Why Brookhaven?

[Rhen2002]

In a strange way, I liked how you didn't go back to those areas in 2-4. Leaves you wondering what is going on there now. Adds to the mystery. Like, what the bottom of Toluca Lake is like...

[NightFlutter]

The creators got lazy. I would too. Slap the name "Silent Hill" on a pile of elephant dung and they'll make a couple mil.

[Mis Krist.]

Bumping this after four years, because I've been digging through my brain trying to come up with a plausible idea as to why the hell Brookhaven is there (apart from the Leonard hunt) and if it could have any other significance to the game and its characters (namely Alessa and Claudia).

Here's what I speculated. It's still in pretty rough form, so have patience!

Without simply handwaving Brookhaven's existence in SH3 as lazy developers or a general be all/end all "Alessa doesn't like hospitals" explanation (which I've seen others do and I myself am guilty of one of these brush offs), I think I've managed a somewhat plausible theory as to why we have to go in there again with Heather.

It's been established that SH3's Otherworld is a combination of both Claudia's nightmares/influence and Alessa's -- perhaps Heather's. With this in mind, is it possible that Brookhaven would reflect something about Claudia despite her not being present at the hospital at the time? I think so, considering who IS there: her father, Leonard.

It's no secret what sort of monster Leonard was to his daughter. If Vincent was aware of his cruelty and abuse, I think it safe to say that Alessa knew of her friend's suffering, too, considering that they see each other as surrogate sisters. So while Claudia's influence on Brookhaven's transformation is still significant, I think Alessa's presence is more overwhelming over all. That would probably be due to her power spreading and Heather being the one to experience the shifts. This relates back to Leonard because, if Alessa was aware what sort of father he truly was, she would naturally project something of that onto him in their first(?) encounter while at Brookhaven. She has a bias (or fear) that manifests itself into reality. Alessa knows Leonard is a monster, she sees him as such. Claudia believes (either outright or suppressed) that her father is a monster, and he's represented as such. Heather sees Leonard as a monster probably because (1) their exchanges have been rather volatile and creepy, (2) she knows he's part of the cult (and she makes no secret what her feelings are towards those people), and (3) she's, y'know, Alessa.

I justify this theory because of SH2's inclusion of personal nightmare worlds blending and overlapping, however briefly. James experiences this with Angela and Eddie repeatedly, so it's not like the idea was simply fabricated for Silent Hill 3. With this precedent, it seems as if SH3's Otherworld transformations are a mix of overlapping nightmares lasting longer, and without the direct presence of the person responsible for said nightmare. Brookhaven might be a mix of a few people's nightmares clashing, or just the physical manifestation of a mixed interpretation of some cult members. If it shows Alessa's obsessions and nightmares, and as previously stated I think it also shows some Claudia influence. Perhaps it also has Alessa and Claudia's shared views on certain members of the cult (Leonard, possibly Stanley?), or just them being overzealous fucknuts. Alessa and Claudia were both victims of the overzealous members of their religion -- and though Claudia later becomes just as nutty, she justifies her actions even though she knows it's condemned her. I still feel as if she separates herself from the other Order members, who even think she's frightening for her fervor, and in a way becomes the very thing she loathes/d about her father.

To sum all this up in one sentence: It's like Brookhaven's one giant incubator for a mind screw of clashing and overlapping nightmares and fears.

[ValTanner]

^What Nurse Babz said. Leonard was insane, so he was committed to Brookhaven. Alchemilla is a General Hospital.

Actually, Alchemilla is the Mental Facility and Brookhaven is the normal one, but they tend to blur lines throughout the series. After all, Stanley was at Brookhaven as well... yet Alessa was kept at Alchemilla, same as Alex. While at Alchemilla, Alessa was treated for wounds while Alex was treated for mental issues...

[Soulless-Shadow]

^What Nurse Babz said. Leonard was insane, so he was committed to Brookhaven. Alchemilla is a General Hospital.

Actually, Alchemilla is the Mental Facility and Brookhaven is the normal one, but they tend to blur lines throughout the series. After all, Stanley was at Brookhaven as well... yet Alessa was kept at Alchemilla, same as Alex. While at Alchemilla, Alessa was treated for wounds while Alex was treated for mental issues...

Originally, during SH1, Alchemilla was a general hospital, but sometime between SH1 and Homecoming it started to operate as a mental facility. Also, if I remember correctly, only the upper levels of Brookhaven are for mental patients. The lower levels are for general purpose.

[Arthemesic]

^What Nurse Babz said. Leonard was insane, so he was committed to Brookhaven. Alchemilla is a General Hospital.

Actually, Alchemilla is the Mental Facility and Brookhaven is the normal one, but they tend to blur lines throughout the series. After all, Stanley was at Brookhaven as well... yet Alessa was kept at Alchemilla, same as Alex. While at Alchemilla, Alessa was treated for wounds while Alex was treated for mental issues...

Drew's right. Alchemilla was a general hospital whereas Brookhaven was moreso a Mental Hospital.

[Mis Krist.]

Subsequent games have shown that both hospitals had similar features, to the point where Alchemilla was just as good a place for the psychologically damaged as Brookhaven.

[SHF]

^What Nurse Babz said. Leonard was insane, so he was committed to Brookhaven. Alchemilla is a General Hospital.

I think the better question is, why was BrookHaven was in Silent Hill 2. I'll post a thread about it in thr SH2 category.

because james saw laura run into brookhaven, so he followed.

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

laura was looking for mary in the apartments, in brookhaven hospital, and other places as well.

[Arthemesic]

Subsequent games have shown that both hospitals had similar features, to the point where Alchemilla was just as good a place for the psychologically damaged as Brookhaven.

It seems that Alchemilla wasn't a mental facility before SH: Homecoming, though.

[The Adversary]

And Brookhaven Hospital was never explicitly a mental hospital.

[simeonalo]

^What Nurse Babz said. Leonard was insane, so he was committed to Brookhaven. Alchemilla is a General Hospital.

I think the better question is, why was BrookHaven was in Silent Hill 2. I'll post a thread about it in thr SH2 category.

because james saw laura run into brookhaven, so he followed.

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

laura was looking for mary in the apartments, in brookhaven hospital, and other places as well.

You could also count that one theory on how Mary stayed at Brookhaven.

[Mis Krist.]

Subsequent games have shown that both hospitals had similar features, to the point where Alchemilla was just as good a place for the psychologically damaged as Brookhaven.

It seems that Alchemilla wasn't a mental facility before SH: Homecoming, though.

True. Still, this didn't seem out of line for me. Even regular hospitals have psych wards, though! Not so far-fetched to assume Alchemilla's expanded over time.

[Arthemesic]

Not so far-fetched to assume Alchemilla's expanded over time.

Most likely to have happened, indeed.

[Uyrikeustek]

Yeah I was wondering about the hospital choice as well. Now I know. I also wondered why there is the sanitarium if there are already two hospitals.