- "I met this six-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes; the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply…evil."
- ―Samuel Loomis[src]
Michael Audrey Myers is the main character and the main antagonist of the Halloween franchise. As a child, Michael was admitted into a psychiatric hospital for the murder of his older sister, Judith Myers. After almost 15 years of captivity, Myers broke out of the asylum and, for years, hunted down the rest of his family.
Biography[]
Six-year-old Michael after killing his sister Judith
Michael Audrey Myers was born in 1957. He had an older sister named Judith and also a younger sister. The family resided in a two-story house at 45 Lampkin Lane in the suburban town of Haddonfield, Illinois.[2]
On October 31, 1963, Michael committed his first act of murder. His parents were away, and he was at home with his sister Judith who was supposed to be babysitting him, but cared more about spending an intimate moment with her boyfriend, Danny. After Danny left, Michael, dressed in a clown costume, went into the kitchen, picked up a butcher knife, walked up the steps and stabbed Judith to death. He then quietly walked back downstairs and into the front yard where he waited for his parents and the police to collect him.[1]
Michael was taken to Smith's Grove Sanitarium where he became the patient of a psychiatrist named Doctor Samuel Loomis. He spent fifteen years with Dr. Loomis, barely moving, never speaking a word.
- "Michael Myers is the most dangerous patient I have ever observed. [...] He's covering up. This catatonia is a conscious act. There is an instinctive force within him. He's waiting."
- ―Sam Loomis[src]
The night he came home[]
Michael stalks his sister Laurie Strode from the shadows
On October 30, 1978, Michael Myers destroyed his room at Smith's Grove and carved the word "sister" on his door before breaking out. He also released the other patients from their rooms. At the same time, Dr. Loomis and Nurse Marion Chambers were arriving at the facility to transfer Michael for his court hearing. Noticing the patients roaming around outside the hospital, Loomis got out the car to investigate as Michael attacked Marion and sped away in their station wagon. As he drove across Illinois, Michael stopped to murder a truck driver to steal his overalls. Travelling to Haddonfield, Michael returned to his childhood home. The next day, on Halloween, a teenaged Laurie Strode dropped off a key at the Myers house for her realtor father, and was immediately recognised by her brother. Michael proceeded to stalk her and her friends Annie and Lynda throughout the afternoon. He also stole Judith's gravestone from the local cemetery, and broke into Nicol's Hardware to acquire knives, rope, and a white Halloween mask. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis had followed Michael to Haddonfield and warned town sheriff Leigh Brackett of the danger he posed.[1]
Michael Myers is set on fire by Dr. Loomis
That night, as Laurie and Annie were babysitting across the street from each other, Michael watched them from the shadows. He murdered Annie first, strangling her in her car as she left to meet her boyfriend, before slitting her throat. Later, Lynda and her boyfriend Bob showed up, only to fall victim to Michael as well. Worried about her missing friends, Laurie crossed the street to investigate, only to find Annie's body arranged under Judith Myers' gravestone, and Lynda and Bob hidden in the closets. Michael lunged at his sister, catching her on the arm with his knife, and she ran for help. Michael followed her across the street, and Laurie was forced to stab him with both a knitting needle and his own knife. As Michael rose from apparent death to resume his attack on Laurie, Dr. Loomis appeared and shot him six times, causing him to fall off the balcony. When Loomis went to check the body, Michael had vanished.[1]
The injured Michael fled into the back alleys of Haddonfield. He killed teenager Alice Martin before breaking into the elementary school and scrawling "Samhain" onto the chalkboard in blood. As news of the murders spread, chaos erupted in Haddonfield, with citizens rioting and teenager Bennett Tramer being killed in the confusion. Learning Laurie's location from a news report, Michael resumed his search for her at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, where she had been taken for her shoulder wound. Michael systematically murdered Laurie's protectors at the hospital, including a security guard, paramedic, doctor, and the four nurses on duty. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis, who was continuing his search for Myers with the help of the Haddonfield police, was told by Marion Chambers of Michael's sibling connection to Laurie Strode. Loomis, realizing why Michael had come home, tracked him down to the hospital and saved Laurie's life a second time. Loomis and Laurie worked together to cause an explosion in the hospital operating room, which engulfled both Loomis and Michael.[2]
