Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Heather finds out why it's true that you shouldn't talk to strangers. Or look in mirrors, quite honestly.

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Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by Jonipoon »

Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers
Or at least, not to the same extent that Alessa had.

Background: Her original form [Alessa], was an extremely powerful psychic who could float in the air, teleport, and even kill people with her mind. She was powerful enough to split her soul in two to create a reincarnation of herself [Cheryl]. Source: Silent Hill Official Guidebook

The 7-year old Cheryl we see in SH1 does not possess any of Alessa's supernatural powers. Nor is it ever shown in game or stated by the developers that Cheryl would manifest those powers later in her life, should Alessa not have intervened. With this in mind, we can only assume that the reincarnated version of Alessa [Cheryl] was a 'pure vessel' created to obstruct Dahlia's plans, and her only "power" was her spiritual bond with Alessa that allowed her to sense that half of her soul was calling for help. Dahlia knew that half a soul wouldn't be enough to complete the ritual.

At the end of SH1: Both halves of the soul were restored into one body and given by 'God' to Harry Mason in the form of a newborn, which still had a piece of that 'God' inside of it - as this newborn would grow up to become Heather, so would that piece inside of her grow and mature until she [Alessa] was ready to give birth to 'God' again. Source: Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill 3

17 years later, Heather was pulled back to Silent Hill as the 'God' inside of her reached maturation. This was being orchestrated by Claudia, Alessa's childhood friend, whom seeked to fulfill Dahlia's plan and finish what she started. Although not as powerful as Alessa, Claudia was a psychic herself, capable of summoning 'monsters' and therefore having some sort of influence on the Otherworld. The bizarre events in SH3 were therefore not happening directly because of Heather, but rather as a combination of 'God' growing inside of her and Claudia's presence. Source: Book of Lost Memories

Which brings us back to the first question: Why doesn't Heather have psychic powers like her original form [Alessa] used to have?

You'd think that Heather would be much harder for Claudia to catch if she was able to levitate and teleport herself like Alessa did. But the truth is that Heather does not possess those powers; in fact, she doesn't seem to possess any supernatural powers at all. Why? Because even though Heather technically IS Alessa and has most if not all of Alessa's original memories, she also has the memories of Alessa's first reincarnation [Cheryl]. At the end of SH3, Heather actually ceases to call herself Heather and instead chooses the name her father gave to her [Cheryl]. Undoubtedly, she did this out of love for her father - But could it also be a subtle hint to why she doesn't have Alessa's powers?

Answer & Explanation
When both halves of the soul were restored into one body in SH1, 'God' also stripped Alessa of her powers and left nothing but the ability to give birth to 'God'. As such, this newborn was another 'pure vessel', but in a different way - this time it was 'God''s vessel, and not Alessa's.

So, what about Vincent saying that Heather and Claudia both have powers? This can very easily be explained by the reputation Alessa previously had made among members of the cult in Silent Hill; Vincent had probably heard everything about it and knew what Alessa was capable off - Just because he thinks that Heather has the same powers Alessa used to have, doesn't mean she actually has them.

Once the fetus of 'God' leaves Heather's body at the end of SH3, she becomes a normal girl. She can now go on with her life and be happy, which is heavily implied in the [Normal] ending.

I like this explanation because it makes so much more sense and has a deeper symbolic meaning to it. Rather than pretending that Heather "just doesn't know how to manifest or use her powers" or "the powers lies dormant and her kids will be psychics" or something stupid like that, this explanation will make everything come to full circle.

If we go back to SH1, Alessa at one point wanted to die - That was the whole point of her placing the Seal of Metatron all over town, which would've also prevented the birth of 'God'. Now, we do not know if Alessa did this out of pure selflessness or if there is more to it - But I'd like to think there is more to it. Alessa was bullied for being different as kid, she was called a witch and were told to "drop dead" by her classmates. She despised having psychic powers. All she ever wanted was to be with her mother, call it a "normal and happy life" if you will.

If my theory is right, then after SH3 this "new" Alessa [Cheryl] becomes what she always wanted to be but couldn't be - just a normal girl.

Wouldn't that be a sweet ending to all the misery that Alessa went through?
Last edited by Jonipoon on 08 Dec 2018, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by AuraTwilight »

Heather clearly has the capacity to use Alessa's powers. She receives psychic visions and she can subconsciously warp reality via the Otherworld in ways other characters don't seem to.

