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Molech: God of Child Sacrifice

Posted: 16 Aug 2013
by teosoleil
In the Centennial Building library, there’s a text on religious integration in early colonial society. It mentions a mysterious new god named "Moloch", along with our old pals Metatron and Samael.
Secret History of the Colonies wrote:[Pilgrim] groups studied and gradually integrated the religious practices of the
Native tribes, often interpreting deities and rites in terms of their
personal traditions. In this way, figures such as Metatron, Samael, and
Molech
were brought to the New World . . .
Image

Let's dig through some history.

Molech (AKA Moloch) was an ancient ammonite god appeased through the sacrifice of children. In the 8th-6th centuries B.C.E., firstborns were sacrificed to Molech by being placed in the hands of a hollow, burning bull statue. Flutes, drums, and other instruments were played to prevent the child’s screams from reaching witness’ ears.

This ancient rite was later condemned in religious texts, most notably notably in Leviticus 20:2–5 where God commands Moses to warn of the consequences of sacrificing to Molech:
God wrote:Whoever . . . gives any of his seed l'Molech; he shall surely be put to death . . . And I will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people; because he has given of his seed l'Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
So, sacrifice to Molech results in the death penalty and banishment. The perpetrator has defiled God’s sanctuary and profaned His name by worshipping another.

The Bible isn't the only place where Molech is mentioned. Literature alludes to him, too: Another text, this time in John Milton's Paradise Lost describes a detailed (though partly fictionalized) incarnation of Molech (bolds mine):
Paradise Lost (1667): 391-405 wrote: First, Moloch, horrid King, besmeared with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears;
Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud,
Their children’s cries unheard that passed through fire
To his grim idol. Him the Ammonite
Worshiped in Rabba and her watery plain,
In Argob and in Basan, to the stream
Of utmost Arnon
. . .
And about two centuries later, Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal (1863) interprets Milton’s depiction of Molech as a frightening and terrible demon covered with "mothers' tears" and "children's blood" (I couldn't find the specific "mother's tears" de Plancy mentions is in Milton's original, though there is allusion to "parent's tears".)

Hm...interesting. So, what does this have to do with Downpour?

Well, the Molech mythos has much do do with Downpour's characters and their arcs. Charlie is the first-born child sacrificed to Molech, who the parallel to Napier, a child murderer appeased through sacrifice.

Paradise Lost depicts Molech as being worshipped in places of water; first in the “watery plain” of Rabba, and second in the “stream of utmost Arnon”. Murphy’s watery otherworld may be an allusion to this, though it's much more likely inspired by the developer's creativity rather than obscure literary mythos.

Second is Carol. God punishes the man (Murphy) who sacrifices his child. Depending on your ending, Murphy did not do this purposefully, but in Carol's eyes it's Murphy’s fault for the death of their child. Banishment is the punishment: Carol separates from Murphy later on, and he's left alone. "Mother is God in the eyes of a child", from the first Silent Hill film, immediately reminded me of Carol's role as God and his authority as mentioned in the passage on Molech. In her letter, Carol also accuses Murphy of "destroying everything I had left in this world", alluding to the defilement of God’s sanctuary from sacrificing a child to Molech in Leviticus 20:2–5.

In his text, De Plancy cites “mothers’ tears and children’s blood” covering Molech’s body. Carol’s tears and Charlie’s blood, anyone?

This new god raises up a few questions. Could the Screamers possibly represent the voices of sacrificed, Charlie in this case? The specifics of Molech sacrifice mention playing instruments like drums and flutes to drown out the screams of the children. The purpose of the Screamers might be to stop Murphy from ignoring what he thinks is the pain Charlie suffered as he was molested and murdered by Napier.

Another thought: could this new entity, Molech, play a part in the Order's earliest mythos? Might Molech be worshipped in a separate sect in current Silent Hill?

That's pretty much it. We can thank Vatra for taking the time to add this in.

Re: Molech: God of Child Sacrifice

Posted: 17 Aug 2013
by Mephisto
I knew about Moloch already but not about his "presence" in Downpour.

Unfortunately I think I speak on pretty much everyone's behalf when I say: "Interesting. But you didn't left much room for discussion."

Apart from the last two questions, that is. For that I have an answer: Who knows?

EDIT:
Actually, I found some discussion.
Moloch's sacrifices were based on immolation. Burning the poor soul. Of animlas and children. What they did to Alessa in the first game? And she was a child.

Samael, the god that didn't exist, that false god from the Cult, could be some kind of "avatar" of Moloch. Same for Flauros in Origins. In religious history everyone knows they are different beings but it gets crazy when it comes to Silent Hill.

And in Homecoming we have the sacrifice of many children. But the "tactics" are different. They were not put to death by fire. Maybe that's why the "curse" reached Sheperd's Glen. Because the parents did it wrong.

Re: Molech: God of Child Sacrifice

Posted: 24 Aug 2013
by ashatteredmemory
I've never read that book in the Centennial Building, and I didn't know of it's existance untill now. Thank you for the research on it too :)
It really adds some depth to the story and backstory.
But I hope that there isn't yet another cult in Silent Hill, the amount of cults in Silent Hill is too damn high! I hope as hell they don't make another game revolving around it. Or at least don't make it some crazy ass ritualistic thing like in Homecoming.

Re: Molech: God of Child Sacrifice

Posted: 25 Aug 2013
by teosoleil
I don't think it's another cult...it just references another god that was originally part of the settler's combined mythos with Christianity and the religion(s) of the natives. I could see the other deity's being incorporated into the Order's mythos, with Molech being lost or fused into another deity.

Of course, Moloch could be part of an unknown sect of the Order if future developers *chose* to write him in. Then again, he probably isn't. That would be a cheesy way to flesh out something that doesn't need to be.
Mephisto wrote:Samael, the god that didn't exist, that false god from the Cult, could be some kind of "avatar" of Moloch. Same for Flauros in Origins. In religious history everyone knows they are different beings but it gets crazy when it comes to Silent Hill.

And in Homecoming we have the sacrifice of many children. But the "tactics" are different. They were not put to death by fire. Maybe that's why the "curse" reached Sheperd's Glen. Because the parents did it wrong.
How is Samael a god that "didn't exist"? I can't seem to remember that. I believe Flauros and Samael were one and the same; Flauros is the device that housed Samael (who may or may not have been a true "god" upon resurrection in Origins, most likely just another manifestation).

The parent's didn't do it wrong. Homecoming shows that ancestors of the four families used the same sacrificial methods for generations. I do see connections between Molech and whatever punished Shepherds Glen, if what punished the town was actually a deity and not just a manifested result of the sect's beliefs.

Re: Molech: God of Child Sacrifice

Posted: 25 Aug 2013
by The Adversary
> I believe Flauros and Samael were one and the same<
I disagree.

Re: Molech: God of Child Sacrifice

Posted: 25 Aug 2013
by Mephisto
How is Samael a god that "didn't exist"? I can't seem to remember that.
Just another manifestation.

Re: Molech: God of Child Sacrifice

Posted: 26 Aug 2013
by thy_butcher
But maybe that's all a God is.