Harry Mason

Harry as he appears in Silent Hill.

Gender

Male

Age

32 (Silent Hill)
49 (Silent Hill 3)
(born 1951)

Status

Deceased

Cause of death

Killed by the Missionary

Hair color

Brown

Eye color

Blue

Occupation

Writer

Appearance(s)

Silent Hill
Silent Hill: Play Novel
Silent Hill 2 (cameo)
Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill: Origins (voice only)

Voice actor

Michael G (Silent Hill, Silent Hill 3)

This article is for Harry Mason as seen in the original Silent Hill. For his role in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, see Harry Mason (Shattered Memories). For his role in the film, see Christopher Da Silva.

Harrold "Harry" Mason is the protagonist of the first Silent Hill game and the adoptive father of Cheryl, and later, Heather. He was voiced by Michael G in the first game (not to be confused with Michael Gough).

Personality

As stated, Harry Mason is a writer, though he is a loving and devoted father first. He is clumsy and awkward, but what he lacks in physical training, he makes up for in his devotion to his daughter, Cheryl, and the courage he needs to find her when she goes missing in the town of Silent Hill. Having lost his wife, Jodie, early in their marriage, his daughter is the most important thing he has in life, and he devotes his life to her well-being.

Harry is described by his own daughter, whom he later renames Heather, as being a "worrywart". In fact, Harry was so concerned for Heather's safety that, at one point in time, he provided her with a stun gun for self-protection, though the real reasons as to why he was so worried become apparent later in Heather's life. Harry also gave Heather a necklace containing Aglaophotis on her birthday as a sign of love, though this too was later revealed to be another act of protection against a cult known as the Order. He was also very perceptive and a quick thinker. This is shown throughout Silent Hill when he solves puzzles and picks up other character's personalities quickly.

In the novelization, it is shown that Harry has a fear of kidnappers, murderers, pedophiles and the like. Because of this, he keeps a handgun for self-defense in his Jeep's glove compartment. As well, he wrote a book titled "The Criminal's Mask", which is an analysis about offenders who go unnoticed in communities under the guise of normal citizens. Harry believes if guns disappeared from America, crime would not, and he wouldn't risk the chance of protecting his daughter.

Biography

Harry Mason is a run-of-the-mill writer; he doesn't have very many relationships with others because of this. At the age of 25, Harry and Jodie found a baby on the side of a road. The couple took the child home and named her Cheryl. However, 3 years later, at the age of 28, Harry's wife acquired a fatal disease and suddenly died. For the next 4 years, Harry raised Cheryl alone.

At 32 years old, Harry was still in deep grief over his wife's death. Cheryl, who was now 7, convinced Harry to take a peaceful vacation to relax in the resort town of Silent Hill. Harry agreed, but as they prepared for the vacation, they entered the town late at night due to engine problems. While Harry was driving towards the town with Cheryl in the front seat, he saw a young woman, who is later revealed to be Alessa Gillespie, walk into the path of his vehicle. He tried to avoid her, but lost control of his red Jeep and fell off the side of the hillside trail. He later awoke in the town to find Cheryl had gone missing.

Silent Hill

In Silent Hill, Harry meets many people. He forms a bond with Cybil Bennett, a police officer and they attempt to find his daughter. However, Cybil doesn't seem to understand Harry when he talks about phenomenal things, such as his dreams of the Otherworld and reality. Dahlia Gillespie, a priestess of a cult named "the Order", often gives clues to help Harry, yet also confuses him in doing so. While exploring the town, Harry often encounters Dahlia's daughter, Alessa, although she always disappears before Harry is able to speak to her.

In Alchemilla Hospital, Harry meets a doctor named Michael Kaufmann and a young nurse, Lisa Garland, who grows attached to Harry after he meets her. They have conversations about Silent Hill's past and Harry offers to take her with him, but she declines, stating that she doesn't feel she should leave the hospital.

