For the character from Silent Hill 4: The Room, see Eric Walsh.

Eric is one of two protagonists in Silent Hill: The Arcade, along with Tina.

A quiet, inquisitive university student, he is a resident from Portland. As a child, he used to live in Silent Hill, but moved. He is an orphan and currently resides with his aunt and uncle. His great grandfather, the captain of the Little Baroness, disappeared on Toluca Lake and he has taken an interest on investigating the rumors circulating around the area, mainly because he has nightmares about the Toluca Lake.

Eric and his university friends Tina, Bill, Jessie, Ryan, and George travel to Silent Hill.

Silent Hill: The Arcade

They stayed at Jacks Inn and Eric experiences a terrible nightmare. The next morning, Eric exits the inn and discovers Bill wounded, with the rest of the occult club missing. Eric and Tina decide to search the town for answers.

They go to Brookhaven Hospital, and as they enter, they encounter a blonde-haired girl very similar to Tina's friend Emilie Anderson, albeit named Hanna. Eric and Tina chase her through the hospital. A boat's fog horn transitions the hospital to the Otherworld, and Eric and Tina discover Jessie being assaulted by Pyramid Head. They successfully defeat Pyramid Head and head to the roof, where they discover Emilie being guarded by a flying monster, Tuberculosis. They defeat it and the world transforms back. Emilie and Tina embrace, and Emilie tells her that she lost her mother on the way to Toluca Lake.

Emilie brings Eric and Tina to the Silent Hill Historical Society, which her father, Frank Anderson, manages. Inside, Eric reveals to Tina that his great grandfather used to be the captain of the Little Baroness. The fog horn occurs again, and the group is sent to Toluca Prison. In the prison's gallows, Eric pulls down a body-bag which transitions the prison courtyard to Toluca Lake. They defeat the Split Worm, and when the world transitions back, Eric and Tina discover their rescued friend, Ryan, in the body-bag. Continuing on, the group reaches the Labyrinth and defeat a marionette monster known as Mama, saving their friend, George.

The group emerges at Toluca Lake. Emilie hears her mother's voice calling to her, and she runs to the shore and enters the Little Baroness. Eric and Tina chase Emilie into the ship, only to discover that it has transformed into Central Square Shopping Center. They enter Hazel Street Station, which is connected to the mall, and make it to Lakeside Amusement Park. Upon reaching the Happy Carousel, a flashback occurs where Emilie reveals that her mother has been haunting her dreams and has been calling her to the lake. Eric and Tina are transported to Brookhaven Hospital, where a radio transmission reveals Emilie's mother was murdered during a burglary, and then to Silent Hill's woods where they defeat Pyramid Head again.

Eric and Tina find themselves at the Spiral Staircase, called "19181993", symbolizing that they are being transported through time to the year 1918, when Hanna was alive. Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, Eric and Tina board the true Little Baroness, where Emilie and Frank are. Emilie hugs Hanna's mother, Lorraine, who she believes to be her own, but her father reveals to her that isn't her mother because her mother is already dead. Lorraine's hands go through a monstrous transformation and she throws Emilie overboard into the lake while a flashback reveals Hanna's mother did the same to Hanna, and right after drowning her daughter, the Little Baroness sank. Eric and Tina dive into the lake and at the bottom, encounter a grim-looking Hanna who transforms into a powerful monster known as the Phantom.

Fate

• Good Ending - The Phantom is finally destroyed, and Emilie reappears. Tina goes to check if she's okay as Eric notices that Phantom's arm is starting to sink into the lake. Emilie awakens and hugs Tina, while the Phantom's arm fades away to reveal the arm of Hanna. Eric grabs hold of Hanna's arm, and manages to pull her out of the water. Hanna tells Eric that she was trapped in the water for a very long time, and Eric assures her that the nightmare is over now, and comforts her she cries on his shoulder. The scene changes to show Hanna back on the boat, crying as the captain goes to comfort her. Hanna reunites with her mother, and Eric sees his great grandfather, the captain of the boat, nod to him just before the Little Baroness sails away, vanishing into the mist. Eric and Tina look over at Emilie who has reunited with her father, and Tina asks Eric if she thinks Hanna was able to find her mother, to which Eric replies: "Of course." The player gets this ending if they shoot all the hands of Phantom and manage to save all of the friends they have to rescue throughout the game.
• Normal Ending - The Phantom is destroyed, and like in the good ending, both Emilie and Hanna are saved. However, when the Little Baroness sails off, Eric does not see his great grandfather. Tina asks Eric where everybody is, but Eric doesn't answer. The captain comforts Hanna on the Little Baroness and Hanna reunites with her mother. The player gets this ending if they shoot all the hands of Phantom, but fail to save all three of the friends they have to save throughout the game.

• Bad Ending - The Phantom is destroyed, and Emilie reappears. However, Emilie does not awaken as Tina calls her name, and Eric watches as Hanna's arm sinks into the lake, fading away before he can reach her. Eric finds himself in a foggy area where no one else seems to be around. He picks up a radio laying nearby, and hears Hanna's voice: "Why didn't you rescue me?" The player gets this ending if they do not shoot the hands of Phantom during the final boss fight.
• UFO Ending - Eric is greeted by his great grandfather. Captain says that the UFO is his new ship, and that if Eric and Tina want Emilie and Hanna back, they will have to "come chasing after him... to the end of the universe!" Eric and Tina set off in another ship and chase after him. Robbie the Rabbit is seen playing Gradius, in which Eric and Tina are flying after Captain's UFO.

Quotes

• "Maybe something very big has happened somewhere else... maybe like a military biological weapon or terrorists..."
• "Hey, stop making tasteless jokes."
• "Come on, I hate scary stories!"
• "Wonder how long this nightmare is gonna last."
• Tina: "Do you think she was able to meet her mother?"
  Eric: "Of course."

Trivia

• His attire is nearly identical to Henry Townshend's, although his sleeves are shorter.
• In Toluca Prison, Eric may consider putting his hand into a filthy toilet after noticing something is stuck in it; a recurring gag in the series. However, Tremers emerge from it and he flees.
• His surname has been circulated on the Internet as "Eric Lake", however, there is no official proof of this and it is probably an error.

Gallery

Eric in the car ride to Silent Hill.

Tina and Eric.

Eric with Tina.

Eric, Bill and Tina.

Tina and Eric with their guns drawn upon entering Brookhaven.

Eric on Brookhaven's rooftop with Tina.

Tina, Jessie and Eric.

Eric and Tina protecting Emilie.

Eric, Tina and Emilie arriving at Toluca Lake.

Eric looking over his shoulder as he and Tina stand in front of the Happy Carousel.

Hanna and Eric.

Tina and Eric.

References