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Since the announcement of Silent Hill f back in 2022, I’ve seen one question circulating online with far more fervor and frequency than any other: Does it have any connection to the rest of the series? After years of waiting and speculation, we finally have an answer.

Warning: Silent Hill f spoilers to follow.

If you’ve rolled credits on Silent Hill f, you’re familiar with its shocking first ending. In it, it is revealed that the Hinako exploring Ebisugaoka is actually a twenty-something-year-old Hinako experiencing deep, drug-induced psychosis. Though players have witnessed what seemingly started out as an ordinary day for our high school-age main character, we come to discover that, in the real world, it’s Hinako’s wedding day, and she’s spent the last few hours of it murdering her friends and family members. Her actions are, of course, horrific, but make sense if you do a little digging around.

Turns out, Hinako has been taking Kakura-Makakura, a natural medicine made from ground Hakkokusou seeds that are then placed in small, red capsules. Originally given to her by her friend Shu to help with recurring tension headaches, it becomes obvious that the apprentice apothecary gave her the medication without properly assessing the risk in taking it or properly considering its reputation. A stack of journal entries on Shu’s desk gives us minimal insight into the medicine, as he writes he prescribed it to her to “curb her reliance” on traditional medication and made it by combining peony and kudzu root. Fortunately, documents scattered throughout the town and spirit realm give us the opportunity to learn a bit more about the medication ourselves.

Hinako looks at a pond surrounded by white flowers in Silent Hill f.

According to research papers found in Silent Hill f, Hakkokusou is also referred to as “the flower of the gods.” The documents go on to state that the herb is an important part of folklore, as it is known for giving those who consume its seeds the ability to converse with gods, visit their lands, and awaken dormant powers–all of which happen to Hinako. Lastly, the papers describe Hakkokusou as “notoriously difficult to cultivate as it requires a very specific environment in which to grow” and is “rarely found in the wild.” It makes sense then, that the one place we find Hakkokusou in Silent Hill f is near Shu’s home, which also serves as the town’s apothecary.

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Upon reaching Shu’s house, you’ll stumble upon a small pond surrounded by large, white flowers unlike any you’ve seen around town–and this is precisely where Silent Hill f shows us how it connects to the other Silent Hill games. Though referred to as Hakkokusou in Silent Hill f, Silent Hill fans will recognize these flowers as While Claudia, a “perennial herb found near water” that features white blossoms and contains hallucinogenic seeds.

Since the series’ beginning, White Claudia has played a notable role in Silent Hill. In the first game, protagonist Harry Mason stumbles upon several documents indicating the game’s cultists have been consuming the flower’s seed during their ceremonies, somewhat explaining their bizarre behavior. While visiting the town’s hospital, he also finds a broken bottle of Aglaophotis–a thick, red liquid later revealed to be refined White Claudia.

In Silent Hill 3, Harry’s daughter, Heather Mason, calls a pendant her father gave her one of her “most treasured belongings.” If you check it’s item description, it reads, “There’s a jewel inside, like a little red tablet.” Later in the game, we find out that this jewel is actually a small vial of Aglaophotis as well. Most recently, White Claudia made an appearance in Silent Hill 2’s remake, in which developer Bloober Team added a new ending that sees James take the substance and begin to hallucinate his wife Mary back before she developed her terminal illness.

Heather’s necklace.

And to make this theory even more convincing, it’s worth delving a bit more into White Claudia’s liquid form, Aglaophotis. According to Fandom’s Silent Hill page for the in-game drug, “Aglaophotis may have been a factual herb, sometimes connected in identity to the European peony. The Greek doctor Dioscorides named Aglaophotisas a member of the peony family, Paeoniaceae.” This directly coincides with Shu’s journal entries, which describe him as using peonies to produce Kakura-Makakura. Lastly, Agura no Hotei-sama–one of the item’s required to attain Silent Hill f’s Fox Wedding ending–is described as a medicine bottle containing a red liquid, similar to Aglaophotis. Later on, Hinako is forced to drink the refined “flower of the gods” to help steady herself in the spirit world.

So although Silent Hill f might not take place in Silent Hill, it feels safe to say that it definitely takes place in the same world and tugs at the same threads and themes as its predecessors. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s among the best games in the series, with our Silent Hill f review calling it, “a visual spectacle, a mastercraft in psychological horror, a work of narrative brilliance, and a new benchmark for the Silent Hill series.”

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