Silent Hill 2 remake: Pyramid Head entering a building.
Image via Capcom/Bloober Team.

What is Pyramid Head in the Silent Hill Series?

What's underneath the massive helmet?

Ooo, thatā€™s a good question with a rather complicated answer. Pyramid Head or the Red Pyramid Thing, is one of the most iconic characters from the Silent Hill series. However, who he is can be rather subjective.

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Pyramid Head first appeared in 2001ā€™s Silent Hill 2. In that game, James Sunderland arrives in the eponymous town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife. While heā€™s exploring an apartment block, he discovers Pyramid Head assaulting and then killing a mannequin leg monster. Heā€™d then continue bumping into the monster who would menace the protagonist throughout the search for his wife. The monster was something of a secondary antagonist if you consider either Mary/Maria or the Town as the primary one.

Pyramid head appears as a disfigured man in a butcher’s apron with a massive, rusted metal mask obscuring his head. True to his name, the mask is in a pyramid-like shape. He tends to wield extremely large weapons, including a massive knife and a large spear.

Pyramid Headā€™s existence is described by James as a manifestation of his guilt and a need to ā€œpunish [him] for [his] sinsā€ (Spoiler: he killed his wife). He supposedly exists only in James Sunderlandā€™s head, and is manifested by the town of Silent Hill.

Until he isnā€™t. Pyramid head was such a memorable character that he sort of became the face of the Silent Hill series. As such, he appeared in the 2006 Silent Hill films, as well as 2008ā€™s Silent Hill: Homecoming, with minor cameos in Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Downpour. Explanations have been contrived for their presence, but art director and Pyramid Headā€™s creator insists that he only exists as part of Jamesā€™ psyche and doesnā€™t belong anywhere else.

That might be taking the subject too seriously. Despite how Pyramid Head might have been intended, heā€™s become the de facto spokesmonster for Silent Hill. For better or worse.


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Zoey Handley
Staff Writer - Zoey is a gaming gadabout. She got her start blogging with the community in 2018 and hit the front page soon after. Normally found exploring indie experiments and retro libraries, she does her best to remain chronically uncool.