Sects of the Order

The Order was divided into several subgroups and sects. Each sect had its own code of conduct and form of belief. The most important sects of the Order were as follows.

Sect of the Holy Woman

This sect was centered around a priestess named Dahlia Gillespie who was responsible for the disasters that happened in and around Silent Hill. This priestess was not only the leader of the Order but was also the mother of Alessa Gillespie.

The members of this sect believed that God would return to Earth one day and they waited eagerly for it. But Dahlia, in order to hasten the return of God, burned Alessa alive as a sacrifice. The members of this sect were Dahlia Gillespie, Claudia Wolf, Vincent Smith and Leonard Wolf. Due to the basis of their faith, they believed that God would cause the apocalypse upon Her return and would take those faithful to Her to Paradise without any harm done. However, not all members (Vincent Smith as an example) defended this opinion, and had different ideas. Claudia Wolf, on the other hand, believed that a God born from pain and hatred would be more understanding and sympathetic.

Sect of the Holy Mother

Members of the sect of the Holy Mother (not to be confused with Alessa Gillespie, known as the Mother of God) used their self-run Wish House Orphanage to raise a conjurer. They called the God “Holy Mother” and respected the Mother Stone as sacred. This sect believed that the Holy Mother would descend to an object of theirs with the help of a conjurer, and would make that object sacred. They, in a way, had an idolater form of belief. Toby Archbolt was one of the important members of this sect. Although they were a lot passive when compared to the members of the Sect of the Holy Woman, their cruelty was not so different and could be seen in their treatment to the orphans in their care, among whom there was the young Walter Sullivan.

Sect of Valtiel

This sect was founded under the leadership of priest Jimmy Stone. He was nicknamed “The Red Devil” among the members of the sect because of the triangular red hood he used to wear. He was shot in the head and his heart was removed from his body by Walter Sullivan inside the Wish House Orphanage. According to the rumours, his unrestful ghost haunted Room 302 in South Ashfield Heights. Members of this sect would don red pointed hoods and take the role of executioners in the name of Valtiel. Apart from Jimmy Stone, George Rosten was also an important member of the sect, as the apprentice and right-hand man of Jimmy Stone.

Sect of Shepherd’s Glen

An unnamed sect of the Order resided in Shepherd’s Glen. This sect had smaller groups and its members usually consisted of those who cut their ties with the Order, seeking more peaceful and steady lives. Although they were separate from the Order, they still had their core beliefs and behaviour, such as their faith in God and their desire for discipline. The families that founded this sect made a pact with their God: if each of the four families sacrificed a child every 50 years, Shepherd’s Glen would be protected from the effects of the Otherworld. Those four families were the Shepherds, the Holloways, the Bartletts and the Fitches. Yet the records show that Adam Shepherd failed to fulfill his portion of the pact, and Shepherd’s Glen fully experienced the effects of the Otherworld first-hand. Among the important members of this sect were Adam Shepherd, Lillian Shepherd, Curtis Ackers, Margaret Holloway, Sam Bartlett and Martin Fitch.

As we are getting to the end of our section directly related to the details of the Order, it is for the best to mention the most important members of this organization to refresh our memory:

Walter Sullivan,

Dahlia Gillespie,

Michael Kaufmann,

Leonard Wolf,

Claudia Wolf,

Jimmy Stone,

Vincent Smith,

Margaret Holloway,

Jennifer Carroll,

Vincent Cooper,

Lillian Shepherd,

Toby Archbolt,

Adam Shepherd,

Curtis Ackers,

Tarikat Askerleri,

George Rosten,

Martin Fitch,

Sam Bartlett,

Aziz Stone.

I suppose that all of this in-depth information has given you an idea about how the organization worked. So let us return to the town in mist, to the Nest of the Raven, to the Place of Silenced Spirits…

In the early 1700s, the townspeople had to abandon their homes due to an epidemic of unknown origin ravaging the land. This epidemic would kill people, giving them excruciating pain before death, and there was no known cure. As you may remember, we mentioned in the first part of the History of Silent Hill articles that the natives believed the land to be sacred and that anyone who misused it would be cursed. In the light of this, it is not hard to realize that the epidemic was a result of such curse. After approximately 20-30 years of abandonment, the town was revived by Daniel R. Bryant and a group of 34 people he brought along with him. Although it was not mentioned in the main sources, the group crossed the Toluca Lake and arrived in the town. Daniel R. Bryant, who was responsible for the resettlement in the town, was buried there after he died of influenza.

In 1810, and the years that followed, the town was re-established once more as a penal colony. As there were no curses nor epidemics ravaging the land, the town seemed to be fine and enticing. The establishments of the Silent Hill Prison and Brookhaven Hospital took place during that time when the town itself flourished. The purpose of the Brookhaven Hospital, which looked no more than a small shack when it was first established, was to treat and prevent the contagious diseases that came with the migrants. As the town changed and improved, it also got its officially known name to date: “Silent Hill”.