Written by Jonathan Wojcik
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Some Original Silent Hill Monsters
(By Darksack100)
"1. Lumpy Clutch. This psuedo-phallic creature waddles unsteadily on stumpy legs. Its arms are long and boneless, drawn taunt between its legs where they loop around and merge with the flesh of its back. Though unable to run, claw, or even make noise, they can violently contract their bodies and spray a concentrated toxin through a hole in their forehead, which also seems to be their only real orifice not covered over in skin. Alone, they are often seen ritualistically smashing their heads into walls. The Lumpy Clutch represents sexual experience (particularly masturbation), but rather than the violent or passionate side, it is the unsatisfying and numb side. Done for the sake of doing something. It is neither harmful nor harmless. It simply is.
2. Soggy Fold. A creature with very inhuman proportions. The Soggy Fold has a fleshy "sheet" over most of its body that covers its head and what could be considered an upper torso. A face appears to be looming just behind the sheet, yet the sheet also seems to form a cartilaginous ear, indicating that the entity is more convoluted than one may think. Soggy Folds are constantly fidgeting, their fingers eager for some trinket or object to touch and explore the contours of. When they touch a particularly "interesting" object, they might grab and constrict it to pull it under their outer covering. Soggy Folds represent the fear of strangers and more specifically the hands and fingers of those strangers. They represent the fear of being grabbed as an event and as a catalyst to something awful.
3. Inflated Chunk Though superficially similar to the Lumpy Clutch, the personality and behavior of this creature is very different. The Inflated Chunk has no projectile and virtually no weapons except for its mass. When it sees "prey" its head quivers and flaps excitedly. The Inflated Chunk will then try to shuffle towards the player and push them up against a wall or other solid, unyielding object until they are squashed by its pure weight. The Inflated Chunk comes from feelings of inadequacy. It is an incarnation of bad body image and a character's dangerous lack of confidence in both their physical and mental abilities. It is suffocating doubt.
4. Arched Glider The Arched Glider is an almost graceful being, walking with a swinging gait that makes it hard to hit with both melee and bullets. Arched Gliders are rare, fragile, and tend to stand out: motionless and statuesque until alerted. Unfortunately their attack is one of the most deadly: a long black skewer they use to impale, typically aimed with precision towards the back of the neck. Due to their preferred strike target, running away from an Arched Glider makes one far more vulnerable than if they faced it while backing up or attempted to melee it. The Arched Glider also represents inadequacy, but in a different way. It is not a malevolent internal viewing, but a malevolent external viewing of what a character is not. While the Inflated Chunk is the lack of confidence in oneself, the Arched Glider is the hopeless aspiration to be an impossible and superficial improvement.
5. Flesh Counter Dragging itself by its joint-less feet, the Flesh Counter will re-purpose its legs as hands in order to attack at close range. Though it cannot stand and walk, it is well suited to quickly pulling itself forward or even dangling from ceilings to catch victims. The Flesh Counter's two mouths are constantly gaping, and a fleshy tongue writhes between them. In certain death animations the tongue will rip itself from either the top body or the lower body, revealing a different head depending on which. The Flesh Counter represents unhealthy co-dependency bordering on dual-parasitism.
6. Twist Dancer This crooked creature seems to limp backwards towards victims, its only facial features a nose and a fold of skin that may be a smile. Its curtain of skin is tinged with pink and gives way to a lower body the color of chalk, with an oily sheen. The Twist Dancer has an urge to smear its wet, hairy stumps on victims, particularly near the neck and ear. Despite the inherent ickiness of this attack, it is not actually dangerous. By itself, the Twist Dancer is a harmless monster, more for scenery building than anything else. Not every manifestation can kill, or even particularly aims to do so. The Twist Dancer more than anything else is a manifestation of quick, fleeting fears. Fears that don't logically make sense or even seem overtly harmful. It is the split second sensation that something is behind you, and the uncomfortable things associated with that invasion of security.
7. Clotling The Clotling takes a recognizable form and abstracts it into an entirely different monster. Where a head should be is only a veiny hole, a toothless mouth designed to hurl globes of acidic pus. Clotlings are chiefly ranged enemies. While monsters such as the Lumpy Clutch spray toxins as a "splash", Clotlings hurl globules of goop directly at enemies with an unusual accuracy. When approached, Clotlings may continue to ready their projectiles, or may make cursory attempts to back off. Hiding out of sight, likewise, may cause them to pursue or simply stay in their spots. Clotlings move with an awkward lurching kick, sometimes falling to one side and having to clumsily regain an upright posture. In some instances, a moving Clotling will fall on its side and never be able to righten itself. It is then for all intents and purposes permanently disabled. Clotlings represent a very specific uncomfortable sensation relating to foot pain and ill-fitting or ill-designed footwear. Their gnarled "tails" and low mobility reflect the fear that such footwear could destroy one's body. These are also my favorite of the bunch.
8. Bleached Flapper A harmless creature that flops pointlessly around. The beached flapper occasionally emits broken caws and tone-deaf birdsong, but doesn't interact with the world in any other meaningful way. The Beached Flapper represents a dearly missed pet, specifically a bird. Its very existence is a mockery of the animal it used to be. Curiously enough, Beached Flappers are commonly found in areas where Soggy Folds are also plentiful, and are one of the "items" the latter will fidget with.
9. Shell Tube A sessile creature that resembles both a goose barnacle and a whale's head. The Shell Tube is frequently found in areas where the floor is partially or wholly submerged. Their main body is unmoving, with only their twitching side legs any indication of life. They will periodically open their shells and poke their "tongues" out, mimicking the action of filter feeding. When a character passes by a living one, there is a small chance their tongue slithers out, grabs a leg, and pulls, tripping the victim. The action itself does not hurt, but it temporarily stuns. Shell Tubes represent a fear of sessile sea life, and more specifically the creepy parts of said life that are usually hidden away.
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Overall, I think these do a good job of feeling like authentic monsters from the first few games, and the naming convention has the right tone as well. Of these, I like the last two the most as atmospheric "pest" monsters, one of my favorite aspects of Silent Hill, but for the more threatening monsters I like 2 (Soggy Fold) the best. There isn't mention here of what sort of person is generating this particular Silent Hill, but you can certainly paint a picture of their life from the monsters alone.
