Cheryl Mason goes by many different names, and appears frequently throughout the Silent Hill series. She first appears as the adoptive child of Harry Mason in the original Silent Hill for Playstation, when she goes missing in the titular town after being involved in a car crash with Harry. Later in the series, she reappears as the main character of Silent Hill 3, under the alias Heather Mason.
In addition to being one of the most significant characters in the entire series, Cheryl's identity is very complex. Players introduced to Cheryl through sequels and spin-offs may be unaware of some key facets of her character.
10 She Has Multiple Identities
One of the most pivotal aspects of Cheryl's character is the fact that she actually has multiple identities. Cheryl is made up of the spirit of Alessa Gillespie, a young girl who was burned at the stake for having supernatural abilities by The Order--a cult in Silent Hill. Surviving the attempt at her life, Alessa split the half of her soul with good memories, which found its way into a baby: Cheryl. In the events of Silent Hill, Cheryl ends up back in the town, and fuses with Alessa, becoming the final boss of the game.
When defeated, the entity canonically gives Harry a newborn baby with the fused identities of Alessa and Cheryl. This baby is taken and raised by Harry as Heather Mason, an alias used to protect her from The Order, who seeks her out in Silent Hill 3. In addition to these events, Heather also appears in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, a re-imagining of the original Silent Hill.
9 Added Story From Dead By Daylight
Recently, the hit asymmetrical multiplayer game Dead By Daylight released its new DLC chapter based on Silent Hill. Cheryl is an available character in the DLC, and the game provides background information about Cheryl which elaborates on the events after the good ending of Silent Hill 3.
The background information states that, although Heather had escaped The Order, she was experiencing trouble escaping from the guilt of her father's death. Despite volunteering at a crisis intervention center to ease her guilt, she begins to hear the voice of Claudia before getting sick and passing out. When she awakes, she finds herself in Midwich Elementary School in the world of Dead By Daylight.
8 Has A Cameo In Silent Hill: Downpour
Cheryl makes a quick cameo appearance in the joke ending of Silent Hill: Downpour. If players complete the "Diggin' Up The Past" sidequest on a second playthrough, they will unlock the "Surprise!" ending, in which Murphy is thrown a surprise party by well-known Silent Hill characters.
Even though she has no lines in the ending, she appears alongside other well-known characters, such as James Sunderland, throwing the party for Murphy.
7 Has A Cameo In Silent Hill: Book Of Memories
Referred to as Heather, Cheryl appears in the joke ending of Silent Hill: Book of Memories. By obtaining three artifacts and equipping them before defeating the final boss, players are given a generously long joke ending in a dubbed comic-book format.
In this ending, Cheryl appears as a hotel receptionist, and is called to help a guest who has "locked himself" in room 302, which is a reference to Silent Hill 4: The Room.
6 Adapted Into The Silent Hill Films
While appearing under a different name, Cheryl's character is loosely adapted into the Silent Hill film series. In the series, Sharon Da Silva has an extremely similar backstory to Cheryl Mason, in that she is also the split part of Alessa Gillespie's soul after falling victim to being burned at the stake by a corrupt religious cult.
After the events of the first film, Sharon appears again in Silent Hill: Revelation, under the pseudonym Mary. The events of this film are loosely based on Silent Hill 3, as Sharon navigates her pursuance by The Order.
5 Can End Up Possessed
In Silent Hill 3, there is an additional ending that can be unlocked in a second play-through. This ending requires Heather to defeat many enemies and take large amounts of damage throughout the game. If the requirements are fulfilled, the usual ending is replaced with a darker twist, in which Heather stands with a bloody knife over the dead body of Douglas Cartland, insinuating that she is now possibly possessed by the dark part of her soul.
4 Has A Fear Of Mirrors
If the player examines the mirror in the beginning of Silent Hill 3, Heather makes a comment that she dislikes mirrors, because she feels as if there is an alternate world on the other side and that the person looking back at her is an imitator. This foreshadows the Otherworld that Heather ends up in as she is pursued by The Order, and implicates that Heather has spectrophobia.
This is further hinted at in the famous scene of the game that takes place in the restroom of Brookehaven Hospital, in which Heather's reflection begins to appear bloody and rotting and can kill her if she doesn't leave the room quick enough.
3 Appears In Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
In Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, the player can select the song "You're Not Here", which is the credits song of Silent Hill 3, sung by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. The song is speculated to be in reference to Cheryl's feeling of guilt for her father's death after the events of Silent Hill 3.
The video in the background of the song features clips from Silent Hill 3 of Heather in a music-video type montage.
2 Has A Magical Girl Transformation
After completing a playthrough of Silent Hill 3, if players input the code "PrincessHeart" into the costume typewriter, they receive the "Transform Costume" item upon beginning an Extra New Game. When this item is used, Cheryl has a dramatic Sailor Moon-esque magical girl transformation. This new costume grants her two unique fighting abilities: the Heather Beam, and the Sexy Beam.
1 Her Alias Is Her Voice Actress' Name
Cheryl's alias, Heather, actually comes from her voice actor with a very similar name: Heather Morris. Heather Morris actually acted out the in-game cut-scenes using motion capture as well!