Pyramid Head

Japanese name:	三角頭
Nickname:	Red Pyramid Thing, Bogeyman, The Beast

Pyramid Head is a fictional character from the Silent Hill series of survival horror video games published by Konami.

Introduced in the 2001 installment Silent Hill 2, he is the antagonist and he stalks James Sunderland, the primary player character, who comes to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his deceased wife, Mary. The Silent Hill series, particularly the second installment, frequently utilizes psychology and symbolism: Pyramid Head represents James' wish to be punished for Mary's death. Masahiro Ito, the designer of Silent Hill 2's monsters, created him because he wanted "a monster with a hidden face". Known for his large triangular head, Pyramid Head lacks a voice, and his appearance stems from the town's past as a place of execution.

Pyramid Head has since appeared in other media in and outside the Silent Hill media franchise. Positively received in Silent Hill 2 for his role as an element of James' psyche, he has been cited by reviewers as an iconic villain of the series and part of Silent Hill 2's appeal.

Ito wanted to create "a monster with a hidden face", but became unhappy with his designs, which resembled humans wearing masks. He then drew a monster with a pyramid-shaped head. According to Ito, the triangle's sharp right and acute angles suggest the possibility of pain. Of the creatures that appear in Silent Hill 2, only Pyramid Head features an "overly masculine" appearance. He resembles a pale, muscular man covered with a white, blood-soaked robe reminiscent of a butcher's smock. He does not speak, but grunts and moans painfully. His most outstanding feature is his large red, triangular head. His weapons consist of the deadly and heavy Great Knife, which the player can find and use for the rest of the game, and later a spear.

According to Konami's Lost Memories, his appearance was a variation of the outfits of the executioners from the fictional history of the town. They wore red hoods and ceremonial robes to make themselves similar to Valtiel, a monster who appears in Silent Hill 3. Like Valtiel, Pyramid Head dresses in gloves and stitched cloth and pursues the game's main protagonist. According to Silent Hill 2's character designer Takayoshi Sato, he appears as a "distorted memory of the executioners" and of the town's past as a place of execution.

Christophe Gans, the director of the film adaptation of Silent Hill, suggested that Pyramid Head "was one of the executioners in the original history of the town" and "there is not one particular or exclusive manifestation of him as an entity."

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