Pyramid Head, officially known as Red Pyramid Thing by James Sunderland, is the manifestation of the latter's guilt and requirement to be punished for his past actions. The monster followed him and tormented him to make sure he continues feeling that guilt, only disappearing once he has made peace with himself. Mental distortion is what powers all of the creatures in
Silent Hill, Pyramid Head becomes his distorted view of an executioner.
James first encountered Pyramid Head in the form of a painting that he saw at Silent Hills museum when holidaying there with his wife. This image was burned into his mind - it consisted of a grotesque executioner figure with a large, red pyramid on it's head, holding a spear, surrounded by bodies held in suspended cages. When James first encounters Pyramid Head in the flesh, the monster has a distinctive red aura - in all encounters after this, the aura is no longer visible.
Pyramid Head manifested as masculine, above average in height and distinctly human-looking apart from the head. He wears a dirty butcher's robe, dark leather boots, and white gloves. His helmet is an oversized pyramid shape, rusted red, at the back of the helmet is a bloated sac of skin which is most likely acting as a seal, and to prevent anybody to be able to see up inside. Pyramid Head also has a tongue-like organ at the front of the helmet which has been utilised when attacking at close quarters.
In terms of weaponry, Pyramid Head is most commonly seen with a large blade named the
Great Knife. It was so large and weighty that it could not be carried like a regular sword or knife, and had to be dragged along the floor, screeching and cutting the ground as it moved. It was extremely effective if a hit connected, but it was rather difficult to swing, even for a being as strong as Pyramid Head. James Sunderland can also find this weapon and use it himself once Pyramid Head discards it and switches to a
Lighter weapon named the Great Spear. The switch to the
Lighter spear helped Pyramid Head chase James much more quickly in subsequent encounters, making it even more of a threat than before.
When Pyramid Head manifested in
Silent Hill, it was incredibly violent and abusive. It toyed with and killed other creatures, but most of all it chased James, with the intention of killing him whenever they met. Later, another Pyramid Head is manifested when James was forced to kill Eddie Dombrowski in self-defence, as it is his guilt is what gives them life. This meant that at one point, there were two Pyramid Heads.
However, once James realised how they were created, he let go of his guilt, which caused both Pyramid Heads to kill each other by impaling one another with their spears, positioning them up into the cavity underneath their helmets and causing instant death - their existence was now no longer valid or required.
Masahiro Ito, The designer of Pyramid Head initially only wanted the character to feature in
Silent Hill 2, as it was intended to be a manifestation of the player character's mental state. However, he has since appeared in future games and films with an entirely different backstory, which frustrated him. He has since stated that he would be happy to include Pyramid Head in a future
Silent Hill game only if he was killed off in the intro and never referred to after the fact. However, most recently he has also said on balance he wishes he never created the character, probably because of how detached it had become from it's meaning.
Other variations of the character include 'The Bogeyman' from
Silent Hill: Homecoming, as well as in the movie universe where the character is reimagined as a murderer named Red Pyramid. Also, in
Silent Hill Betrayal, Pyramid Head is reinterpreted as a servant of a deity named Valtiel, seeking vengeance against all those who cause pain.
