Amazing Story of the Original Mask That Michael Myers Wore in the First Two Halloween Movies

In 1978, during the making of the original Halloween, the prop department was faced with the enormous task of finding a frightening mask that the villain could wear, but only the cheapest one in the costume store. The crew chose two masks for Michael Myers to wear but they had not decided yet.

The first option was a Don Post Emmett Kelly frowning clown mask that they put frizzy red hair on. This was an homage to how he killed his sister, Judith in a clown costume. They tested it out and it appeared very demented and creepy. The other mask was a 1975 Captain James T. Kirk mask that was purchased for around a dollar. It had the eyebrows and sideburns ripped off, the face was painted fish belly white, the hair spray-painted brown, and the eyes were opened up and reshaped more with scissors. They tested out the Kirk mask and the crew decided that it was much more creepy because it was emotionless, much like Michael himself. This became the Michael Myers mask.

While both Debra Hill and Dick Warlock have confirmed the mask from Halloween II was the original, many fans have still claimed it to be different. This has been largely due the slightly different appearance the mask possesses when compared the first film. This was primarily due to the different shape of Warlock’s face when compared to Nick Castle’s. The mask had also aged in the three years between films, and possessed a slight yellowish color due to Hill’s constant smoking as the mask remained under her bed in a shoe box.

After production had wrapped, thinking that it would be the last Halloween to feature Michael Myers, Dick Warlock was permitted to keep the mask.

The shape mask in 2017.

In 2017, the original Michael Myers Halloween mask has been unearthed and a new picture of it in its state has arrived online. The mask, which was used in Halloween and Halloween II by actor Dick Warlock on screen, has been in the possession of a man who runs haunted attractions. For the last 14 years, a man by the name of Mark Roberts has owned not only the original mask, but the boots and scalpel Michael Myers used on screen as well. Here’s Roberts’ tale of how he came into possession of the items.

“I have been building and running haunts for the last 26 years. About 20 years ago I got in contact with an agent who represented Dick Warlock and asked about booking Dick for an appearance at my haunt. The funny thing was I contacted him to book Gunnar Hansen (the original Leatherface) and when we were getting that set up he told me he also represented Dick and asked if I would be interested in booking him also. So I set up to have Dick at the haunt and his agent said he had the mask and costume from the movie and would wear it at the appearance. When Dick came to the haunt, he was mad at his agent because he said he does not wear the costume for appearances. He did tell me that he still had the costume, boots, mask, butcher knife and scalpel and that he would sell it; he just didn’t bring them out for appearances. Dick was great with the haunted house customers and hanging out with Dick and Cathy for the weekend was a lot of fun and it went so well we set it up for him to come back the next year. I’m not sure if it was after the first or second year but I called Dick up and we made a deal for me to purchase the mask, costume, boots, scalpel and knife. My wife and I went to Dick’s house and picked up the mask and costume and then that following year we had Dick appear at the haunt and we displayed the mask, costume and weapons at the haunt in Toledo. It really is amazing that Dick thought to keep that stuff and take care of it, when I went to pick it up, he had kept the mask stored in a Elvis Presley tin container. I didn’t get the container, Dick is a big Elvis fan! I looked back (in my records) and found that I picked the mask up from Dick about 14 years ago, after he had appeared at my haunt for about 5 years. I used to have him and Cathy there every year. I really miss that! I need to have him out again.

“...The mask is just the way it was when I purchased it from Dick. I pay to have it kept in an air tight container that is climate controlled and in the dark, It seems to be working well. The mask is really in the same shape it was as when I purchased it. I consider it to be the holy grail of horror movie memorabilia and I am doing my best to preserve it... I have thought about that and I may talk to him about it someday. He does amazing work. I struggle with the question is it still the original mask or not if you restore it? I think I lean a little more to having him bring it back to it's full glory.

“Before the masses start saying this and that, I still have the front neck piece that was off the mask when I received it from Dick. Just a few more facts, the Velcro Dick put on the back of the mask for filming is still there and except for the chin/neck area of the mask being stiff, (I assume because that is where most of the actors’ sweat went), the rest of the mask is still very flexible.”

Michael Myers in Halloween (1978)