Symbolism of the Grey Children

Post by **Tom133t** » 01 Jan 2007

It was mentioned in a thread that eyes might mean that a creature in Silent Hill has a soul, or a lack of one. The grey children have thier eyes twisted off to the sides of thier faces - indicating a twisted soul. And Gans said somewhere that the children represented Rose's (and in SH1 Harry Mason's) anxiety about her own missing daughter. Perhaps the grey children (I'll call them "mumblers" from now on like in SH1 - easier to type ^^) chase down Rose so ferociously because they desire a mother (as does Alessa)? The first one to appear on screen reached out like it was trying to hug Rose like a child. The others claw at her in a similar fashion, and cry the worst when she leaves them and escapes out of the door at the end of the scene.
Also, Cybil said "Mother is God in the eyes of a child." Maybe the mumblers (having twisted/wounded/incomplete souls) seek Rose as a mother and a god to seek repair or closure for thier souls. The cry like children too (although a thousand times freakier), and babies cry when they need something. Older children often cry when in physical or emotional pain (which they are - Gans also said "Everyone one in Silent Hill is suffering....") and they seek a mother to heal thier wounds (take note of the flaming holes covering thier bodies).
The crucified miner might be somehow intended as a kind of father-figure, but that's a big maybe.
So whadya think? Grey children as a metaphor for parenthood? Or are they just supposed to be scary as hell?

Post by **Stevo** » 01 Jan 2007

The first thing I noticed about that alley is its significance to SH1. Where harry was just killed by the grey childeren.

I think they represent Alessa's pain. As they look quite similair to Alessa after she was burned and rescued by Gucci. And their cry could be one of pain as they start as the scorch marks appear. They could be the childeren that harrased her in school (enforced by the janitor being turned into a monster) Cursed to a similair fate as her as revenge.

About their eyes, I posted a small animation of the scene where the first grey child appears. Their eyes are not to the sides of their faces but it looks straight at Rose. So that ruled out.

Post by **Tom133t** » 01 Jan 2007

About thier eyes - I got the "eyes off to the side" thing from the monster making feature off of the DVD.
Yvone Ng (the woman who played all of the grey children) was wearing a costume with the eyes to the side...

Post by **just another guy** » 01 Jan 2007

wait
I thought Gans said that every monster,
including the cockroaches,
was someone who died in the fire.
or did i hear it wrong?

Post by **Tom133t** » 01 Jan 2007

I believe that he said they could have been.
Like, one of those "let the audience answer it!!" kind of things.....

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 12 Jan 2007

I just assumed that's what Alessa done to the classmates that used to bully her.

Post by **Dutchman** » 12 Jan 2007

the great knife wrote:I just assumed that's what Alessa done to the classmates that used to bully her.

I think that the most plausable theory.

Post by **Lostkitsune** » 12 Jan 2007

Dutchman wrote:
the great knife wrote:I just assumed that's what Alessa done to the classmates that used to bully her.
I think that the most plausable theory.

I have to agree with this as well...I have noticed that they gather around Rose much like bullies would do around an innocent kid or maybe I am just looking into things too much

Post by **Stevo** » 12 Jan 2007

Lostkitsune wrote:I have noticed that they gather around Rose much like bullies would do around an innocent kid or maybe I am just looking into things too much

I havent thought about it that way. that sounds very plausible indeed.

Post by **Douglas_Cartland** » 13 Jan 2007

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

Since in the game silent hill Characters see what they fear is it possible that the Grey Children Symbolist Rose's fear of seeing Sharon dead.In other word the Grey Children aren't really there but Rose sees them because of the first fear that goes though a parents mind when they child goes missing.Either that or they are Alessa's dead class mates since the tormented her at school.

Post by **Silent Fantasy** » 13 Jan 2007

well,as far as i know about SH1,the movie seemed to work the same way as the 1st game.alessa controlled and created the hell world and the monsters.so the monsters in that world would have nothing to do with rose or anybody but alessa.(im not saying the movie has anything to do with the game either.)

