Silent Hill Retrospective Part 18: Silent Hill Betrayal novel

Welcome to the 18th part of the Silent Hill Retrospective 2022, featuring the horror novel Silent Hill Betrayal by Shaun M Jooste.

Silent Hill Betrayal (2016)

Having worked on a brand new Silent Hill horror novel since 2014, author Shaun M Jooste published Silent Hill Betrayal in 2016 despite Silent Hills’ cancellation. It featured a brand-new story, characters, monsters, and puzzles and wasn’t based on any of the games. 

The plot follows Trevor who has nightmares about Silent Hill. When his police friend calls him about the cops coming for him, he and the friend ride to the abandoned town where Trevor sees a figure in the road and crashes. It features similar locations to the ones found in Silent Hill 1 and 2 with the protagonist exploring a few new locations only seen in the games.

While his wife was found dead in her apartment from an apparent suicide, it becomes clear in the story that there was more to it than that. Everyone that was involved with her death confronts their guilt in Silent Hill, with Trevor fighting each of them as bosses. One of them becomes Bishop Pyramid, taking the form of the iconic monster in a new way based on the Order of Valtiel and their robes and hoods.

Only a few monsters are similar to the ones found in the games, such as the nurses and doctors. However, many new ones are based on mythology that Trevor and his deceased wife used to study. They take new forms based on how they represent each character in the novel. In the end, Trevor himself needs to atone for his sins in Silent Hill Betrayal. Jooste also included four alternate endings as a treat to fans.