Walter Sullivan=Killer Bob?

[mrpaku]

I run across very few people who actually enjoyed the fourth game (in the context of a SH game, anyways) and I figure since I did, I might as well be the first to post on here

My question is in regards to the oft-seen connection between the Silent Hill games and the short lived David Lynch series, Twin Peaks, two things which, as an aspiring writer to this kind of thing, I find myself extremely fascinated with.

To those with an extensive knowledge of both series'; does anyone see any major connections between the spirit of Killer Bob from Twin Peaks and the spirit of Walter Sullivan? I mean, serious connections, to the point of where I think we can get a theory off the ground that Walter may actually be at least partially based off of Bob! I'm sort of working out the kinks in my own theory to this now, but some of the notable coincidences include:

-Mass Murderers
-Travel effortlessly between the real world and their own alternate realm
-Actually spirits
-Capable of possession
-particular attraction/connection to certain women
-solid split between good/evil in the form of doppelgangers

I figure even if it's not enough to build a solid case between the two characters, at least it might get people interested in debate.

[Spider]

I don't know too much about Twin Peaks, as I didn't watch it when it came on TV and have yet to pick up anything outside of the movie. I just wanted to note one thing.

Walter would be a serial killer, not a mass murderer. Mass murderers generally take many lives at once (Oklahoma City Bombing, WTC, etc.). Serial killers take many lives, but generally don't go over two or three people at one time, and tend to plan each murder ahead of time.

Just a note. Not knocking your theory or anything. I am going to have to check out some Twin Peaks to get a better understanding of it all.

[mrpaku]

In that case, both would be seen more along the lines of serial killers. I thought there was some line where if you killed a certain amount of people, you jumped the gap between being a serial killer and a mass murderer. Guess I just misinterpreted.

[Spider]

Look at Ted Bundy. He confessed to thirty killings but estimates are above 100. He is still called a serial killer.

Then there is the whole wiki article on Mass murder. Within that article it is stated "The USA Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a mass murder as: "[involving] the murder of four or more victims at one location, within one event.""

Just a technicality really.

[zqrahll]

There are some problems with your theory:

BOB cannot travel effortlessly between worlds. He can only travel to the Black Lodge at a specific place called Glastonbury Grove, in the middle of the circle of trees.

BOB does not have a doppelganger; however, various characters connected to him do seem to have them when in the Black Lodge.

Also, whereas Walter's killings are very much premeditated & follow a very specific pattern (the 21 Sacraments), as a true serial killer would, BOB is much more of a thrill-killer, seeking only to cause pain to his victims. Some would say that the fact that many of BOB's victims are young women is just because Lynch has some subconscious demons that tend to come up over & over again in his works-- violence against women, often sexual in nature, is also a common theme in Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, and Wild at Heart.

Personally, despite being a huge fan of both series, I greatly prefer Walter over BOB. BOB is just an evil spirit, without any real motivation. Walter, on the other hand, was a very troubled & fascinating human being, whose childhood of abuse & neglect led to his very disturbing actions as an adult. Walter's spirit is so focused that it continues the mission of the 21 Sacraments from beyond the grave.

To me, Walter Sullivan is the actual main character of Silent Hill 4, which is the thing I liked the most about the game. The entire story tends to be about exploring the motivations of Walter's actions. In this regard, The Room actually reminds me quite a bit of the show Millennium, which I highly recommend. The main character, Frank Black, profiles killers & criminals, but actually has a psychic ability that allows him to truly look into the mind of the killer. Despite often being a rather real-world based series, it occasionally has some very supernatural elements, many of which concern the Apocalypse & demons.

[mrpaku]

I'm impressed that you're a fan of Twin Peaks and still prefer Walter Sullivan...he's far less of a one dimensional figure, but I also found BOB a lot more scary just in terms of pure, unnecessary evil. I don't know which one I'm more intrigued by.

*Spoilers for Twin Peaks*

BOB's killings were a lot more thrill kills, but I don't think there was no ultimate point to them...I say that because he always seemed to kill the same people (young women) and because of his MO of putting initials for his name underneath the fingernails of his victims, much like Walter marked numbers into their backs. If the series had continued as Lynch had planned, would we have eventually saw some sort of ultimate plan to the killings (i.e. Bob spelling out the rest of his name), other then just feeding on their fear and pain? Maybe not, but then again, you never know.

Yeah, neither Walter nor BOB can really travel "effortlessly" between their realms and the real world, but from what I've read, BOB can go back home via owl or (from what I've read) electricity, so I think that's splitting hairs just a little.

No, BOB has no direct doppelganger...his human inhabitants and Mike seem to be the series' only attempts at any sort of human conscience for BOB. I think that's what I was thinking of when I wrote that post, but you're absolutely right.

Also, good points made on that theory. That show Millenium sounds interesting as well, I'll try to find it. And it's good to have another Twin Peaks buff on these forums, zqrahll, glad to have you