thy_butcher wrote:I know of the prison in SH2, but it isn't actually there anymore (as far as I know). That thing was in the past.
Yes, it is stated in several sources, among them the Book of Lost Memories, that there were several prisons around the area. One was supposedly where Toluca POW Camp (later Toluca Prison) was later built in 1862 but was closed in 1840. Toluca Prison also closed in the early 1900's and had the Historical Society built above it.
So yes, at least to me, there is no Toluca Prison anymore. It was all in James' head and he pretty much came out behind the historical society. So it is not unlikely that there would be a new prison facility built somewhere in town, not even unlikely that there was another prison in between.
The same here, Richard Grady dies around 1961 and Origins doesn't occur until 1976, so it's not unthinkable that until then Cedar's Grove Sanitarium has already closed, as many psychiatric hospitals like this closed down after the 60's. Brookhaven also seems to have a longer history as a regular hospital, having a history back into the 1600's, so it is not that unlikely for both to exist in town.Augophthalmoses wrote:Besides, SH2 introduced Brookhaven as a mental institution. I always wondered why the hell a small town like Silent Hill would need a mental hospital and why it would be situated in the middle of a normal part of the neighborhood with a bowling alley and park nearby, but oh well. Then again Origins didn't help things by adding the Sanitarium. I don't have a problem with Silent Hill expanding but two facilities focusing on mental health in the same town seems like overkill.
We also have to consider that small-town is a very undefined word. While in some areas this would refer to a place with only around 100.000 people, the definition of town in itself varies from place to place. If the writers looked into the New England definition of town (or township) they will probably have gotten the image of a much larger place than around other parts of the US.