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Jasper Gein is a major character in the 2004 survival horror video game Silent Hill 4: The Room. Jasper is a mentally unstable man who, alongside his friends Bobby Randolph and Sein Martin, became obsessed with the teachings and mythology of the cult known as The Order, dedicating himself to uncovering its secrets. Later, the protagonist Henry Townshend founds him wandering through a distorted version of the Silent Hill Woods near the ruins of the Wish House Orphanage.
As a human, he is mostly shy and kind and not really a villain: he was a frightened, obsessive young man driven by his search for The Order’s secrets. His actions stemmed from terror and fanaticism, not malice. However, as a ghost, known as Victim 17, poses a threat to the protagonist, Henry Townshend, becoming one of the game's antagonists.
Personality[]
Jasper is deeply obsessive and driven by an almost religious fascination with the cult known as The Order. His singular focus on uncovering its secrets reveals a mind that’s easily consumed by ideas larger than himself—so much so that he abandoned normal caution and allowed those beliefs to dictate his every action. This fanaticism borders on mania, underscored by an unsettling willingness to endure—and even welcome—extreme suffering if it brings him closer to the truth he craves.
At the same time, Jasper shows profound shyness and emotional fragility. He trembles in the face of direct confrontation and is prone to panic when events spiral beyond his control. His visceral fear is most evident in his flight from the “Devil” call that claimed his friends, yet paradoxically he later faces being immolated without resistance (suggesting a masochistic streak or a deep) rooted sense of resignation. In combat as a ghost, his aggression is fierce and punishing, reflecting the trauma of his death, yet that very violence belies the vulnerable, scared young man who fled at the first sign of danger.
Biography[]
Background[]
About a decade before the events of the game, Jasper and his friends Bobby and Sein were drawn by a mysterious, gentle voice promising them a meeting with “the Devil.” Bobby and Sein eagerly followed its call into the shadows, but Jasper froze in fear as his legs shook. The voice coaxed him to join, even as Bobby’s sudden scream and Sein’s cries for help echoed around him. Terrified, Jasper fled down the street until he reached a drugstore, where he finally dared to look back, only to find the voice and its promised Devil had vanished. after this, both Bobby and Sein disappeared without a trace. Sadly, they were found dead, becoming the victims 2 and 3 of the Walter Sullivan's ritual and leaving Jasper with possible severe trauma.
Silent Hill 4: The Room[]
Jasper in the forest world.
Henry Townshend first encounters Jasper Gein on the forest world path outside the Wish House. Jasper explains the legend of the nearby stone, Nahkeehona (the “Mother Stone”), though Henry finds the story unsettling and moves on. Later, inside the Wish House, Jasper promises Henry a reward in exchange for a drink. Henry hands over some chocolate milk, which Jasper eagerly consumes, then gives Henry a small spade. Using that spade, Henry uncovers the key to the Wish House. After this, Jasper steps into one of the rooms and vanishes.
Shortly afterward, Henry hears a horrifying scream and rushes to the room Jasper entered. There, Jasper is engulfed in flames, screaming in agony. He exclaims that he’s finally seen “the red devil” he’d been pursuing, then uses an altar candle to trace the numbers “17/21” etched into his chest. Jasper collapses and dies from his burns. In the Otherworld, his death is tied to the “Source” murder theme, and the only item he leaves behind is the same bottle of chocolate milk Henry gave him.
Victim 17[]
Jasper's ghost appears to attack Henry.
In the second visit to the forest world, Henry encounters Victim 17, the spectral form of Jasper Gein, first encountered near the Mother Stone in the Silent Hill Woods. Even in ghostly form, he remains ablaze, haunting the Forest World when Henry Townshend returns. He carries the same altar candlestick he used to trace “17/21” into his chest before dying.
If Henry fails to pin Jasper’s spirit with the Sword of Obedience in the Forest World, Jasper’s fiery ghost will reappear later in the Building World’s hallway of locked doors, joined by Cynthia’s Ghost.
Because Walter Sullivan killed Jasper by burning him alive, his ghost still appears aflame: his upper body is engulfed in shifting embers and charred flesh, especially around his face, while his clothing remains largely intact. This perpetual fire seems linked to his ghostly aura—it wanes whenever Henry stuns him or strikes him with the Sword of Obedience.
As with Cynthia's ghost, the reason why Jasper becomes malicious in this form is unknown, but it is likely due to the dark and malevolent forces of Silent Hill and the ritual of the 21 sacraments, or due to the tragic and violent circumstances of his death.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Comparison between Spud and Jasper.
- Jasper bears a striking physical resemblance to Daniel "Spud" Murphy, a character from the 1996 film, Trainspotting.
- Like Angela Orosco from Silent Hill 2, Jasper has a speech impediment or stutter, although in his case, it is much more intense and noticeable.
