Enemies

Closer

Appearance: A very tall creature with two large padded arms that widen as they go down. Has normal-sized legs and a peculiar, twitching head with a large mouth on the front. Bears a strong resemblance to the Mandarin from Silent Hill 2. Closers in the endgame's Church take on a transformative, greenish appearance while becoming stronger and faster.
Location(s): Nightmare, Central Square Shopping Center, Nightmare Mall, Hazel Street Subway Station (backtracking only), Brookhaven Hospital, Lakeside Amusement Park, Church.
Attacks: Most often Closers will thrust one of their large club-like arms forward at Heather, which inflicts a fair amount of damage but is very slow and telegraphed. Sometimes they may extend a sharp blade from the arm, doing even more damage. Additionally Closers may swing their arms around their body to hit Heather at close range, so be careful while circling and attacking them.
Suggested Weapon(s): Handgun, Shotgun, Submachine Gun, Katana.

Strategy:
Despite its lumbering size, the Closer is a truly pathetic fighter that moves at a slow enough speed to easily run by it or even dodge all its attacks at close range. Therefore the best strategy is to just ignore them, especially in higher numbers. But if you do wish to fight them, the Handgun is probably the most reasonable way to kill them from beyond their range, backing up while firing if they're approaching you. Usually they die when dropped with the Handgun, but otherwise may require a kick to finish off.

The Shotgun is a bit slow but you can bait them into an attack or just run behind them and blast away. The SMG's rapid fire works great too but there's really not much ammo for it. If you are going to try a melee weapon, try the Katana or Steel Pipe and sidestep around them between hits to dodge their attacks.

Numb Body

Appearance: A malformed, bipedal body with no arms, pale purple in colour with bloody veins all over and what looks like a large single eye on its head. Makes sounds similar to goats or lambs and comes in sizes small, medium and large. No fries with that.
Location(s): Central Square Shopping Center, Nightmare Mall, Hazel Street Subway Station, Underpass, Hilltop Center.
Attacks: Since they have no arms their only attack is a lunging headbutt. Try to avoid this by attacking from a distance or circling around them to attack from behind or the side.
Suggested Weapon(s): Handgun, Katana, Steel Pipe, Shotgun (large sizes).

Strategy:
These guys are fairly aggressive despite their most common small size and slower speed, but they generally don't take more than a good melee weapon to kill. Be wary of their lunging jump forward in attempt to bat you, and smack away with the Katana or Steel Pipe while sidestepping around them to make it difficult for them to hit you. They often come in groups, so consider using the Handgun to take them out more quickly and safely. Even so, they can usually be lured out one by one where you can safely kill them away from their buddies. Always finish them off with a kick if still squirming when down.

In the subway and underpass you'll encounter large Numb Bodies. These creatures are even more aggressive and powerful, and evasive measures are even more important, but when properly positioned you can still take them down with the Steel Pipe. If in a hurry or surrounded by several of them, the Shotgun can make quick work of them from close range and the Handgun works quite well although lacks the stopping power as these larger creatures power towards you.

Double Head

Appearance: A dog wrapped in bandages with its head split in half, perhaps like a roasted dead dog come to life. Often howls for backup.
Location(s): Nightmare, Central Square Shopping Center, Nightmare Mall, Hazel Street Subway Station, Hilltop Center, Nightmare Hilltop Center, Silent Hill, Lakeside Amusement Park.
Attacks: Most commonly they jump and bite at Heather, inflicting minimal damage. From the ground they will often grab a hold Heather's leg and give it a solid chew, hurting her more. Stay away from their mouths and attack their sides or rear to avoid this, but mash the shoulder and directional buttons if caught.
Suggested Weapon(s): Handgun, Katana, Steel Pipe.

Strategy:
Double Heads like to run around a lot and can be a pain to fight, which is why the Handgun is the most efficient way to deal with them, beyond simply running past which is always doable. Then again they're not too threatening and so saving your ammo by using the Steel Pipe or Katana is a good idea if you wish to kill them. Try to sidestep around them and avoid their mouths so they can't bite you while fighting them.

A helpful tool against them is using beef jerky to distract their attention, allowing you to run past or sneak up to attack them. The same goes for Double Heads already distracted by a piece of meat, a regular occurrence in the game. Just run past them or beat them down with a surprise attack, and always finish them off with a kick. Note that Double Heads will often howl to call in nearby reinforcements, who howl back before arriving on the scene. Quickly kill them or leave the area before you get surrounded.

Pendulum

Appearance: Two half torsos and heads connected, with sharp blades on each head and larger blades extending from its body on both sides that it uses to walk. Most often found flying through the air while making very loud and distinctive screeches.
Location(s): Nightmare, Nightmare Mall, Underpass, Construction Site, Silent Hill, Lakeside Amusement Park, Church.
Attacks: Pendulums will charge forward to slice you with the blades on their spinning heads while in the air, or poke at your with their blade legs while hovering. When found standing, Pendulums will slice you with their blade legs if approached.
Suggested Weapon(s): Submachine Gun, Shotgun.

Strategy:
The best strategy with Pendulums is always to simply run away since they're such a nuisance to deal with, regularly come in multiples and are often out of reach. If you must kill them, the Shotgun works well from close range, often dropping them in one blast. While they are mostly spinning through the air, sometimes they're found walking on the ground. Be sure to kill them before they fly unless you're just running past them.

The Submachine Gun also works well on them due to its rapid fire, but you'll usually have to manually adjust your aim to hit them and there's not much ammo available for the gun. They will also lunge towards you once you first shoot them so keep up your fire to drop them before they reach you. The Handgun isn't effective at all as these creatures deflect their bullets from the front. In general it's highly recommended to ignore these enemies, especially on Hard.

