Similar to the Nemesis in Resident Evil 3, Pyramid Head's presence in Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill: Homecoming represents one of the most iconic villains in the Silent Hill franchise and perhaps among the most frightening villains in all of gaming.
Perhaps it is partially its form and behavior which often makes little sense from his passive presence as it stands still as a statue during its first encounter in the apartment corridors to its sudden sexual abuse of mannequins inside one of the apartment's kitchens later on, Pyramid Head can be overwhelming to digest and surprise players by defying predictions one normally reserves for villains. After all, when something does not make sense in behavior and motive, it can be more frightening in some circumstances, as the human mind attempts to make sense of it and gauge it.
For the many Silent Hill fans who recall encountering Pyramid Head for the first time, this seemingly random oddity presents itself as if from lucid nightmares. Though much of Silent Hill's villains and the curse that the town is entrenched in to begin with remains open for interpretation and can be relatively subjective, the overall picture and Pyramid Head at least gains some clearer context with a formal understanding of Silent Hill's historical origins and the religious cult which exists there.
Background and History: The Order
When European immigrants arrived in the area of Silent Hill in the 17th century, they drove out the Native Americans in the area. Some of them became heavily influenced by the beliefs and religion that existed there long before they arrived, and the curse, or powers, that seem to have existed in the town since at least the time that Native Americans lived there, or perhaps longer.
The settlers basically created The Order, which was a “re-skinned” version of the beliefs and religion that the Native Americans in that area believed in. For example, The Order’s god is the same as the “Raven," which was a deity the natives of the area worshiped previously, and also made human sacrifices to. It is likely the case that whoever settles will likely establish a belief system that is influenced by the powers or curse which makes Silent Hill a particularly hostile place, but the belief system is understood through the lens of their formal or previous world-view or religion, Since the settlers which arrived were Christians, the religion of The Order was heavily influenced by both Christian philosophy and the curse or powers that were present in Silent Hill.
As far as The Order’s fleshed out belief system is concerned, it dates back to the Salem witch trials in the 17th century in which one of their founding members, Jennifer Carroll, was burned alive by puritanical Christians in 1692, thereby becoming a saint of the Order.They were despised by most of the community and practiced their religion in secret, but slowly infiltrated Silent Hill’s public institutions, and even Silent Hill's theme park, and gained much influence in secret.
The Order believes in moral nihilism and moral relativism, which means they believe in only chaos and order rather than a simple “good” and “evil” system. Though they refer to the United States of America as the “Nation of Sin” and believe that the material world and most of society has fallen to corruption and sin. Because they believe humans existed before God, and in that ancient period they only knew pain, conflict, war and hatred, they remained immortal, because linear time had not yet existed to give them proper guidance.
Through a few simple rituals by a man and woman, the sun created a female God, who established mortality, linear-time and guidance so that humans would better understand the consequences of free-will that results from the release on life given by death, and the thereafter. Paradise and Judgment Day would be God’s last gift to the world.
The Order’s main goal is to trigger the apocalypse. Different sects of the order see it differently, with some believing that by committing acts of sin, it will speed up the process, while others believe a corrupt society is the inevitable. But all believe that God herself must be reborn in the physical world, so she is exposed to the corruption around her in order to trigger the necessary order. It may be the case that often times Silent Hill draws in from afar individuals who possess particular mental demons, or who have conducted sinful acts, in order to foster the necessary chaos to perpetuate the rebirth of God.
God's anger or disapproval of the deviance around her would supposedly force her to create Paradise, in similar fashion to the way God originally established linear time and mortality as a reaction to the current paradigm that was present among human society when corruption was present prior, before linear-time was produced. In this instance, sinful humans will be sent to eternal damnation while those who followed The Order’s creed, or perhaps if generally refrained from corruption and sinful ways, will go to Paradise.
