and short stories.
28. Midwich Street
Both Midwich Street and the elementary school it leads to take their name from one of the seminal works of author John Wyndham, best known to public school graduates as the author of The Chrysalids. The Midwich Cuckoos is a dark science fiction novel, adapted for the silver screen twice under the title Village of the Damned.
While Silent Hill is brimming with references to a variety of horror media, the games pay particular homage to the masterminds behind those stories with its street names. Those looking for a spooky read to close out the Halloween season need only look to Silent Hill’s street names for a wide range of authors to choose from. Just be sure not to read them too close to bed – otherwise, one may find themselves suffering from an Uneternal Sleep.