She doesn't use them because she doesn't want or believe in them. They have no true power in her mind, just like the Seal of Metatron, a powerful sigil for Alessa that became worthless in Heather's hands.

The only thing Heather does have such unwavering faith in is her father, which is why the Aglaophotis pill still works.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by Jonipoon »

AuraTwilight wrote:Heather clearly has the capacity to use Alessa's powers. She receives psychic visions and she can subconsciously warp reality via the Otherworld in ways other characters don't seem to.

She doesn't use them because she doesn't want or believe in them. They have no true power in her mind, just like the Seal of Metatron, a powerful sigil for Alessa that became worthless in Heather's hands.

The only thing Heather does have such unwavering faith in is her father, which is why the Aglaophotis pill still works.
Book of Lost Memories states that the monsters in the shopping mall were manifested because of Claudia's presence, not Heather's.

All of Heather's "psychic visions" in SH3 can be explained as an effect of 'God' growing inside of her. Either that, or because of 'The memory of Alessa' that seeks to destroy her and the fetus.

The Seal of Metatron became worthless to Heather because she didn't know how to use it, and had no interest in doing so (just like you pointed out). Nevertheless it doesn't prove that Heather has psychic powers.

Aglaophotis can be used by anyone to evict 'demons' on anyone, not necessarily by someone with powers, as Harry did on Cybil in SH3.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by AuraTwilight »

'Claudia's presence' is super vague and could be as much as "Claudia's proximity stirred Alessa's memory and thus God's quickening and thus monsters."

The psychic vision was described as probably being a warning from Alessa, iirc.

I mean let's be real the Seal of Metatron and Agalophotis probably only function because those are the rules of Alessa's world and she had faith in those things. Claudia and Heather do not.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by Jonipoon »

Neither one really does confirm otherwise, but a vague explanation is more plausible than none at all. That's the reason why I got the theory in the first place.

'The Memory of Alessa' shows that a part of the original Alessa still 'lives' on, in some way, even after Heather 'destroys' her. As the message on the ground says:

It would be better for "myself" to die. After all, it's nothing to be afraid of...

This makes it seem as if the original Alessa has 'died' but still 'lives' as some kind of spirit in the town, which is out of Heather's control. Again, the visions can be explained by the fetus inside or the memory of Alessa having an influence on Heather.

The other explanation would be that everything is happening inside Heather's head, but that doesn't work since others like Douglas can see the monsters too.

>Seal of Metatron and Agalophotis probably only function because those are the rules of Alessa's world and she had faith in those things. Claudia and Heather do not.
Harry didn't even know what Agalophotis was, and it still worked. In other words, when it comes to Agalophotis you don't need faith - it's just a liquid used to extract demons, simple as that. The Seal of Metatron is not the same thing, and not relevant in this theory.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by AuraTwilight »

Harry was in Alessa's world, where she set the rules. He didn't really need to understand it.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by Jonipoon »

I don't think you need to make it that complicated. If that was the case, Aglaophotis would never work unless the surroundings was under the influence of a powerful psychic like Alessa. In that case, it would make no sense at all for Kaufmann to keep it.

What's the point of having a magic liquid to prevent yourself from demons unless you're a psychic? It doesn't make sense.

Aglaophotis can be used by anyone.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

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Demons don't even exist outside of Alessa's mind, so it doesn't really matter. Kauffman would keep loads of the stuff if A) He knows a cult's God is real and will give him power and kill people who oppose him via its psychic host B) The same old bitch who pulled it off and can cast spells says that this junk is hella magic.

If one thing is true, it's probably all true, Kauffman could've concluded.

You still haven't explained the discrepancy of the Seal of Metatron legitimately having power in the first game, but not the third. You can't dismiss it as merely being a trinket as opposed to the drawn sigils, because SH3's lorebooks say it's the image itself that has power.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by Jonipoon »

What a 'demon' is, is up for the person experiencing it to decide. Nevertheless, that's contradictory, because you are clearly making it sound as if Alessa was the only one in the Silent Hill universe capable of performing supernatural things, when that's clearly not the case.

