Lisa Garland
From Silent Hill Wiki
23 (Silent Hill)
Jennifer Woodward (Origins)
- This article is for Lisa Garland as seen in the original Silent Hill. For her role in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, see Lisa Garland (Shattered Memories).
| “ | I'm the same as them. I just hadn't noticed it before.
- Lisa to Harry upon realising she isn't what she thought | ” |
Lisa Garland is a fictional character in the Silent Hill video game series, making appearances in Silent Hill and Silent Hill: Origins, and the upcoming Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Some of Lisa's history is left to the gamer to surmise, since they only learn as much as the player characters (Harry Mason and Travis Grady) know.
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Biography
Lisa Garland is a nurse who worked at Alchemilla Hospital. She was addicted to White Claudia, a drug being dealt by the hospital's administrator, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, and Silent Hill's resident cult, the Order. One of Lisa's duties was to take care of the patient Alessa Gillespie, who was severely burned in a fire. Alessa's body was covered in burn wounds which would not heal, and were always oozing blood and pus, requiring frequent bandaging. Lisa did not understand what was keeping the girl alive, and the ordeal of constantly replacing the bandages took a toll on her sanity. Alessa misinterpreted Lisa's care as actual affection, something she desperately wanted having never received any from her mother. This might be the reason why Lisa retains her human form and indivuality during the events of Silent Hill.
Appearances
Silent Hill
When Harry stumbles into the 'Alternate' Hospital, which is full of gore and demonic nurses, he finds Lisa huddled in a room hiding from the monsters. She claims that she has no idea what is going on, explaining that she passed out and when she came to, everything was different. Lisa is a good source of information about Dahlia Gillespie and the old cult that used to reside in the town.
Harry periodically loses consciousness and finds himself back in the Otherworld hospital, without explanation. Interestingly, Lisa does not act startled when he awakens, claiming that he never left and that he was having a bad dream. During one of these episodes, Harry wakes up with a start and finds himself in the hospital again; Lisa emerges over him with her left eye twitching.
During the final paranormal trip through the hospital, Lisa explains to Harry that she ventured into the basement of the hospital and began to "understand" what is happening. Lisa realizes that she is only alive because she never noticed that she is the same as the other Puppet Nurses, who are dead. When she begs Harry to help her, he shoves her back, and Lisa starts bleeding from her head and every orifice. She staggers toward Harry until he runs out of the room. Although she sobs and bangs on the door behind him, Harry is too frightened and holds the door shut.
Harry may reenter Lisa's room if the player wishes, only to find that she is gone. Among her things is her diary; in it, Lisa writes that she can't stand being alone with "that patient" in the basement any more and is going to tell "the Doctor" that she wanted to quit. A cryptic videotape which Harry found earlier can now be played if he inserts it into a VCR. The tape recording shows a woman covering her face with her hands (but speaking in Lisa's voice) pleading with an unseen figure and promising she "won't tell a soul".
Lisa does not appear again until the end of the game. If the conditions for earning either the Good or Good+ endings are met, she appears after defeating the final boss; just as Kaufmann is about to escape, a bloodied Lisa rises through the floor and drags the horrified Kaufmann down into the pit she came from.
Silent Hill 3
It was stated by the game's staff that Lisa's soul is still in torment because of her actions in the first game. In fact, Lisa is represented by the bound nurse Valtiel is seen torturing in several locations throughout Silent Hill 3, and the short film Fukuro. The same clip Harry saw of Lisa wondering what is keeping Alessa alive is seen by Heather, the reincarnation of Alessa. She does remember Lisa faintly and is grateful for her care.
Silent Hill: Origins
Lisa appears in the prequel game Silent Hill: Origins. Her role as an informant does not change. When Travis Grady wakes up in the reception area of Alchemilla Hospital, Lisa is by his side and she introduces herself as a trainee nurse working in the hospital.
Her kindheartedness shows when she persists on asking if Travis is alright. Lisa reveals that Alessa Gillespie had died because of her burns and tells Travis that she has to leave because Michael Kaufmann requests to meet her at Cedar Grove Sanitarium.
At the end of the Otherworld sanitarium level, Travis finds Lisa in one of the rooms sitting on a chair with Michael Kaufmann nowhere in sight. Lisa grieves about a woman who always waits for her son and when Travis asks who it is, Lisa replies sternly, “No! You KNOW who's in there!” before running off.
In Artaud Theater, Travis finds Lisa sitting on one of the seats in the theater. Lisa tells Travis that the door was open and because she loves the theater, she let herself in. She states that she wants to be actress, but isn’t because nursing is her family’s tradition. In an awkward moment, Lisa playfully flirts with Travis and suddenly backs away, coming off as her acting skills.
At the Riverside Motel, the player can see Lisa’s red cardigan through a peephole in the Rose suite and hear her giggling. When Travis enters the Rose suite through a hole in the ceiling, he discovers Lisa and Michael Kaufmann buttoning up next to a heart shaped bed, implying that they had consensual sexual interaction with each other (and that Travis had disrupted them). Lisa proceeds to leave the room after saying “Travis” in a harsh tone. There is also evidence of White Claudia in the room, meaning that Lisa was hooked on the drug at least 7 years before the events of the first game.
Lisa’s image
| “ | Lisa is one of my favorite characters in the series. What interested me about her was that this “damsel” type character turned out to just be another part of the town. At the same time, it was hinted that the “real” Lisa was a troubled individual. This is a cool dichotomy, because even the people in real life we think are sweet and innocent might have darker sides as well that we don’t let ourselves see. I think in Origins, we get to see this darker side and maybe it’s not pleasant for everyone...but that is still something “real” Lisa has to deal with, and maybe she dealt with it by never revealing that side to Alessa. Then again, since this is Silent Hill, maybe Climax saw a “different” Lisa than you did, and maybe I saw a third Lisa when I played the game.
| ” |
Silent Hill: Play Novel
Other appearances
Silent Hill movie
Lisa, credited here as Red Nurse, makes a small appearance in the Silent Hill film, caring for the burned Alessa Gillespie as her nurse. While she is seen tending to Alessa; she becomes curious about Alessa's appearance, leading Alessa to lash out and burn her eyes as punishment.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
- Main article: Lisa Garland (Shattered Memories).
Lisa will fulfill a similar role in the reimagining of the first Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
Creator's comment
| “ | The name Lisa comes from an actress who plays a nurse and is a murderer in the movie Sanguelia. Her last name is borrowed from Judy Garland who played a character in The Wizard of Oz who has lost her way in a dreamland. | ” |
Trivia
- If Liza Minelli had kept her mother, Judy Garland's surname, she would have been Liza Garland: one letter difference from Lisa in the game.
- In Silent Hill 4: The Room, there is a character by the name of Steve Garland. However, it is unknown if they are related.
- In the original Silent Hill, Lisa wore a badge on her white dress and a wraparound on her arm with "SP" on it, which is believed to stand for "Specialist Practitioner." In Silent Hill: Origins, Lisa wore a badge with "LPN" on it, which stands for "Licensed Practical Nurse".
Gallery
 Lisa in the opening FMV |
 Lisa meeting Harry |
 Lisa in Silent Hill: Origins |
 Lisa in Alchemilla Hospital |
 Promotional artwork of Lisa carrying a tray |
 Artwork of Lisa after her transformation found in the Japanese novel |
 Lisa in Silent Hill: Play Novel |
 Lisa, murdered by Harry Mason |
 Lisa in Silent Hill: Play Novel |
