In the Silent Hill 2 Remake, players encounter various puzzles necessary for advancing the storyline, one of which takes place at the gallows. James Sunderland’s journey starts at Brookhaven Hospital, but soon he ventures to various other locations, including Toluca Prison.
As players progress through the game, James eventually arrives at Toluca Prison, a location rich with challenges and items. After completing a puzzle that involves balancing weights, James must head back to the Yard for the next challenge, which involves solving riddles.
Gallows Puzzle Poems and Answers
Match Riddles and Uncover the Innocent
After completing the Weights and Scales puzzle in Silent Hill 2 Remake, James will receive an Execution Lever. This lever is crucial for unlocking the next puzzle based on riddles at the Gallows. By using the Execution Lever on the Gallows, you will activate the mural in front of you.
Interact with the plaques to read the couplets. This puzzle involves matching verses and solving the riddle. Like other challenges in Silent Hill 2 Remake, the Gallows Puzzle varies by difficulty level, resulting in one or two answers available. The poems also change with the difficulty, providing different answers for Standard and Hard modes.
You will find a set of six poems, each linked to an illustrated prisoner on trial for murder; however, one of them acted in self-defense and is innocent. After matching the lines of the poems, your task is to identify the innocent prisoner.
The six prisoners include an arsonist, a thief, a man who kidnapped and killed his daughter’s kidnapper, a vandal, a murderer, and a prisoner who killed their own mother.
The poems present riddles. Solving them will reveal which prisoner is innocent. Below are the poems and potential answers for each difficulty level.
Difficulty Mode: Light
In Light difficulty, unlike the Standard and Hard modes in Silent Hill 2 Remake, there is only one possible answer for each poem. This makes it easier to deduce who the innocent prisoner is. Here are the poems and their corresponding answers.
Gallows Poem #1 | Hallowed was the place, this one set ablaze. |
Possible Answer #1 | T’was the home of evil, it had to be razed. |
Gallows Poem #2 | This one took from others, T’was a sinful deed. |
Possible Answer #1 | Stealing not to eat, but to feed his own greed. |
Gallows Poem #3 | This one, he did kidnap, his beloved daughter. |
Possible Answer #1 | In a fit of anger, bloody end he brought her. |
Gallows Poem #4 | This one broke the lock, to steal, I’ll tell you plain. |
Possible Answer #1 | One more place to plunder, one more wrongful gain. |
Gallows Poem #5 | This one dared to take his own mother’s life. |
Possible Answer #1 | Did it just for pleasure, not over a strife. |
Gallows Poem #6 | This one clenched his fist, and has pulled no punch. |
Possible Answer #1 | Turned against his bully, turned his brain to mulch. |
Difficulty Mode: Standard
In Standard difficulty of the Silent Hill 2 Remake, you will find two possible answers for each poem, which differ from the Light difficulty. Below are the new poems and possible answers.
Gallows Poem #1 | For your grace I do not plead, For the flames I did set free, Sisters shrieked, and children cried, No one made it out alive. |
Possible Answer #1 | Though the young ones’ deaths I mourn, Their tormentors are no more, On young souls the nuns did prey, Took their innocence away. |
Possible Answer #2 | I watched them burn, I heard them cry, I felt a soothing warmth inside, It felt so good, I cannot lie, And for my bliss, they had to die. |
Gallows Poem #2 | The wealth of others I did take, The seventh statute I did break, And yet my deeds I don’t regret, I had my reasons, that is that. |
Possible Answer #1 | The reason, if I have to say, Was to survive another day, To them, it was a loaf of bread, To me, a cherished step ahead. |
Possible Answer #2 | What were those reasons you might ask, The truth allow me to unmask, I see. I crave, I need, I take, ‘Tis all the sense it needs to make. |
Gallows Poem #3 | I took the child you are quite right, Carried her off into the night, She did not scream, she did not bawl, I was her father, after all. |
Possible Answer #1 | Forgive me, child, for I have failed, To save you from her wretched ways, She whom I loved, who gave you life, A monster hiding in plain sight. |
Possible Answer #2 | My only daughter, joy of days, They wanted to take you away, Hush, little baby, and be still, If I can’t have you, no one will. |
Gallows Poem #4 | Once the sun had ceased its reign, I cut through the rusty chain, Pushed the door open, snuck within, and Filled my pockets to the brim. |
Possible Answer #1 | So my guilt is plain to see, I had robbed the pharmacy, Yet, I did so not for gain, But so I could ease the pain. |
Possible Answer #2 | I departed with great haste, Leaving not a single trace, Ever faithful to my creed, All is right, which feeds my greed. |
Gallows Poem #5 | Mommy dearest, mommy sweet, Your love for me was so deep, “Why, oh, why?”, you shouted out, When my knife pierced through your heart. |
Possible Answer #1 | You broke my legs, I couldn’t walk, You pulled my teeth, I couldn’t talk, You fed me pills to slow my mind, I took your life ‘fore you took mine. |
Possible Answer #2 | You were, oh, so kind to me, Filled my heart with joy and glee, In the end, it was for naught, “Why, oh, why?”, you ask. Why not? |
Gallows Poem #6 | I waited long, I bid my time, I waited to commit my crime, The man appeared, he saw me not, A bloody end is what he got. |
Possible Answer #1 | In truth, he was less man than beast, And on my flesh and soul he’d feast, My will to live he’d try to break, There is so much a man can take. |
Possible Answer #2 | In truth, I did not hesitate, As my blade sealed the poor man’s fate, He knew the rules, they are quite clear, Go against me, your end is near. |
Difficulty Mode: Hard
The Hard difficulty features mostly poems with two possible answers, but one poem has three answers. The poems differ from earlier modes. Fortunately, regardless of the difficulty you select, the correct choice is always the Possible Answer #1.
