| abstract
| - The Order, also known as "The Organization", is the local, religious organization in the American ghost town of Silent Hill that has appeared as the major antagonistic faction throughout most of the Silent Hill video game series. They are a religiously crooked secret society of doomsday zealots residing wihin the haunted township of Silent Hill and have expanded into other towns across the region, such as Shepherd's Glen. The Order is a primary source of struggle for most of the Silent Hill games, and are responsible for the many dilemmas that the protagonists of the series face. The cult often resorts to murder, kidnapping, torture, and other acts of violence to meet its needs, though not all of their members are insane or violent. The Order believes they are the "one true faith" and "one true religion", and all other religions are deceits and false truths. It is ambiguous if this is true, or if it is make-believe fantasy manifested by the ancient power of Silent Hill. The cult's official seal is known as the Halo of the Sun and is often used or seen in the presence of cult members, particularly while conducting rituals. The Order is involved with esoteric occultism, black magic (sometimes referred as the dark arts), arcane ceremonies, and blood sacrifices. The Order is prevalent in all of the games, and are deeply rooted in Silent Hill's history and culture. They are responsible for:
* Orchestrating the deaths of several people who developed the town, the local anti-drug mayor and his private investigator.
* Selling illegal drugs such as the hallucinogen PTV to tourists.
* Kidnapping young girls for their ceremonies. These abducted girls were intended to be used as prospective surrogate mothers. It is possible they were murdered after.
* Alessa Gillespie's immolation and supernatural rise to power, as well as the subsequent attempts to contain it.
* Running the Wish House Orphanage, and were responsible for Walter Sullivan's descent into madness. His murdering almost 21 people became known worldwide as "the Walter Sullivan case".
* Involvement in the damnation of Shepherd's Glen.
* Creation of multiple Books of Memories to imbue the writers with God's will. Pyramid Head takes the form of an iconic figure of judgment and punishment of the Order's mythos, Valtiel. The creature itself even makes an appearance to follow Heather Mason (the reincarnation of Alessa) and the Order's God still sleeping within her womb. When people refuse to convert to the Order, the cult often resorts to brainwashing, kidnapping, drug trafficking, child abuse, acts of violence, torture, and even murder. The Order uses each method to achieve different goals. Loyalty, discipline, and the rebuilding of their flock and faith requires many approaches to ensure that no one attempts to leave the Order. At the same time, the Order has certain goals to achieve in order to seek the path of the old ways as well as certain needs to fulfill. Without total control over the town and the people living within, the Order would not be able to achieve its true goals. Some Order members threaten eternal damnation towards non-believers, especially those whom they consider as pagans, heretics, sinners, blasphemers, and mockers. However, not all of their members are necessarily hateful or violent. Many of them are brainwashed, making them mentally and spiritually ill while occasionally also being twisted and depraved. Dr. Michael Kaufmann is an Order member, but he chooses not to be involved with the religious side of it. Some members, such as the unseen Confessor, are treated sympathetically. As with a real cult, some members are not so much evil as they are born into the environment of a cult. While the Order itself is evil, not all of the people within are as well. In truth, the Order genuinely believes that what they are doing will create a Paradise for what they believe is a tainted humanity. Other Order members fear certain members among them with special powers, which was possibly given to them because of their "great faith". Their occult and seemingly magical abilities are but further unexplained, as many of their rituals produce arcane effects that defy all logic. It is implied that the town itself is to blame for the power, along with a classic superstition of building on top of a Native American burial ground as explained in Silent Hill 2. Their tie to the forces of the Otherworld are also quite strong, as some members of the Order can even go so far as to manipulate it to a degree. The Order themselves follows a philosophy of moral nihilism; they do not believe in "good" and "evil", only chaos and order, and feel this somehow justifies their wicked ways. The Order takes inspiration and draws elements from other religions, such as the origins of Christianity, Japanese folklore, Aztec rituals, and Native American beliefs.
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