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)

Creepy Vintage Snapshots of People Celebrating Halloween in the Past

Halloween, which dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of years ago, has long been associated with images of witches, ghosts, clowns and many other supernatural or scary characters. From then on, Halloween has evolved into a celebration characterized by numerous entertainment activities for both children and adults. 

Besides trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins, the best thing about Halloween is the opportunity to dress up in many great costumes. Let’s celebrate Halloween by taking a look through these chilling vintage black-and-white snapshots of people wearing creepy costumes in the past:

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Where It All Began: Tim Burton in His Halloween Costume Made by His Mother in 1967

A 9-year-old Tim Burton, wearing a skeleton costume his mother made him for Halloween in 1967. It was this costume that would later inspire the character, Jack Skellington, in Tim Burton’s stop-motion animation production of the 1993 film, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

30 Vintage Photos of Creepy Scarecrows From the Past

Scarecrows were originally made to do exactly what their name suggests: scare off crows and other birds that might ruin the farmer’s crops. A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields.

Scarecrows have been around longer than you might think – the first scarecrows known to history were made about 3,000 years ago! They were first made by the Egyptians to protect their wheat fields, especially along the Nile River.

Even though they’ve been around for so long, there have since been more effective ways to scare off birds. In the past, attempts were made to use machinery to replace scarecrows, such as windmills. However, birds are smarter than you might think, and they quickly become familiar with these structures. Some of these attempts include hanging tins in trees or noise guns. But crows being adaptable as they are, usually realize it’s a trick and enter the fields after a time anyway.

Originally, Greek farmers would fashion their scarecrows to look like Priapus, who was the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite. The myth goes, Priapus lived near vineyards and he was supposedly very ugly. So whenever Priapus played in the vineyards, it scared the birds away and improved the harvest.

However, there is more to it than just how a scarecrow looks. Birds are scared off also because of the smell of humans that linger from the clothes of a scarecrow.

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Vintage Photos of Halloween Parties in the Late 1960s

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, as well as watching horror films.

For some people, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows’ Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although for others it is a secular celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows’ Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.

These vintage photos were found by Mark Susina that show what Halloween parties looked like in the late 1960s.

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30 Lovely Photos of Kids With Their Jack-o’-Lanterns in the 1950s and ’60s

A jack-o’-lantern is a carved pumpkin, turnip, or other root vegetable lantern, commonly associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes from the reported phenomenon of strange lights flickering over peat bogs, called will-o’-the-wisps or jack-o’-lanterns. The name is also tied to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.

Jack-o’-lanterns carved from pumpkins are a yearly Halloween tradition that came to the United States with Irish immigrants.

In a jack-o’-lantern, the top of the pumpkin or turnip is cut off to form a lid, the inside flesh is scooped out, and an image—usually a scary or funny face—is carved out of the rind to expose the hollow interior. To create the lantern effect, a light source, traditionally a flame such as a candle or tealight, is placed within before the lid is closed.

It is common to see jack-o’-lanterns used as external and internal decorations prior to and on Halloween. Here below is a set of lovely photos that shows kids with their jack-o’-lanterns in the 1950s and 1960s.

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40 Fascinating and Candid Photographs Reveal How Halloween Was Celebrated in 1970s America

The photographs were all taken at yearly parties in Kennett, Missouri, and the outfits range from the surprisingly innocent to costumes most would consider highly inappropriate.

But the owner of the collection, Steve Mays, who attended all the parties and collated the pictures online, told Mail Online that they were worn more out of stupidity and a love of horror movies than a desire to express racial hatred.

He said: “We were young and stupid and pretty self-absorbed. More concerned with having a winner costume than racial sensitivity. Our little town was in southern Missouri and literally segregated until the mid-60s and culturally segregated for long after.

“Many of us remember these as the best parties we ever attended or hosted. We took a lot of photos, but the cameras were often cheap and the photographers were almost always drunk. So many parties, so many pictures, so many beers.”

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Vintage Pinups of Beautiful Ann Miller With Halloween Themes From the Early 1950s

Ann Miller was not simply one of Hollywood’s great musical actresses during its Golden Age. Beautiful and gifted with an incredible figure (including perhaps the best legs in motion pictures besides Cyd Charisse), she was also a wildly popular pin up during World War II.

Several pin up pictures were taken of Miss Miller over the years, including pictures that seemed to cover every American holiday. Indeed, over the years a number of Halloween themed photos were taken of the legendary singer and dancer.

As a special treat this Halloween, here, we offer you several Halloween pin ups of the beautiful Ann Miller.

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Deluxe Character Masks, 1979

“Deluxe Character Masks” from Johnson Smith’s Fun Catalog, 1979.

These full head rubber or vinyl masks are made by the finest mask makers in the world. Most look like they could be used in the movies. All appear extremely realistic and many of our customers have reported winning first prize for “best costume.”

They’re great for Halloween or costume parties anytime of the year. Many come with synthetic “hair.” “Skin” looks so real it’s hard to tell the difference from a distance of only a few feet. 

30 Vintage Snaps of People Dressed Up as Superheroes From the Mid-20th Century

Superheroes tend to be thought of as monolithic icons by much of the public, but comic book fans know they have evolved over the decades. Powers develop, supporting casts change, and origins get refreshed. Costumes, too, have evolved, to keep up with changing social norms.

Ever since the first colorful costume debuted in 1938, there have been a wide variety of superhero costumes. Here, a collection of 30 interesting snaps of people dresses up in superhero costumes from the mid-20th century:

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40 Spooky and Kooky Vintage Halloween Snapshots From Between the 1920s and 1950s

Homemade costumes were far more terrifying in the early 20th century. These are 40 candid vintage Halloween snaps with just the right amount of spookiness to satisfy that itch for a scare.

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45 Cool Photos of People in Fancy Costumes in the Early 20th Century

Halloween is coming! Are you ready for a unique costume for this year’s holiday? Take a look at these cool photos from Gail Durbin and choose one for your reference.

Arab lady

A butterfly

A fairy with a star in her hair

A small pierrot group

A woman who performs with pierrots

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