Mary's Letter is an important item received in Silent Hill 2. The letter was written by Mary Shepherd-Sunderland while she was terminally ill and was meant to be given to James, her husband; however, it is the mystery of the letter that brings James to Silent Hill. It is already in James's inventory at the start of the game.
Depending on which ending the player receives, Mary may give it to James in the "Leave" and "In Water" endings, or Maria may give it to James in the "Maria" ending.
In the beginning, the letter ends at the line "Waiting for you...", leading James to believe that Mary is indeed alive and doing just that, whereas the final letter reveals that it was actually written shortly before her death.
Transcript[]
"In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you'd take me
there again someday.
But you never did.
Well, I'm alone there now...
In our 'special place'...
Waiting for you...
Waiting for you to
come to see me.
But you never do.
And so I wait, wrapped in my
cocoon of pain and loneliness.
I know I've done a terrible
thing to you. Something you'll
never forgive me for.
I wish I could change
that, but I can't.
I feel so pathetic and ugly
laying here, waiting for you...
Every day I stare up at the cracks
in the ceiling and all I can think
about is how unfair it all is...
The doctor came today.
He told me I could go
home for a short stay.
It’s not that I'm getting better.
It’s just that this may be
my last chance...
I think you know what I mean...
Even so, I'm glad to be coming
home. I've missed you terribly.
But I'm afraid, James.
I'm afraid you don't really
want me to come home.
Whenever you come see me,
I can tell how hard it is on you...
I don't know if you
hate me or pity me...
Or maybe I just disgust you...
I'm sorry about that.
When I first learned that
I was going to die, I just
didn't want to accept it.
I was so angry all the time and I
struck out at everyone I loved most.
Especially you, James.
That's why I understand
if you do hate me.
But I want you to
know this, James.
I'll always love you.
Even though our life together had
to end like this, I still wouldn't
trade it for the world. We had
some wonderful years together.
Well, this letter has gone on
too long, so I'll say goodbye.
I told the nurse to give
this to you after I'm gone.
That means that as you read
this, I'm already dead.
I can't tell you to remember me,
but I can't bear for you to
forget me.
These last few years since I
became ill... I'm so sorry for
what I did to you, did to us...
You've given me so much and
I haven't been able to return
a single thing.
That's why I want you to live
for yourself now.
Do what's best for you, James.
James...
You made me happy."
Trivia[]
- In the English version of Silent Hill 2, a line from Mary's letter to James reads, "You promised you’d take me there again someday, but you never did." What the translation doesn't capture is the fact that Mary blames not James but herself (and her illness) for this.
- Jeremy Blaustein revealed in an interview that Monica Taylor Horgan cried after narrating Mary's letter. [1]
- Checking the letter frequently, along with Mary's photo, will increase the chance of obtaining the "Leave" ending.
- If the player checks the letter, James reveals it is in Mary's handwriting; however, following the fight with Eddie Dombrowski, all the writing disappears, leaving James with a blank piece of paper. After viewing the videotape in Room 312 of the Lakeview Hotel, the blank piece of paper disappears completely. Finally, after James encounters Pyramid Head for the last time, the envelope disappears. This implies that the letter never physically existed in the first place and instead was either a figment of James's imagination or a manifestation created by the town in order to draw James back to Silent Hill.
- In Dead by Daylight: Chapter XVI - Silent Hill, Mary's Letter appears as a Rare Offering. It tremendously increases the chance to be sent to Silent Hill when burnt.