If the image on the seal itself is the source of power, it simply means that it doesn't work unless you know how to use it, or (as you said yourself) that Heather [Cheryl] doesn't believe in it. It's more likely that Heather had no idea what it was, while Claudia clearly thinks its a useless trinket.

In all honesty, both the Seal of Metatron and Aglaophotis have little to none relevance to my theory. I don't know why you decided to hung up on those. No matter how you choose to interpret the correct use of those two things, in both scenarios it's possible that Heather [Cheryl] doesn't have any psychic powers.

But, since you want to concentrate of those two things, let us make a scenario test with the use of the Sea of Metatron:

If Heather doesn't have psychic powers:
Heather believes in its powers -> Can't use it
Heather doesn't believe in its powers -> Can't use it

If Heather has psychic powers:
Heather believes in its powers -> Can use it
Heather doesn't believe in its powers - > Can't use it

In the first scenario, the outcome will always be the same. In the second scenario, the outcome will be different. So the first scenario is more likely to be correct because the result doesn't change - it's stable.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by AuraTwilight »

Eh; I just don't see any reason for Heather not to have powers, especially since the game open with her unconsciously using them. It satisfies all the data points, and requires less assumptions imo, if the potential is there but she never harnessed them due to having a much better upbringing. The series itself references the parapsychology belief that telekinesis is more common in young girls with emotional problems, after all.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

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AuraTwilight wrote:Eh; I just don't see any reason for Heather not to have powers, especially since the game open with her unconsciously using them. It satisfies all the data points, and requires less assumptions imo, if the potential is there but she never harnessed them due to having a much better upbringing. The series itself references the parapsychology belief that telekinesis is more common in young girls with emotional problems, after all.
What's interesting though, is that while Book of Lost Memories openly states that Claudia was the reason for the monsters to manifest at the mall, when it comes to Heather's dream they simply suggest that Heather may have precognitive powers. The way they describe it makes the latter sound more vague than the former. It may be a translation issue, but still, they're not openly stating that Heather has precognitive powers. She may still have, of course, but it might also be a side effect of 'God' maturing inside of her, or a warning from the memory of Alessa. I'd say the latter is very plausible in this case.

Personally, I just feel it would be a beautiful "twist" and be of great significance to Alessa, if her original wish of just being normal finally came true - albeit in a different 'self'.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by AuraTwilight »

That translation is pretty much almost entirely unreliable since those sorts of grammar issues straight up don't exist in Japanese.

But...eh. Having powers you never use is the same as having no powers, so literally whatever.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

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AuraTwilight wrote:The series itself references the parapsychology belief that telekinesis is more common in young girls with emotional problems, after all.
Just went back to see this quote and realized that its also true in the case of Walter Sullivan. So, children with emotional problems in general.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

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Heather does show her powers in a number of ways. The Koishiki guide says Alessa's powers manifests as a "hunch" rather than floating and stuff:

- She has a dream that saves her life;
- She immediately knows Claudia is behind all of the weird stuff that's happening, asking her if she did "all this";
- She doesn't trust Vincent because "there's something wrong" with him. Granted, anyone could see that, but still, she's aware there's a bigger picture;
- She manifests a ghost in the subway that pushes her into the tracks;
- She recognizes Leonard when she seems him, which is pretty difficult, imo;
- She asks Vincent if there was "someone else in the room just now" because she can feel Claudia's presence;
- She conveniently find the key that will save her life in a box of cookies that will simply fall from the shelves by itself.
- She feels Douglas pointing a gun at her;
- Her reaction to Memory of Alessa is of sudden realization rather than just surprise.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by Flanker_27 »

Yeah, she does have psychic powers that are relatively often shown in the game; however, she isn't able to use them as she wants, unlike Alessa, because she's a "downgraded" version of her, who's trapped in a more human form.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by Droo »

^ This has always been my thoughts on it, too.
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Re: Theory: Why Heather doesn't have psychic powers

Post by HeartlessBastard »

Flanker_27 wrote:Yeah, she does have psychic powers that are relatively often shown in the game; however, she isn't able to use them as she wants, unlike Alessa, because she's a "downgraded" version of her, who's trapped in a more human form.
I think it's downgrated because she's had a normal childhood, free of occultism, beatings, White Claudia and etc. She could have been just as powerful if her powers were cultivated, but she never had a reason to use them. We do see them growing in the game, but never as strong as Alessa's, of course.
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