Asphyxia
From Silent Hill Wiki
Asphyxia is the monstrous and vengeful incarnation of Nora Holloway. It appears as a boss in Silent Hill: Homecoming. Asphyxia resembles a mass of female bodies gruesomely fused together in a chain. It has no legs and instead uses dozens of arms and hands, as it snakes across the ground and uses them for striking. It has no eyes and its mouth is often covered by the upper hands growing out of its shoulders.
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Silent Hill: Homecoming
Asphyxia appears when Alex Shepherd finds Judge Holloway strapped to a chair, which he quickly frees her from. He shows her the necklace that Elle Holloway gave to him, which belonged to Nora. The memories of Nora summon Asphyxia soon after. He escorts her to safety when Asphyxia emerges from a fleshy hole in the wall, attacking Deputy Wheeler and pulling him in with it. Holloway then seals the door behind her, smiling evilly as Alex is trapped in the chamber with her daughter's monstrous incarnation.
Character
Asphyxia attacks with its numerous limbs, but it primarily strikes with its four main arms, often in a series of three swings. It also can spin around and knock Alex down with its long tail section, or simply charging him head on, as well as open its mouth and let out a ghastly shriek which can send Alex tumbling backwards. Its weakness is that it is somewhat easy to dodge (though quite damaging), and its tail section is a vital weak point on her body, damaging it stuns Asphyxia long enough to get a hit on her head. After taking enough damage, Alex forcibly parts the hands covering its mouth forcing it to breathe, killing it. Unlike the other bosses of the game, Asphyxia only has one combat form.
Symbolism
Asphyxia's name and appearance are symbolic of how Nora Holloway died. Her mother, Judge Holloway, strangled her in order to sacrifice her, to appease The Order's dark gods and protect Shepherd's Glen. The numerous hands choking and groping Asphyxia's body portray how her family abused her and most prominently how she was murdered. Nora also loved to read, particularly her favorite book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as seen in her photo. Having multiple arms, her form appears similar to that of the Caterpillar in the book, but the similarities end there. As depicted in the game, the Asphyxia exhibits a tormented existence. It appears to be struggling with the many hands around its' body. The hands appear to be symbolic of not only Nora's death, but also restraint and possibly sexual harassment or abuse. By who Nora was harassed is unknown. It is noted there is a green substance emitted from the Asphyxia's tail when it performs a swiping attack. Usually anything green emitted from the body is a sign of serious infection or is a toxin.The green substance can be attributed to poison; poison can be linked to the wellness or lack of, concerning the soul or the mind. Further symbolism could speculate Nora was brainwashed or lied to, perhaps by her mother or the cult.
Trivia
- Asphyxia is one of the only two bosses of Silent Hill: Homecoming (the other being Amnion) that was not responsible for the death of a parent, being a reincarnation of the parent's murdered child.
- Like many of the creatures and characters in Homecoming, Asphyxia was designed by artist Kenzie LaMar. Some of the original design sketches reveal she had tentacle-like feelers coming out of her breasts.
Gallery
 Kenzie LaMar's original conceptual sketch of Asphyxia |
 Line art for Asphyxia, by Kenzie LaMar |
 A detail of the unfinished original Asphyxia artwork by Kenzie LaMar |
