Descent into the Otherworld – A Spotlight on the Silent Hill Fandom, #1 Brandon Delacruz

Posted By: Whitney   September 29th, 2011 | 3:17 pm

UPDATE- PLEASE HELP BRANDON!

More info: https://shshatteredmemories.com/?p=11296

Hi guys! It’s time for something a little different here on Silent Hill Historical Society. As a big Silent Hill fan, I’m always curious to hear about how other fans found the series and how it’s impacted or inspired them.

For me, my love for the series started with the original Silent Hill back in 1999, thanks to a preview in a game magazine and from playing my older brother’s copy on Playstation. Over the past 12 years my love of the series has not waned and through it I’ve not only made some great new friends but have also discovered a passion for both blogging and recording podcasts which I never thought I would ever do!

During my time interacting with others in this fandom I’ve seen fans from all over the world and all walks of life and I just find it amazing how we all have this connection through a video game series.


Brandon Delacruz

But what exactly makes someone Silent Hill fan? How does the series impact others and what does the series mean to them? It’s these questions I hope to answer by highlighting a different Silent Hill fan every week or so to give a deeper and more personal insight into the Silent Hill fanbase!

To kick off this new series I would like to share an amazing story of a fellow fan that a friend of mine passed on to me just last week.

Meet Brandon Delacruz. He suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system, but through playing Silent Hill 2 he has been inspired to not only be a better person but has also given him solace during his frequent hospital stays:


Mary Shepherd-Sunderland

I was born with Cystic Fibrosis and all of my life it’s been really difficult to breathe and gain weight. When I was younger it wasn’t too difficult at most times. Right around the time I turned 16 is when I started to become really sick and was in and out of the hospital basically every month or so. I was basically inside the hospital more than outside of it per year. All the nurses were really sweet and nice so I was happy for that, but I was still pretty depressed about it all. Then I took the time to look a little bit deeper into Silent Hill 2 when I was sicker and everything Mary was saying made sense to me. I didn’t ever try pushing people away like she did, but everything else was me. Feeling pathetic, worthless, hopeless, wishing that I wasn’t such a burden on my grandma. All t.he patients with CF aren’t allowed to interact with each other without wearing masks and protective gowns so it would always feel awkward and I didn’t want to get too close in case I actually liked them. So I felt alone in having someone who could understand what I was going through, at least until I saw what Mary went through and didn’t feel so alone anymore. I love a lot of things about the game, but the the characters and the music are the things that hit me the hardest.

-Brandon Delacruz

I was able to catch up with Brandon over Facebook and he was kind enough to agree to a small interview:

Silent Hill Historical Society: Your pretty inspiring Brandon! First, how are you doing lately? You mentioned being in an out of the hospital due to your illness. Are your hospital stays still very long or as frequent?

Brandon: My health is pretty poor right now, but I’m waiting on a lung transplant. Once I get new lungs I’m pretty confident that I can lead a much easier life. I usually stay in the hospital for anywhere from 1 to 2 months and I often stay home for about a week or 2 before going back in.

SHHS: Are you an avid video game player? If so what sort of games do you like? Do you have a favorite console?

Brandon: I’ve been playing video games for as long as I can remember and I spend the majority of my time playing them. I enjoy almost all of the genre of games, but my favorites are RPG/FPS hybrids (System Shock 2, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines). My favorite console would have to be the Dreamcast.

SHHS:When and how did you hear about the Silent Hill series? Would you consider yourself a longtime fan?

Brandon: I first heard about Silent Hill a few months after it came out, but I was very scared of everything back then, so I wasn’t going anywhere near it. I didn’t actually play my first Silent Hill game until around 2008 or 2009 probably. Out of all the scary games I’ve played I still consider Silent Hill 1 to be the most frightening.

SHHS: Is it safe to assume that Silent Hill 2 is your favorite in the series? If not, what game is and why?

Brandon: Silent Hill 2 is definitely my favorite in the series. It’s amazing how far technology has come and yet they still have trouble creating characters that feel as real. The music is beautiful and really put this game over the top.

SHHS:Are you active in the fandom in anyway? Do you draw pictures, write fanfic, post on forums or have a website? If so, do you have any work you would like to share and what forums do you frequent?

Brandon: I mostly just read fan theories and analyses of the game by the fandom. That really helped me appreciate the story and the characters much more. That taught me to look at films and entertainment much less literally and to try and understand what they symbolize (very helpful for nearly any Lynch film).

SHHS:Considering the special connection you have with the second game, what’s your thoughts on the upcoming HD collection? Are you excited about seeing Silent Hill 2 in HD?

Brandon: I was really excited for the HD collection until I heard about it not having the original voice actors. I knew that people who haven’t played it before would have their first shot at it this way and I didn’t want them to miss out on the original experience.

SHHS: What about the movie? Are you a fan or did you find it a major disappointment? What about Revelation that should be out sometime next year?

Brandon: I enjoyed the cast in the movie and as far as video game adaptions go it was good, but I was disappointed. I was really hoping that they would decide to cover the story of Silent Hill 2 for the sequel, but oh well. I just hope the film turns out to be good.

SHHS:What do you think about the future of the series? We have Downpour near release and another game, Book of Memories, on the horizon.

Brandon: After I saw the trailer for Downpour I basically realized that the series was probably dead. Book of Memories is the most confusing idea a company has come up with recently. I just don’t see how a co-op action game in the style they chose can really capture the emotions and atmosphere that the series aims for. I’m not very optimistic for the future of the series at all. Shattered Memories was the only new release in the series that looked interesting to me.

SHHS: In your mind what makes someone a true Silent Hill fan?

Brandon: I think that as long as you enjoy the series and don’t look down on others who are new to it or know less about it than you do you would be considered a “true” fan.

I want to send a big thank you to Brandon for letting me share his inspiring story hope you all will keep him in your thoughts. 🙂

So Silent Hill fans, what’s your story? How has the series influenced or inspired you? I would sure love to hear from you. If you have a story to share please contact me at contact@shshatteredmemories.com


Posted in Descent to the Otherworld, Site Related  

9 responses to “Descent into the Otherworld – A Spotlight on the Silent Hill Fandom, #1 Brandon Delacruz”

  1. Tyrone Johnson says:
    September 29, 2011 at 8:03 pm

    Wow, really great interview, Brandon is a little cutie!

  2. Lordbralix says:
    September 29, 2011 at 8:11 pm

    Wow pretty cool dude this Brandon guy is. Hang in there Brandon don’t go all Mary on me and make me have to drive my car into a lake. Jk but still pretty inspiring.

  3. Grace says:
    September 29, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    Very inspiring story, Brandon! I knew somewhere out there video games would have HUGE impacts on people. Hang in there and good luck with your health!

  4. Angela says:
    October 1, 2011 at 12:46 pm

    Having Kidney disease all my life I also know what it’s like to have stays in the hospital-so Brandon’s story hit home with me. I too spent many days & weeks in bed& the only thing that I liked to do was Play SH2! It’s still my favorite game out of the series-and I still play it all the time-is Brandon going to be able to get the new SH Downpour game?? And what does he think of the other games in the series??

  5. Chloe says:
    October 6, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    That was such an inspiring story! My thoughts and prayers are with him! ( :

  6. Carly says:
    October 6, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    Amazing! Hang in there Brandon, praying for you!

  7. Omar says:
    October 6, 2012 at 7:43 pm

    Yo hablo y leo Español no se escribir ni leer ingles así que lo traduje con Google XD. Pero vas a ver como rápido conseguirás un pulmon mejórate pronto Saludos desde Mexico.
    Y que VIVA SILENT HILL