Hunt for Jamie[]
Michael suffered severe burns and was left in a coma. He was sent to Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium until October 30, 1988, when he was arranged to transfer back to Smith's Grove. However, upon hearing that his sister Laurie Strode had died and her daughter Jamie Lloyd — his niece — lived in Haddonfield, he woke up from his coma and murdered those with him in the ambulance. After the vehicle crashed off a bridge, Michael escaped and began his journey back to Haddonfield. He stopped at Penney's gas station and murdered the
employees, stealing new overalls from one of the mechanics. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis, who had heard of Myers' escape and was tracking him once more, encountered him at the diner and begged him to leave the people of Haddonfield alone. Michael responded by driving off in a stolen truck, burning the station to the ground in the process and leaving Loomis stranded. In Haddonfield, Jamie was suffering regular nightmares about her uncle. When taken shopping for Halloween costumes by her adoptive sister, Rachel Carruthers, she briefly saw him as he
was stealing a new mask from the discount store. When Loomis finally arrived in town, he contacted new sheriff Ben Meeker with the news of Michael's return. The pair of them went out searching for Jamie, who was trick-or-treating with Rachel. Meanwhile, Michael had begun his attack on Haddonfield, destroying the town's power supply and single-handedly wiping out the entire police force but Meeker and Deputy Logan. When word got around that Myers was back, a group of vengeful townsfolk began patrolling the streets with shotguns. Meeker and Loomis finally caught up with Jamie and Rachel, and they all took refuge in Meeker's house. However, when Michael found a way in and began killing their protectors, the two girls escaped via the roof, and were eventually rescued by the people hunting Myers. Jamie and Rachel were driven out of town to safety as the State police arrived to deal with Michael Myers. However, Michael had secretly hitched a ride under their truck, and Rachel was forced to take the wheel when he killed their driver.She drove erratically as Michael clawed at her from the roof, eventually throwing him off the roof and hitting him straight on. Jamie went over to check her uncle's body, and as he rose once again, Meeker and a team of armed police showed up and shot him relentlessly until he fell down a nearby mine shaft.
The Scream Factory[]
"A year later, when Lori and her friends are asked to create a haunted house in the basement of Haddonfield's civic center, they jump at the chance. But an old pro soon turns their little horror show into a bloody death trap. Michael Myers has freed himself from his tomb and returned to Haddonfield. It's a homecoming they won't soon forget."
The Old Myers Place[]
"It's 1990 and Mary White just moved to Haddonfield. Being the new girl is tough, but she finally seems to be settling in. She's friends with a popular girl. She's dating a gorgeous guy. Everything is perfect. But Mary's family moved into the old Myers place. In fact, Mary's sleeping in the very bedroom where Michael Myers killed his sister. Now he's coming back to make sure she sleeps like the dead."
The Mad House[]
"The summer of 1991 for Christine Ray has been nothing but lame dates and boring camping trips. She wants at least one interesting adventure before it's over. Then she sees the ad: "Volunteer film crew needed for documentary on haunted sites. Spend the night at Smith Grove Mental Hospital . . . if you dare". She definitely dares. That place is the ultimate scare site—Michael Myers himself was locked up there 15 years. But what she and her filmmaking friends don't know is that Michael Myers still has a room at Smith Grove—and visiting hours are over."
Notes and trivia[]
- Some believe this is part of the same continuity as the 4-6 Timeline, but the novels only mention Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981) and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and nothing else after 1988 though the books were published in 1997 and 1998, meaning this is likely to be a separate continuity with a different version of Michael.
- Unlike in the 4-6 Timeline, this version of Michael is not bound by a curse and might just be a psychopath who wants to kill his family and anyone in his way.
- Unlike other versions of the Shape character, Michael does make grunting and growling noises. This would not be explored again until Rob Zombie's reboot.
Appearances[]
- Halloween (1978)
- Halloween (novelization)
- Halloween (Extended Edition)
- Halloween II (1981)
- Halloween II (Television Cut)
- Halloween II (novelization)
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- Halloween IV (novelization)
- The Scream Factory
- The Old Myers Place
- The Mad House