Harry, Cybil and Dahlia meet up in the Resort Area to stop Alessa's plan to unleash hell on the town. In order to do this, they need to use the Flauros to stop Alessa before she marks the "Mark of Samael" at the lighthouse and Lakeside Amusement Park. Harry arrives at the lighthouse too late, so he heads over to the amusement to regroup with Cybil, who has been infected by a parasite. Harry has no choice but to defeat her in battle, and Cybil is ultimately killed. Dahlia reveals to Harry that the Mark of Samael is actually a sigil that repels against the cult's God, and Harry realizes he has been deceived.

Harry is then transported to Nowhere, where he reunites with Lisa. Lisa transforms into a puppet nurse and Harry shoves her against a wall in fear. He locks her in a room alone as she cries, though he feels sympathy for her. With Cheryl and Alessa restored to one being, Dahlia attempts to birth God again during the final showdown. However, Michael Kaufmann arrives with Aglaophotis and uses it on Alessa, expelling a monster known as the Incubus from her, which kills Dahlia using lightning. Harry defeats the Incubus in battle.

As the Otherworld crumbles in flames after the monster's defeat, Lisa reappears for a brief moment and kills Kaufmann before he is able to escape, successfully taking her revenge on him. The Incubator (Alessa) gives Harry a baby, a reincarnation of both Cheryl and Alessa, and opens a portal for him to escape. Harry enters the portal and is seen leaving Silent Hill with the newborn baby in his arms. He safely makes it to the highway on the outskirts of the town and stares up at sky, bewildered at everything that has happened.

Portland and murder case

After the first game, Harry lived an ordinary life in Portland with his new adopted daughter. The religious organization of Silent Hill, the Order, had planned to abduct the reincarnated Cheryl/Alessa and proceeded to track her down. Five years after the events of the first game, Harry killed a cult member who attempted to kidnap the reincarnated Cheryl/Alessa with a gun in self-defense. Harry was acquitted in court, and relocated to another town to hide incognito. To ensure his adopted daughter's safety, he dyed her hair from black to blonde and named her Heather. Afterwards, he eventually settled in the Daisy Villa Apartments with her. Despite feeling confused and frustrated at who Heather could be, Harry was determined to raise her.

Silent Hill 3

After Harry raised Heather in the unnamed town for 12 years, the events of Silent Hill 3 take place. Because the game takes place 17 years after the events of the original Silent Hill, Harry is now 49.

The story of Silent Hill 3 is a continuation of that of the first game. The latter half of the game reveals that Heather is actually Cheryl/Alessa reborn, and that her father was Harry Mason. In this installment, Heather runs an errand for her father at the mall and phones her father telling him that she is coming home. Heather's last words to Harry in their conversation are "I love you too, Dad."

When she returns home, Heather discovers her father slumped in a chair, having been brutally murdered by the Missionary under Claudia Wolf's orders. Heather gasps at the sight and sobs uncontrollably, saddened by the sudden loss. After defeating the Missionary by herself, Douglas Cartland helps Heather move her father's body into his bedroom and covers him with a sheet with lilies. Heather decides to kill Claudia in revenge for her father's death, who is waiting in Silent Hill. Before their car ride to Silent Hill, Douglas gives Heather a postmortem notebook from Harry. The notebook details Harry's experiences from the first Silent Hill game and is a final goodbye to his daughter. Heather wonders if her father would be mad at her decision if he were still alive and promises to return home.

In the chapel, Heather encounters a facsimile of her father's bedroom while traversing the Otherworld church. There, Harry's corpse is missing from the bed, which is stripped of its coverings with scattered lilies on the floor, and a trail of blood leads to the door. If Heather examines the bed, she will state, "This room looks just like Dad's. It's more than just a resemblance. Dad's not sleeping in the bed, though." [1]

After defeating God, Heather mourns over her father's death one last time. Just as she is ready to leave, Heather looks behind her at what is unseen by the player, which may have been Harry's presence.

