Dr. Henry West, MD is the mysterious owner of the mansion where Splatterhouse takes place. He was born sometime in the 17th century.
Splatterhouse
Dr. West made no actual appearance in the story. According to the instruction manua
l, Parapsychology students Rick Taylor and Jennifer Willis went up to his mansion to interview him. Based upon the conditions of the West Mansion and promotional artwork, Dr. West was experimenting on and torturing several bizarre creatures.
It can be assumed that the Hell Chaos creature was a mutated form of Dr. West's corpse.
Splatterhouse (2010)
Dr. West has a stronger role in this version of the story.
He is a mysterious professor at Miskatonic University, the owner of West Mansion and supposedly one of the long line of the West family to reside in Arkham.
Jen goes to his mansion to do an article about him for the university newspaper, but as soon as they get inside his mansion, everything goes terribly wrong. West kidnaps Jen while his demonic minions disembowel Rick. He then drags her through time and space in a bid to sacrifce her to his gods and begin the end of the world.
West's experiments over the years claimed the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, as he attempted to use arcane magics and science to create suitable host vessels for The Corrupted. He also created most, if not all of the creatures in the game at the command of his gods. The goal was to create durable servants that would carry out his masters' will. He came to look at these creations as his children.
It is revealed through the story that Dr. West's wife, Leonora West, died from cholera. He was a respected doctor and healer, but could not save his wife and thiis pushed him towards the edge. He was contacted by an unknown entity and given the key to do what he desired, to bring Leonora back to life. After using arcane knowledge to resurrect her, he finds that what he gained was not the return of his wife, but of something else, something inhuman. He then devoted his life to protecting "her."
When the townsfolk of Arkham lured him away, a mob abducted his wife from the mansion and sentenced her to death by fire in a large wicker man. As West raced back to save her, he witnessed Rick wearing the Terror Mask kill his wife before teleporting away. This set him on a dark path that would drive the future story and his plans.
After finding a way to contact the The Corrupted, he believed that if he helped them, he could be reunited with her and to achieve his goal of removing the suffering that plagued mankind by ending all life on Earth.
Trivia
- At some point, he was able to make himself immortal, as seen when he survived being stabbed in the head by Jen with a dagger and suffering no ill results. He also survived having his arm ripped off by Rick leading up to the final battle.
- West invokes the names of the Old Ones, including Cthulhu.
- It is unknown if the Terror Mask, The Corrupted or some other unseen entity provided West with the knowledge to resurrect Leonora.
- West is described in the Phase 10: The Wicker Man as one of two heroes, who by the end of the level become villains. Rick is the other.
- West tries to stop Rick from following him several times. Oddly, had Rick died or listend to him he would never have killed Leonora and the events of the game may not have occured.
Trivia
- His name might be a reference to the short story "Herbert West-Reanimator" by HP Lovecraft and the Re-Animator films based off it.
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