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 13 Jan 2007

yea, the whole "The character see what they fear" thing only works for Silent Hill 2. Otherwise it's completely under the power of Alessa, Heather/Claudia, or Walter.

Post by **Numboy** » 13 Jan 2007

Dutchman wrote:
the great knife wrote:I just assumed that's what Alessa done to the classmates that used to bully her.
I think that the most plausable theory.

I agree with that...

Post by **The Necronoir** » 17 Jan 2007

I have to disagree. I don't think any of the monsters in this movie are the literal embodiment of real people. It is certainly a possible explanation, but I don't think it's the most probable one. As written on the official blog:

Hi, there. A lot of Silent Hill game fans have wondered about the nature of the monsters. Are they people turned into monsters or just manifestations of the character's mind? Will the movie answer this question or will it keep the mystery about the creatures that we all find so freaky?
- Rebecca M

I think that every interpretation is possible. The easiest and most basic explanation of course is that the monsters are victims of the vengeance of Alessa. Grotesque figures of doomed people. People in hell. Another explanation is that they are hallucinations. Monsters coming from the psyche of the protagonists. eg: The Mumblers, small child like creatures ( that we call the Greychildren in the movie,) Harry Mason meets them as does Rose as they search for their little girls. They are not only the twisted figures that inhabit Silent Hill but the reflections of the fear and anxiety of these desperate parents.

The only concrete exception I have made in revealing the origins of a creature is a new monster we created called the Janitor. We see him as a human being (in the past), we see him dead (in the foggy world) and we see him as a monster (in the darkness.) This is one of the explanations of our work. I have said many times Silent Hill is a place where dimensions cross and you can exist in different manifestations. The Janitor is a great example of this concept.

Even the Janitor, the most 'real' of any of the creatures, is only a monster because of Alessa's memories of him. In reality he is quite clearly dead. Further evidence is the fact that, of all the real people we see encounter the darkness, ALL of them die. Here I'm especially thinking of the cult members in the miner's suits. It's certainly possible to interpret the Grey Children as stemming from Alessa's memories of her classmates, but the idea that they ARE those classmates, disfigured into creatures, is a very unimaginative and rather unlikely prospect. If that many children and people had gone missing there's no way the town could have remained as unnoticed and unknown as it did.

I also contend the idea that they have 'seeing' eyes at all. From that animation someone kindly provided it seems clear to me that all we're seeing is the smoldering fire inside them glowing out through their eye-sockets. As the scene progresses this fire flares up until they finally burn away. As far as burning children go this pretty clearly an analogue of Alessa's own experience, so the children likely represent her more than they do anyone else.

As for them closing in around Rose like bullies, I think it's much more similar to a bunch of lost children swarming toward someone who could help them. The crying reinforces that idea.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 12 Mar 2007

They gray children were the children who tormented alessa

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 14 Mar 2007

As the scene progresses this fire flares up until they finally burn away

They didn't burn away, that was just the worlds switching again, the same thing happens every time.
The Janitors dead body is identical to the monster he becomes when the worlds switch, so Alessa obviously killed him that way, so why not the Grey Children?

Post by **xxmemmasxx** » 14 Apr 2007

personally, I dont think they resemble anything but little grey people

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 15 Apr 2007

The Janitors dead body is identical to the monster he becomes when the worlds switch, so Alessa obviously killed him that way, so why not the Grey Children?

Because Alessa never killed any children.

Post by **Harrys_Girl** » 15 Apr 2007

The Grey Children are symbolic of those who were present at the burning, AS WELL AS the children in school who use to tortue her in class. The teachers/nuns didn't make them stop or punish them, so Alessa did. The whole movie is based on Alessa's revenge.

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 15 Apr 2007

Yea, but she only carried that revenge on the cultists and the janitor. As someone else mentioned, it'd be really obvious if a bunch of children dissapeared/died.

Plus I don't think you can put "ridicule" on the same scale as "Rape and attempted murder."