Gallows Poem #1 | Under the veil of nightfall, in the ink of dusk, A blazing inferno engulfs the wooden husk. Screams of the innocent fill the night sky, He, who hell let loose, now watches them die. |
Possible Answer #1 | Death of the blameless, a damnable sin, Wracked with guilt, his soul withers from within, Yet among the pure, the vile also would dwell. Demons dressed in piety, they perished as well. |
Possible Answer #2 | A contorted chill dances on his spine, As their souls fly forth on Thanathos’ sigh. No sign of regret, not a tinge of guilt, But a fiery urge to destroy what God built. |
Gallows Poem #2 | In twilight’s grasp, a thief emerges sly, Through the veils of night, his purpose veiled, awry. His nimble fingers, like whispers they glide, In the goods of others, his needs doth reside. |
Possible Answer #1 | With hands atremble, he seizes what he must, A wretched dance, fueled by hunger’s thrust. Poverty’s embrace fuels his misdeeds, Thieving to survive, the barest of needs. |
Possible Answer #2 | His avarice driving every cunning theft, No conscience stirs, no remorse is left. Not a hunger’s pang, nor a desperate need, but a heart consumed with relentless greed. |
Gallows Poem #3 | In shroud of twilight, a tale doth unfold, Where the shadows dance, their secrets are told. A shadowy figure, his motives unclear, Steals his own kin, one he should hold dear. |
Possible Answer #1 | Amidst the moon’s glow, a desperate truth, The man’s life of pain and in peril, forsooth. Sealed within these walls, his salvation lies, Steal and live on, the ultimate prize. |
Possible Answer #2 | A tragic fruition, a mother’s despair, Her heiress undone by the one she once loved. Forsooth, it was not love that guided his clasp, But a spiteful avarice one struggles to grasp. |
Gallows Poem #4 | In clandestine steps, darkness as his guide, The man ventures deeper, where riches doth hide. An unseen intruder with motives untold, His hands eager to touch, to grab and to hold. |
Possible Answer #1 | Amidst the moon’s glow, a desperate truth, The man’s life of pain and in peril, forsooth. Sealed within these walls, his salvation lies, Steal and live on, the ultimate prize. |
Possible Answer #2 | Beneath moonlit guise, a villain’s design, He trespasses where treasures brightly shine. With a selfish hand, with greed as his creed, Claims the spoils, indulging every single need. |
Possible Answer #3 | A contorted chill dances on his spine, As their souls fly forth on Thanathos’ sigh. No sign of regret, not a tinge of guilt, But a fiery urge to destroy what God built. |
Gallows Poem #5 | With her senses falling, she looks, mouth agape, At the one who forced her spirit to escape. Cold steel pierces vein, a sanguine flood, Gazing back at her, her own flesh and blood. |
Possible Answer #1 | ‘Twas a twisted fate that forced the man’s hand, A son at mother’s mercy, his life in hell he’d spend. Forsooth, not all killings are ones of ill will, For the choice was clear, ’twas either her, or him. |
Possible Answer #2 | Desperation’s grip suffocates the air, The attacker’s past, a tale of despair. A victim turned assailant, a tragic decree, On this night of judgment, pain sets both men free. |
Gallows Poem #6 | In shadows cast, the hunter lies in wait, His violent intent cloaked in a veil of fate. An enigma unfolds, motives undefined, As the prey approaches, their fates intertwine. |
Possible Answer #1 | As the spark of life from her eyes did flee, The man held his gaze with wicked glee. An unfeeling sigh escapes the man’s lips, A thirst for more bloodshed begins to take shape. |
Possible Answer #2 | The victim’s eyes wide with terror and fright, The attacker’s nature now comes into light. Vicious is his cause and marred with dark pride, A show of brute strength, for all to abide. |
How to Solve the Gallows Puzzle
Select the Correct Noose to Progress
After piecing together the poems and corresponding answers in the Silent Hill 2 Remake, you will need to identify which prisoner is innocent. Look for the nooses labeled with Roman numerals I, II, III, IV, V, and VI, corresponding to numbers one through six. Your goal is to stand beneath the number that indicates the innocent prisoner.
The identity of the innocent prisoner varies with each playthrough. Given that answers can change, pinpointing the correct one will require careful reading of the poems and logical reasoning. Once you feel confident about your answer, pull the designated noose.
Pulling the right noose prompts James to awaken in a morgue, while pulling the wrong one sends him into a dark pit filled with enemies. Fortunately, this does not result in game over; players can quickly escape by heading to the ladder at the back and return to the Yard to tackle the Silent Hill 2 Remake Gallows puzzle again.