At the end of the game, when Douglas calls Heather by her name, Heather states that she isn't hiding anymore and wants to be called Cheryl, the name her father originally gave her. The game closes on an image of Heather putting flowers next to Harry's grave, having given her father the burial she wanted him to have.

In Silent Hill 3's UFO ending, Heather returns home to find that Harry is not dead, and tells him about her hardships. Infuriated, Harry obliterates the town of Silent Hill with the help of aliens.

Other appearances

Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams

Harry is also found in the UFO endings of both Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams and Silent Hill 3. In Silent Hill 2, he descends from a space ship and asks James Sunderland if he has seen Cheryl; James in turn asks if Harry has seen Mary. James is then zapped by a ray gun and dragged onto the ship.

Silent Hill: Origins

Harry's voice can be heard at the end of Silent Hill: Origin's Good ending, as can his wife, when they discover Cheryl (off screen) in a field.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Main article: Harry Mason (Shattered Memories)

Harry is the protagonist of the re-imagining of the first Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, which is in a separate continuity. He is 30 years old and wears glasses in the game.

Silent Hill: Revelation

Main article: Christopher Da Silva

Harry appears in Silent Hill: Revelation, which serves as both a sequel to the first film, and as an adaptation of Silent Hill 3. Christopher Da Silva, husband of the first film's protagonist, Rose Da Silva (who replaced Harry Mason's role in the film), uses the alias "Harry Mason" in order to hide himself and his daughter Sharon (who goes under the alias "Heather Mason", respectively) from the Order. Harry is kidnapped by the cult, which forces Heather to go to Silent Hill to find him.

Creator's comment

Trivia

• Although Harrold is Harry's real first name, it is never acknowledged in the games themselves. It is shown in the Book of Lost Memories, the Play Novel Guidebook and the official Japanese website. [2] It is also said in the PAL version of the game's instruction manual that his name is "Harold Mason".

• Harry is the first male character seen in the series, making his debut within seconds of the opening sequence of Silent Hill.

• Harry's radio and pocket clip flashlight serve as the template for nearly all future Silent Hill protagonists.

• Harry's face in Silent Hill 3, seen by using a model viewer, shows him clearly aged. It is the same model used for the corpse in front of the TV in Silent Hill 2, which is James' model. [3]

• In Silent Hill, a humorous quote from Harry can be seen if one examines the dog house before reading the note at the end of Levin Street. Harry states, "Probably a doghouse, though I'm not sure since there's no dog around", even though there are two dog-like Groaners in the area.

• Harry Mason is referred to by Dahlia as 'the Hermit', the number 9 of Major Arcana of a Tarot deck. It should be noted that Alessa kept a collection of Tarot cards, which are found in Silent Hill 3, and the Book of Lost Memories many elements of the game are categorized by Tarot cards.

• Harry bears some resemblance to Ash Williams, a character from the Evil Dead franchise. They share the same hairstyles, clothes and handle their weapons in similar ways. The chainsaw and shotgun in Silent Hill were also modeled after Ash's weapons.

• In the UFO ending of Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, Harry's dialogue is the exact same as that of the first game's UFO ending.

• The director of the Silent Hill film felt Harry was feminine in nature, leading to his role being replaced with a woman named Rose Da Silva for the movie.
• In Silent Hill 3, if the player makes Heather observe her father's bookshelf (in both the apartment and Harry's Otherworld room in the church), it is revealed that Harry loved detective/mystery novels.  That being said, it could be assumed Harry was somewhat influenced by the Perry Mason character; his own name can also serve as more evidence, considering "Harry" and "Perry" rhyme and also share surnames.

Gallery

Silent Hill

Render

Harry Mason

Harry Mason

Harry waking up in Cafe 5to2

Dead Harry in his Jeep in the Bad ending

Harry holding an infant Heather in the Good ending

Harry inside a house

Harry on the game's cover

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Silent Hill 3: The Novel

A middle-aged Harry holding Heather's hand

Harry giving Heather her pendant with Aglaophotis in it on her birthday

Harry's death

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