Insane Cancer

Appearance: An incredibly obese and disgusting creature of bulbous proportion and cancerous flesh with open sores. Its face appears to be crushed inward as if punched in. Always found initially lying down.
Location(s): Hazel Street Subway Station, Construction Site (backtracking only), Hilltop Center, Nightmare Hilltop Center, Church.
Attacks: Mostly they will swing their arms to smack Heather, but can also charge her and tumble her over. Due to lazily lying around, you may never witness an attack if you run past or blast them quickly, but be careful if they do stand since they can surprise you with their speed by running after you.
Suggested Weapon(s): Shotgun, Submachine Gun, Stun Gun.

Strategy:
Insane Cancers are always found lying on the ground and in every instance can always simply be run past, even in tight corridors by pushing past as they stand. Therefore you don't need to fight a single one but if you wish to, the Shotgun is probably your best bet with its strong power. The Submachine Gun also handles them quite well, and for melee weapons the Stun Gun is surprisingly effective. As soon as they stand, get in a close shock and watch them fall down. Kick them continuously and repeat the process if they stand up again. Once an Insane Cancer is dead it will deflate, so always keep attacking until that happens, no matter how many kicks or bullets it takes.

Slurper

Appearance: The general form of a human covered in leather-like flesh, with a large extended nose like an anteater and bulbous hands like boxing gloves.
Location(s): Nightmare Hilltop Center, Nightmare Hospital, Church.
Attacks: From a distance they will charge Heather to bowl her over, while up close they'll grab a hold of her leg and chew her out. Wiggle the shoulder and directional buttons to escape more quickly. If you don't stand up quickly enough when knocked over they may hover over and bite you.
Suggested Weapon(s): Handgun (Silenced), Shotgun.

Strategy:
Slurpers are easily the most annoying enemies in Silent Hill 3 due to their speed and frequency in high numbers, made worse by roaming tight and dark hallways, waiting to lunge from around the corner and knock you down. Slurpers are attracted to light and sound, so a helpful strategy is to turn off your Radio and Flashlight (except when it helps you see them), and put the Silencer on the Handgun to prevent others from rushing to your position.

When in closer range, the Shotgun works well with its power, but its slow speed can tie you up, making the Silenced Handgun more preferable. While Slurpers are already lying on the floor, the will also play dead after attacking a few times, ready to pounce on Heather if she approaches for a kick. Don't be fooled and keep firing from a distance until you hear it die or see blood pour out.

Melee weapons are very ineffective on Slurpers due to their speed and low stance, so forget about them altogether. Also note that jerky can help distract and guide Slurpers, allowing you to run past or position them better for attacks.

Nurse

Appearance: A female nurse in a dirty white blouse and skirt uniform with a nurse cap and high heels, carrying a steel pipe or revolver. While similar to Silent Hill 2's Nurses including their slumped posture, they have normal (dark) hair and faces, smeared with blood patches over their lipstick, and wear longer skirts. They breathe loudly and let out screams when attacked.
Location(s): Brookhaven Hospital, Nightmare Hospital.
Attacks: Nurses with pipes will swing normally or lunge forward, inflicting even more damage. Revolver nurses will shoot from moderate distances and inflict a lot of damage, while they can pistol-whip from up close. Nurses can also run and chase after you, closing a medium distance in a hurry to smack or shoot you.
Suggested Weapon(s): Handgun, Shotgun, Submachine Gun.

Strategy:
Just as in Silent Hill 2, Nurses are dangerous and should be attacked from a safe distance with the Handgun (back up while firing if close), while the Shotgun works great for crowd control or quick kills from up close. The SMG works just as well if you have the ammo for it.

All Nurses carry weapons and are quite strong, so using melee weapons is too risky and opens you to attacks. While most carry pipes, a few Nurses wield revolvers that will take a big chunk out of your health if you get hit. Always keep an eye out for what they're holding and immediately rush to take out revolver Nurses before the others to remove the biggest threat.

Scraper

Appearance: A humanoid wearing brown robes, red gloves and a threaded sack over its face. It wields a blade in each hand and strongly resembles the Missionary boss but is much weaker. It also carries a slight resemblance to Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2.
Location: Church.
Attacks: Scrapers will slice you with their blades, inflicting moderate to heavy damage. They are also sneaky creatures and will often spawn out of nowhere behind you or appear right around a corner, ready to attack an unsuspecting Heather.
Suggested Weapon(s): Shotgun, Submachine Gun, Handgun (Silenced).

Strategy:
While threatening in appearance and with their attacks, Scrapers are incredibly weak and usually drop in a single Shotgun blast, which is the best method to kill them. The Submachine Gun does nicely despite limited ammo, and the regular Handgun's bullets usually get deflected, but equipping the Silencer will cover the muszzle flash and prevent this. But due to Scrapers' lethal weapons and moderate movement, it's best to use the Shotgun to drop them asap.

Valtiel

Appearance: A rather strange looking monster just like some others in this game. Valtiel's costume is very similar to Pyramid Head's from Silent Hill 2. The head of Valtiel twitches a lot like that of the Closer. Has a slight tone of yellow. You'll find Valtiel in 5-15 places in the game and he's almost always turning a valve for some reason. He could be helping you and he never tries to hurt you.
Location(s): Nightmare Mall, Nightmare Hilltop Center, Nightmare Hospital, Church.
Suggested Weapon(s): None. Valtiel can't be hit and there's no reason for you to shoot him.

Strategy:
No strategy since Valtiel never really encounters you. You always just pass by each other or one of you passes by the other. Valtiel may scare you but there's nothing to worry about. After you die in certain areas (usually Nightmare areas), Valtiel will come to collect you and drag you away.

by Andrew Haffenden aka Conquerer (Silent Hill 3 FAQ/Walkthrough)