When you boot upSilent Hill 2 (2024), you know you’re in for some weird stuff. A lot of the monsters are indeed connected to the state of James' mind and guilt, so they’ll take on a variety of twisted forms, but that’s just one thing to worry about.
Silent Hill’s Otherworld can take on various properties to change environments or show James things that weren’t apparent before. A prime example is the infamous Hole message that James can encounter while exploring a certain area of the town. It was a strange message back then, and it’s a strange message now.
Where Is The Hole Message?
While exploring Silent Hill, James will be led to many locations, some important and others not so much. Even though there is a natural progression path to the game, James ismostly free to explore on his ownand may come across a place known asNeely’s Bar.
He can be directed to it byfinding a message in the motor home on Saul Streetthat says, “I’ll be waiting at Neely’s Bar.” The bar willhelp guide Jamesto theApartment Gate Key, but he can visit it on his own by going to the corner of Neely and Sanders Street.While at the bar, there will be a message scrawled on the window that reads, “There was a hole here. It’s gone now.”
What Does The Hole Message Do?
There isno gameplay purposefor the message and it could simply be seen as another way to unnerve the player with cryptic wording.
It’snever revealedwhether someone (or something) physically wrote the message or if James is imagining it.
Writing on the wall isa common occurrencein Silent Hill 2 (2024), with “Reap what you sow” having been highlighted due to the trailer.
In the original version, James canreturn to Neely’s Barto find amuch more disturbingmessage in its placethat reads, “If you really want to see Mary, you should just die. But you might be heading to a different place than Mary, James.”
After James visits the bar to get a hint about finding the key, he canchoose to revisit,if he wants.
What Is The Symbolism Of The Hole Message?
In a discussion with the game’s Art Director,Masahiro Ito, he stated thatthis message was likely the work of one of the writers, Hiroyuki Owaku, orthe environmental artist, Takeshi Miura. However, he offered his insight into the meaning of the message, saying thatit could be symbolic of the fact that James can no longer hide from the truthof what he did.
It’s worth noting that this message is located in a bar as it’s been established that James resorted to drinking in response to the suffering he enduredas a part of his wife Mary’s illness.
Since he’s been brought to Silent Hill, it can be argued thatJames has no more holes to crawl intoand has no choice but to confront his guilt. There’s an ironic side to this, as when James reaches the Historical Society, he is forced tojump down literal holesto navigate the area until finally arriving at the Labyrinth. This contrasts with the last area of the game where James has to climb to the top of a building to confrontthe final boss.
