Due to the ambiguous nature of Silent Hill 4, a lot of Walter's history is left blank or is never fully explained, including key developments or moments that caused him to become who he is in the game. As such there's a lot of room for headcanons and debates over Walter's past and his character, drawing from hidden information found in the game, the soundtrack, other sources and simply personal preferences. As such this post simply clarifies a bit about how I see and play Walter.
If you want to debate or question some of my choices, you're more than welcome to on my HMD page!
A baby is born in Apartment 302 of the South Ashfield Heights apartment building. He is abandoned at birth by his parents and found by the superintendent, Frank Sunderland. The baby is then sent to St. Jerome's hospital where he stays for a short while.
The baby is declared a ward of the state and taken in by the Wish House Orphanage in Silent Hill. He is given the name Walter Sullivan.
At six years old, Walter is taught to read and write. A High Priestess, Dahlia Gillespie, told him that his mother was 'asleep' at the place he was born. If he read the 21 Sacraments for the Descent of the Holy Mother well, then he could meet her.
Walter made the journey to South Ashfield Heights repeatedly as a child, attempting to meet his mother. He would try to glimpse into Apartment 302 and slip letters under the door, asking 'why [his mother] wouldn't wake up'. The tenants living in the neighbouring apartments saw Walter as a pest and began to treat him badly when they saw him around. Eventually, after many attempts, he abruptly stops trying to visit the apartment.
Valtiel, an 'angel' who oversees the cult's God, was 'secretly' slipped into Walter's subconscious by Jimmy Stone and George Rosten, the priests who ran the Wish House orphanage. This may have given him supernatural abilities.
Throughout his childhood Walter was heavily abused and tormented, through psychological manipulation, physical beatings and isolation. He would be beaten for wandering too far from the Wish House.
For misbehaving or 'to please God', he would be sent to a prison cell where the gaurds would frequently abuse the children in their care. One gaurd, Andrew DeSalvo, forced him to drink water with leeches in.
He had a friend once, a fellow orphan named Bob. Bob vanished in Walter's youth; Walter believed DeSalvo was responsible.
Headcanon
Through further abuse, the other orphans were taught to stay away from Walter, isolating him from them.
Walter was around ten years old when Valtiel was placed within his mind.
Valtiel would infrequently show Walter the Otherworld. Walter mistook this as Valtiel showing him what the world was truly like.
Walter was taught how to dance as part of ritual ceremonies to worship and give praise to the sun. This became a hobby of his.
While Walter has a deep hatred for bats and moths he actually loves birds, especially corvids like ravens.
At some point he was homeless in the streets of Ashfield, sleeping in the passage of the South Ashfield Train station in a sleeping bag and trying not to starve or freeze to death.
When he was sixteen, a five-year-old Eileen Galvin approached him despite her mother's warnings. She gave him her doll out of sympathy before leaving with her mother. The encounter caused Walter to cry uncontrollably - Eileen was the only person to be kind to him and show him any sort of care. He treasured the doll she gave him, keeping it even in death.
At eighteen, he attempts to approach a girl he had frequently seen and watched in the train station, a thirteen year old Cynthia Velasquez. He stuttered as he attempted to make small talk and ask her about the apartment building he was born in. Her friends were dismissive and she called him 'handsome but filthy.' When he accidentally revealed he had known her name for years, she called him disgusting and immediately left with her friends.
This same year, he formally leaves Wish House as a young adult.
Headcanon
While technically still in the Wish House's 'care', Walter had all but run away at fifteen years old. He ended up returning to the Wish House a year later and was heavily punished for running away.
Walter begged and panhandled for money but was largely ignored.
During this time, Valtiel continued to haunt Walter and taint his worldview.
"Hey, the Devil is your friend? He will come here soon?"
Canon
At nineteen, Walter moved to a neighbouring town called Pleasant Hill and began to attend University there.
Despite living a 'normal' student life, Walter was still bitter, resentful and lonely.
While he was attending, three teenagers, Bobby Randolph, Sein Martin and Jasper Gein, approached him. They were fascinated by the Order and asked if he could show them the Devil.
Aged twenty-four, Walter began the ritual. He killed ten people in ten days, using a variety of methods. The constant between each victim was the removal of their hearts, and numbers carved into their flesh - 01121, 02121, 03121 and so on. The middle digit was actually a slash (01/21, 02/21, 03/21 etc.), counting them out of twenty-one.
Walter is arrested. When captured, he cried out that "He's trying to punish me. The monster... the red devil. Forgive me. I did it, but it wasn't me!"
Walter is tried and convicted for his crimes. Soon after he commited suicide, using a shiv he had made out of a spoon to stab himself in the neck and sever his carotid artery.
Headcanon
Between eighteen and nineteen Walter was homeless again, traveling between Silent Hill, Ashfield and other nearby towns.
As Walter grew older and lost hope in finding compassion from other people, Valtiel's influence began to overshadow his mind.
Walter discovered or was shown Joseph's aricle on the Wish House. This helped lessen what little hope he had left.
Walter fully intended to kill the majority of his victims; except for the animals int he pet shop, and the twin children he murdered. This is what he meant when he said "It wasn't me!" upon his capture.
Upon his suicide, Walter's soul and Valtiel fully melded together.
"He's become nothing more than an inhuman killing machine..."
Canon
Walter was buried nearby Toluca Lake and was seen at his gravesite. A reporter looking into his murders dug up his coffin and found it empty.
Walter performed the Holy Rite of Assumption, gaining 'the Power of Heaven' and the ability to create Otherworlds.
From beyond the grave, Walter committed several more murders and imprisoned Joseph Schreiber in his apartment, leading to his death.
Several years later, Henry Townshend moves into room 302. Walter watched over him, until he decided he would be the Receiver of Wisdom, locking him in his room.
Headcanon
As Walter was torn into two beings; the Adult ghost, a combination of Walter's soul and Valtiel, and the Young ghost, a manifestation of Walter's good, innocent qualities and part of his soul.
In death, Walter watched over the Order's activites
When the events of Silent Hill 3 occurred, Valtiel's focus shifted to the physical presence of God. Without his power or being driving Walter forwards, Walter fell 'asleep' for some time.
While torn apart, Walter's mind was literally scattered between mindless rage and single-minded focus on the ritual (as the Adult Walter) and being afraid, lost, and wanting to be safe with his mom (as the Child Walter).
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11121_assumption) wrote2018-01-21 12:34 pm
Backstory and Headcanons
If you want to debate or question some of my choices, you're more than welcome to on my HMD page!
Childhood
Canon
Adolescence
Canon
Adulthood & Ten Hearts Murders
Canon
Afterlife
Canon