Christopher Joseph Hastings (May 22, 1945 - October 31, 1978) was a minor character in the original Halloween and the main protagonist in the comic story Halloween: White Ghost.
Biography[]
Christopher Joseph Hastings was born to Richard and Katherine Hastings in Pontiac, Illinois on May 22, 1945. In the summer of 1958, a then-13-year-old Chris moved to Haddonfield, Illinois after his father, an electrician in Pontiac, took a new job in the neighboring town. Chris had friends but none that he was close to. When he did hang out with his friends, they mostly committed minor crimes, such as stealing, drinking and vandalism.[2]
The person that Chris wanted to be around was his father, whom he looked up to. Richard, however, was always tired and drunk. He told Chris that one day he would understand. Chris blamed himself for this. On Chris's first day of school, he met Sylvia Robinson, although he never told anyone that he had a crush on her for the next five years. He finally got the courage to ask Sylvia out (under the influence of a bit of alcohol) and to his surprise, she said yes.[2]
They dated for a long time and Chris ended in proposing to her. The couple planned to get married in October 1969. Things seemed to be going perfectly for Chris, but there was one minor thing that annoyed him. Sylvia had told him that she would wait to be married before she had sex. Chris did not think too much of this at first, as it was only a short amount of time before they would be married.[2]
Two days before he was to get married, Chris' friends took him to the Rabbit in Red Lounge for a bachelor party. His friends had gotten drunk and were starting to make fun of a woman named Jenny Reeves who lived in the backward part of town. Chris stood up for her and got her a drink to prove no hard feelings. They talked for three hours before they got in the back seat of Chris' car and had sex.[2]
As soon as they were done, Chris realized what he had done. He kicked Jenny out of the car and cried, knowing that the damage was already done. He knew that he had to tell Sylvia but hoped that even if she was angry with him, she would realize that they were perfect for each other. When he did tell his fiancée, her reaction was of shock, she said nothing and shut the door on him. Later that night, he received a phone call from Sylvia telling him that she went out for a drive, that she was lost and that she was about an hour outside of town on Highway 24. Chris told her that he would be there soon but Sylvia continued to ask him why he did what he did. Chris told her that they would talk about it later and that he would be there as quick as he could.[2]
Once Chris arrived, he found Sylvia in her wedding dress, staggering along the railroad tracks, dangling a half-empty bottle of scotch in her hand. She told Chris that he had broken her heart and at that moment, Chris heard a train coming. He told her to get off the tracks. Sylvia did not listen and kept telling Chris how she loved him. The train was coming closer and Chris knew that Sylvia wasn't going to get off the tracks on her own. With no time left to save both of them, Chris planned to push Sylvia out of the way to at least save her life.[2]
Right when he was about to act on saving his love, he tripped. One second later, Chris looked up and saw Sylvia get hit by the train. Chris would never get over her death and it haunted him for the rest of his life. He eventually left Haddonfield and moved to Eureka, Illinois, where he met an overbearing woman named Becky, whom he married in 1971. It started as a one-night stand but somehow evolved into more than that, mostly on Becky's part as Chris never loved her.[2]
In 1977, they had a daughter named Maggie but Chris never really wanted a family with Becky and the main reason they even had Maggie was because Becky's family wouldn't stop nagging them to have grandchildren. Chris also had a job as a tow truck driver, working under Mr. Phelps at Phelps Garage. Becky's family once again nagged them to move to Chicago so that Becky's parents could be closer to Maggie. Chris didn't like this idea and even asked his wife if he could stay in town while they moved away.[2]
On October 30, 1978, Mr. Phelps needed a driver since the original driver was out sick. Friday was supposed to be Chris's last night on the job but Phelps offered him fifty dollars if he would work until Tuesday. Chris didn't really want to spend his last days in town working but figured it was better to listen to Becky before they moved. He decided to drink on the job since it would probably be a while before he had the chance to do so again and figured since he had enough time and he was close by, he would return to his hometown of Haddonfield.[2]
Once he arrived there, he saw that things had changed and he was once again haunted by the memories of him and Sylvia. He eventually arrived at the same place where Sylvia died. He called his wife and told her that he would be home soon and to kiss their daughter for him. Becky did not seem to care and kept yelling at him. Chris hung up on her as he felt defeated being back where his true love had died.[2]
At that moment, a train passed by and Chris saw in the corner of his eye, a figure in a white sheet. Chris thought it was a ghost of Sylvia. Chris dropped to his knees and thought that she had finally forgiven him. He closed his eyes and the shape wrapped Chris' neck. Chris then saw a white light and felt free.[2] In his actual appearance in the movie series, Michael kills him, steals his clothes, and hides his body.[3]
He is the second human victim of Michael Myers and the first in 15 years since the night he murdered Judith.
Notes and trivia[]
- Chris' social security number was 268-12-3397.[1]
- He was attended by Henry Smentol from 5:47 PM to 6:57 PM On October 31, 1978.[1]
- Chris' boiler suit is the source of Michael Myers' trademark outfit in the first two films of the series.
- He is the only person in the first film to be beaten to death by Michael off-screen.
- His death won the Dull Machete Award in Dead Meat's "Halloween (1978)" kill count.
- James A. Janisse (the host of Dead Meat), counted the character as "Mechanic Dude" in the kill count.
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
See also[]
- Mechanic
- Joe Grizzly, the substitute of Chris in Halloween