But it is important to note that because the Order does not believe in traditional concepts of “good” and “evil”, corruption and sinful ways are not defined along the perimeters of such. Instead, “good” can loosely translate to those who strive to ensure “order” and submit to it or foster it, sometimes in very cruel ways, even towards children in Silent Hill's schools, while those who foster “chaos” in society are the "sinful" or "evil" ones. Perhaps anyone who is not a believer in the Order could be deemed as the latter, though there is much that is open for interpretation here.
Valtiel
To fully understand Pyramid Head, it is then important to understand that the Order split into different sects, and he manifests in the Sect of Valtiel. Jimmy Stone, known as the “Red Devil," established this sect because they believed Valtiel was the deity closest to god.
Valtiel was also an executioner, and members of this sect also wore triangular red hoods and acted as executioners in order to sew “order” and obedience by utilizing punishment, fear and pain to keep the community in line. In the larger picture of the Order, Valtiel is an angel that plays the role as the “Attendant of God.” In homeage to Valtiel, Pyramid Head is to some degree a construct of his existence, wearing similar gloves and ceremonial robes. But he is also the construct of Silent Hill 2's James, the protagonist, and his subconscious.
In Silent Hill 3, Valtiel often appears to be turning a valve which is symbolic to the cycle of rebirth of God on earth, which he has oversight over. Hence, Pyramid Head, his executioner, is in some form the insurance that assures the cycle of rebirth is in perpetual motion by carrying out the pain, suffering and executions to create manifestations that are symbolic of James' sins. Maybe it is even a means of turning the "chaos" within James into "order" so that he fully accepts and acknowledges his sins.
Pyramid Head
Since Valtiel is typically a passive enemy, Pyramid Head is the one that carries out an actual threat and executes judgment on those drawn to Silent Hill, or in this case James. Like most of villains, Silent Hill's enemies are symbolic to each individual's subconscious and their acts. Pyramid Head’s metal triangular helmet seemingly resembles the red hoods of the Sect of Valtiel’s executioners. The helmet itself is also an uncomfortable torture device, possibly to symbolize his own willingness to suffer in order to serve the purpose of authority and submission to Valtiel.
In Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Heads are manifested by James, the protagonist. They represent the guilt and subconscious desire to be punished for killing Mary. Most believe Pyramid Heads appearances are the very creation of James subconscious, and its appearance in other games is somehow still the result and product of James' mind. After all, there has been cases in Silent Hill in which one character saw the nightmarish form of a villain created from someone else’s mind and their own personal demons and nightmares.
In Silent HIll 2, the Pyramid heads murder Maria, who resembles Mary, in order to continually remind James that he was responsible for killing Mary, no matter how much he remains in denial. By ensuring James experiences guilt and suffering, Pyramid Head ensures there are consequences in this world, in order to establish “order," also perhaps by perpetuating the "chaos" through pain and punishment in order to bring the coming order.
In Silent Hill: Homecoming, another side-story similar to Silent Hill: Downpour, Pyramid Head returns as the Bogeyman to fulfill a similar purpose, but still may be a product of Jame’s mind, even though the Bogeyman serves as Adam’s executioner in this case.
Developer Tomm Hulett has stated that it is “up to [each] player’s interpretation” whether the Pyramid Head in the horror classic Silent Hill 2 and the Bogeyman in Homecoming are related. And likewise, there are some fairly deep fan theories out there regarding the symbolism of Pyramid Head and what it is. Some fans even speculate his triangular helmet represents a love-triangle between James, Mary and Maria.
Since Pyramid Head is likely a manifestation of James’ subconscious, it is also possible that Pyramid Head is a type of monster, which is an “executioner”, rather than a unique entity. In other words, Pyramid Head could merely be the way in which James sees and confronts the “executioner”, but other people in a similar dilemma may confront the “executioner” in a different context, both in terms of circumstances and physical form.
Whichever fans choose to believe, Silent Hill's Pyramid Head allows players to get fairly creative in attempting to draw any concrete conclusions about Pyramid Head. Perhaps, much similarly to James subconscious, Pyramid Head will always comprise itself as the product of our own mind's creations and imagination. Pyramid Head will remain one of gaming's scariest monsters and a nightmare catered to each individual based on interpretation.