Decoding Silent Hill 2 Remake's Gallows & Poem Puzzle

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The gallows puzzle in Silent Hill 2 involves a series of poems about criminals and the act of pulling the execution lever in the prison yard. This puzzle comes right after you’ve completed the weights and scales puzzle in the remake’s prison, which unlocks the lever. It’s a confusing and unusual puzzle that feels like it doesn’t have a clear answer, because you’re asked to decide which of six criminals deserves to be hanged. Here, I’ll explain the steps to solve it, what the poems mean, and how to choose the correct noose.

How to Solve the Gallows and Poem Puzzle in Silent Hill 2 Remake

Use the execution lever you found in the yard and place it in the mechanism on the gallows.
Doing this reveals six incomplete poems about prisoners, along with a plaque telling you to judge someone.
The second halves of these poems are on the ground—you need to match each half with the correct first half.
After correctly pairing all the poem halves, select the noose that matches the poem you think relates to the person you want to judge.
Picking the right noose will move you to the next part of the game. If you get it wrong, you’ll face some enemies and have to try again.

One tricky part of this puzzle is that the poems aren’t always logical or straightforward. They tend to be more about themes than concrete clues, unlike more straightforward puzzles, such as the hospital lock code you solved earlier.

Matching the Poems to the Gallows

The second halves of each poem are shown below, and there are two possible correct matches for each. Which one appears is random in each game. For example, the first poem always refers to an arsonist who burns an orphanage, but there are two possible conclusions. I’ve listed both options below so you can choose correctly regardless of what your game presents.

Poem Number	First Half (Beginning)	Possible Match 1	Possible Match 2
1	“For your grace I do not plead…” (Arsonist)	“Though the young ones’ deaths I mourn…”	“I watched them burn…”
2	“The wealth of others I did take…” (Thief)	“The reason, if I have to say…”	“What were those reasons, you might ask…”
3	“I took the child, you are quite right…” (Abductor father)	“My only daughter, joy of days…”	“Forgive me child, for I have failed…”
4	“Once the sun has ceased its reign…” (Cat burglar)	“I departed with great haste…”	“So, my guilt is plain to see…”
5	“Mommy dearest, mommy sweet…” (Matricide)	“You were, oh, so kind to me…”	“You broke my legs, I couldn’t walk…”
6	“I waited long, I bid my time…” (Murderer)	“In truth, I did not hesitate…”	“In truth, he was less man than beast…”

Which Noose to Pick and Who to Judge

Once you’ve matched the poems, the next step is choosing the noose that corresponds to the person you believe should be executed. Each noose is numbered and linked to a specific poem. For example, I found that choosing the noose associated with the arsonist’s poem was acceptable, but this might change depending on the context and how you interpret the second halves.

In essence, you want to pick a person you see as truly culpable. If the poem’s second half makes their crime look justifiable or sympathetic, avoid selecting them. Your goal is to identify the worst offender, so understanding the context of the poem’s conclusion is key—killing out of malice generally justifies a hang, but self-defense does not.

Getting it right means you’ll move on, leaving the prison behind. If you choose incorrectly, you’ll be attacked by monsters and will have to fight your way out before trying again. Solving this puzzle marks the end of the prison segment, so it’s your last chance to explore and gather any missed items, including the weapons, before progressing further.