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 Since the first Silent Hill game back in
1999, fans have wondered if the title town had a real-life
counterpart. Is there a particular town that inspired the
haunted wasteland we've come to know and fear in the games?
There have been many speculations, and now here's a place
you can actually visit... for REAL...
In
researching the different elements of Silent Hill,
screenwriter Roger Avary (Killing Zoe, The Rules of
Attraction) came across the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania
(it's interesting that LA moviemakers look to the deep
Midwest [or in this case, the eastern U.S. in Pennsylvania]
when they're looking for something "strange" or
"different"). Centralia planted the seed for what developed
into the cinematic version of the town of Silent Hill. As recently as 1981, there were over 1,000 residents living
in Centralia, although the population has now dwindled to 11
(we'll say that again: 11 people) as a result of a 40-year
mine fire burning beneath the borough (we'll say that again:
it's been burning for 40 years... underneath the town). This
is certainly not unlike Silent Hill, which was left deserted
since devastating coal fires ravaged the town and its
people.
 The
inferno started when a trash fire was lit in an abandoned
mine pit in Centralia in 1962. The fire ignited an exposed
vein of coal and spread throughout the mines beneath the
borough. Several attempts have been made and millions of
dollars have been spent unsuccessfully to extinguish this
fire that still burns today.
The "problem" wasn't really acknowledged
until a series of accidents in the '70s and '80s, including
the appearances of sinkholes hundreds of feet deep. In 1984,
Congress allocated more than $40 million for relocation
efforts, and most residents moved to nearby Mount Carmel and
Ashland. However, a very few families opted
to stay, and they're still there, despite the fact that the
state of Pennsylvania has condemned all the buildings in the
borough and the US Postal Service has revoked its zip code
of 17927. The 11 holdouts include the town's 89-year-old
mayor, Lamar Mervine, who refuses to leave because "I like
it here." You
can find more information on Centralia, Pennsylvania
here. Or perhaps one day you
will heed its call and find yourself exploring its deserted
streets... Well, almost deserted.
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