In researching different elements of Silent Hill, screenwriter Roger Avary came across a town called Centralia which is in Pennsylvania. Centralia planted the seed for what developed into the town of Silent Hill.

As recently as 1981 there were over 1,000 residents living in Centralia, although the population has now dwindled to 11, as a result of a 40 year mine fire burning beneath the borough. Not unlike Silent Hill, which was left deserted since devastating coal fires ravaged the town and its people.

A trash fire was lit in an abandoned mine pit in Centralia, in 1962. The fire ignited an exposed vein of coal and spread throughout the mines beneath the borough. Several attempts have been made and millions of dollars have been spent unsuccessfully to extinguish this fire, that still burns today.

to watch video footage (in Real Player format) of Centralia, that eerily feels like the town of Silent Hill!

Silent Hill is based on the Konami game in which Radha Mitchell stars as Rose who desperately searches for her lost daughter in the mysterious, terrifying town of Silent Hill, where they are trapped. The film opens in theatres on Friday, April 21.

Silent Hill was released April 21st, 2006 and stars Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland. The film is directed by Christophe Gans.