The Silent Hill Twitter account has revealed that the official name for the monster in Silent Hill: The Short Message is Sakura Head. It decided on the name through popular vote.
The name of Sakura Head comes from the Silent Hill: The Short Message monster’s design. Konami held a Twitter poll to let fans decide on the name. Other options included Cherry Blossom Monster and Sakura Body. The reason that Konami held a poll rather than making it open response likely was to prevent users from submitting inappropriate names or jokes.
Masahiro Ito, the monster designer for Silent Hill: The Short Message, had also retweeted the poll in question. He asked what players thought Anita, the protagonist, would name the monster. This follows the naming convention of Pyramid Head, whose official name is actually Red Pyramid Thing because that’s what James called it during his first encounter with the creature in Silent Hill 2. So the reason that Sakura Head’s name is that is because that’s apparently how Anita refers to the thing in her head.
Silent Hill: The Short Message came out for free on the PS5 after the January 2024 State of Play showcase. It follows Anita, who is searching for clues about her missing friend, Maya, in an abandoned apartment complex. While there, she has to face her traumas and past, all while a sakura-headed monster chases her around. You can read our review of it here.
Silent Hill: The Short Message is free-to-play on the PS5.
