The Van...a theory

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 16 Mar 2006

Hi..I'm a new guy, been lurking a while and reading all the theories... Doing another playthrough having read them all...

This is an almost unimportant point, but I get this odd feeling that James doesn't drive a blue car, like he thinks he does.

Maybe it's just an attempt to get the "ambulence" feel, but isn't it odd that every outdoor location, including the start location, has a white van sitting outside it?

A van is a good place to hide bodies ("Mary in trunk" reference)
I know, we assume he's in the car...right? Do we actually see him drive the car before one of the endings?

It's kinda tough to see the point of it, beyond James' state of self-denial.... and ok, maybe it's a hint farfetched, but why ELSE can I find nothing in silent hill beside a bare few cars, and a few dozen white vans?

Post by **Mis Krist.** » 16 Mar 2006

I think you're looking too much into it. It's just a van.. and a bunch of oddly placed cars. I don't see why it would matter if that's all that you find in the games. That's just my opinion, though..

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 16 Mar 2006

Yeah, maybe..it's just that White Vans are particularly rarer than cars, and remind a person of how to carry a sick or dead person...... either in the form of an ambulance, or in the form of a body stashed in the back...... just..dunno, uncharacteristically high ratio of them when, if it meant nothing at all, one would assume there'd be mostly cars

Post by **The 8th Aspect** » 17 Mar 2006

I commend you for that interesting observation but it's kinda out there; never heard or read anything close to it. Wow...

Post by **Droo** » 17 Mar 2006

In the trailer video for SH2 that plays if you leave it at the title screen for too long, you see a scene with Laura kicking Eddie who is sitting in front of a white van.

Discuss amongst yourselves. I don't think James drives a big white van.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 17 Mar 2006

I already searched the forum before making this post, and what I got is that the scene was removed to prevent the awkwardness of having Maria, Eddie, and Laura present together, which (some say) would result in Eddie and Laura not seeing Maria at all...

Either way, there's a HUGE overflow of big white vans in SH2, including, yes, that one that was to pow-wow Eddie, Laura, and James....

You see in the passenger seat of the blue car, and find nothing (you can actually see it when you pick the map up from the driver's seat).....

the whole "Mary is in the passenger seat" would be a sudden twist if James recognizes the wrong car in the first place.... it's also a bit more sensible that someone -else- might've left a map to silent hill before being claimed by it...of course, the Mary-at-brookhaven theory would show a reason why James might have a road map on hand...

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 17 Mar 2006

You see alot of the same vehicles repeating....it's there to reuse graphics instead of making tons of different cars that won't even be used.

Even in Sh4, the town is inhabited by mainly giant ambulences and taxis.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 17 Mar 2006

I know there's re-use, but someone must've gotten insane with that white van in the town-design. It's on almost every corner, where there's only one or two other cars anywhere.

Post by **Cherry Bomb** » 17 Mar 2006

If you look, there are actually very few different cars in town anyway, all repeated several times. Why is the white van any different?

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 17 Mar 2006

If I recall correctly, there was a Lying Figure under the white vans, but not the normal cars. So maybe they're there to provide an abundance of enemies.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 17 Mar 2006

Yes, lying figures under a lot of vans..hmmmm
and there's tons of vans, few other things...

Post by **alone in the town** » 17 Mar 2006

In my travels in the real world, I see white vans primarily used by construction workers, electricians, HVAC workers, plumbers, phone and cable field technicians, that kind of thing.

Now, when you consider that much of the South Vale neighborhood is in various unfinished stages of construction, I think we have a much more sensible and likely explanation for the proliferation of white vans.

Post by **FBA 6100** » 17 Mar 2006

Also, we hear the car in the "In Water" ending. I don't know about you, but to me a car and a van sound significantly different. The vehicle in the "In Water" ending did not sound like a van.

Post by **Flesh Lips** » 18 Mar 2006

The vans, in my opinion, aren't meant to have any symbolism. But, i might aswel say that i was nosing around the town for some cake....but i brought my gun you see

so i escaped...hence the abandoned vans

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » 18 Mar 2006

^I was going to make an old Buttercake joke, but decided against it. >_>

Post by **jbberinger** » 20 Mar 2006

I like the idea of the white vans.
Although I would be thoroughly impressed if the creators of the game went into that much detail. Having everything in a game significant to the plot is a hard thing to do. Silent Hill usuallu does a good job of it though.

Post by **Matthew V. Smith** » 21 Mar 2006

It's a an obscure Theory but worth pointing out anyway, you never know afterall

I think it was mentioned somewhere in Translated Memorys that

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

From the start of the game James "might" have Mary in the trunk of his car, since his real reason for going to Silent Hill was to take his life in a place that holds fond memorys of him and Mary, thus the most widely accepted ending is the "In Water" think about it too, if the "In water" ending is indeed the true ending it would make sense in the real world too.
James see's himself carrying Mary to his car and driving it into the river....
"A Man was so overcome with sadness of the death of his wife that he took his own life with his wife in the trunk" it seem's plausible, and Silent Hill made it reality for him, in it's own special way.

M.

Post by **The Adversary** » 21 Mar 2006

>thus the most widely accepted ending is the "In Water"
And they're still mistaken. Rebirth > Water

Post by **Matthew V. Smith** » 22 Mar 2006

Yeah i'd say the cryptic "Rebirth" ending fits pretty well, with either of the endings it's plausible that he could have Mary in the trunk.

Post by **Bettie Bloodshed** » 22 Mar 2006

I do like this theory.

I dont know if the team really went into that detail, but it always made me feel that perhaps it was part of Jame's guilt. Hospitals, sickness, amulance white vans.

Even if we go with construction...the town is in disrepair. As well all know the town is falling apart. James is falling apart mentally. So empty vans that usuall contain workers who repair things: a running idea of an inability to repair what has been broken.

I dunno.

I might be over analyzing as well!