Halloween: The Blog of Michael Myers
Every Thursday I am posting excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia relating to a particular horror series from television or film.
COLLIERS MAGAZINE “THE BODY SNATCHERS” (NOVEL BY JACK FINNEY)
Release Date: 1954 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Body Snatchers (novel)
Horror Crosses: Halloween; Phantoms; Memoirs of an Invisible Man; Stephen King Universe; Scream of the Banshee; Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 film); Return of the Living Dead; Boo; Sharknado
Non-Horror Crosses: Airwolf; A Friend to Die For; Ben 10; Doctor Who
The Story: In Santa Mira, California, people are starting to act different. It turns out aliens are invading by slowly replacing the inhabitants and taking their forms.
Notes: Unlike the film versions, in this story, there is a happy ending and the aliens are defeated. And in fact, in the Katrina Protocol (aka Voodoo Twilight), it’s revealed that the Shop (the secret government agency from Stephen King books) sent in Ohisver van Helsing to take care of the situation. The Body Snatchers will invade again, as other crossovers will bring in the 1970s remake. This novel marks the first appearance of Santa Mira, California, a fictional town that will reappear in Halloween III: The Season of the Witch, Phantoms, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, The Dark Tower, Scream of the Banshee, the first Invasion of the Body Snatchers film adaption, Airwolf, A Friend to Die For, Ben 10, Redux of the Living Dead, Boo, Sharknado and Doctor Who: The New Adventures. In separate stories, the Doctor, Nathaniel Cade, and one of the van Helsing family have all been said to have been involved in these events behind the scenes.
HALLOWEEN (FILM)
Release Date: October 25, 1978 (Contemporary Setting, on October 30 - 31)
Series: Halloween
The Story: A girl is stalked by her serial killer brother.
Notes: An appearance of Michael Myers’ mask in an evidence locker in the film Bride of Chucky brings Halloween into the Horror Universe. The entire original film series (including Halloween: H2O and Halloween: Resurrection) is in the Horror Universe, but not the two film remakes.
NIGHTMARES ON ELM STREET: FREDDY KRUEGER’S SEVEN SWEETEST DREAMS “NOT JUST A JOB” (SHORT STORY BY NANCY A. COLLINS)
Release Date: October 1, 1991 (Contemporary Setting, prior to the events of Freddy’s Dead)
Series: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Horror Crosses: Halloween; Friday the 13th; Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Story: Freddy mentors a kid who wants to be a serial killer.
Notes: The kid checks out a book from the Springwood Library on serial killers. While it talks about real life killers, it also mentions Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees, and the Sawyer family.
BRIDE OF CHUCKY (FILM)
Release Date: October 16, 1998 (Contemporary Setting; one month after Child’s Play 3)
Series: Child’s Play
Horror Crosses: Friday the 13th; Halloween; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Story: Tiffany, the girlfriend of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, steals the doll and performs the ritual to place his soul back inside it. The plan is to find a human for Chucky to inhabit, but when the couple have a fight, Tiffany resolves not to help him. As revenge, he performs a ritual to trap her in a doll, knowing this will force her cooperation. And it does, as the two seek out a young couple to possess
Notes: Chucky is brought in by the Katrina Protocol. This film occurs between Child’s Play 3 and Seed of Chucky. At the evidence locker where the Chucky doll is kept, are also the masks of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, the glove of Freddy Krueger, and the chainsaw of Leatherface. This brings Halloween into the Horror Universe. The others have already been brought in. Even though it was meant as a quick prop gag, this quick film moment connected five of the most famous modern horror icons. This film has been referenced as fictional and paid homage to numerous times in other films and on television. It was also spoofed on the Roseanne Show.
BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 (FILM)
Release Date: October 27, 2000 (Setting is November 1999)
Series: Blair Witch Project
Horror Crosses: Halloween
The Story: A group of young tourists visits the locations from the Blair Witch Project after seeing the film.
Notes: It’s tempting to link this to Charmed. Supernatural also had an episode that featured the Book of Shadows. But the truth is that the Book of Shadows exists in the real world. It was written around the late 1940s or early 1950s by Gerald Gardner and was later adopted in the Wiccan traditions. Though the Blair Witch Project was watched in theaters by the characters of this film, the premise is that the first film was found footage released in theaters as a movie. In this story, they go to the locations seen in that first film. The date setting is given in the film. The premise is that the movie is based on true events. At the location they spend the night at, the Mark of Thorn is splattered all over the walls. The Curse of Thorn was a mystical symbol seen in Halloween 5 and 6, used as the explanation for the resurrection of the deceased Michael Myers. Clearly there is a relationship between the Druid cult’s Curse of Thorn and the Blair Witch legend. I should point out that like in most modern horror, there are five young people, in an isolated location in the woods, who get picked off one by one. This film follows Shadow of the Blair Witch and is followed by The Blair Witch Project 3. This film has been referenced as fictional and paid homage to several times, including in The Bogus Witch Project, Jimmy Neutron, Six Feet Under, and Psych. It was also spoofed in Erotic Witch Project 2: Book of Seduction.
HACK/SLASH: MY FIRST MANIAC # 1 - 4 (IMAGE)
Release Date: June 1 - September 1, 2010 (Setting is 2004 or slightly earlier, as this is Cassie’s first hunt)
Series: Hack/Slash
Horror Crosses: A Nightmare on Elm Street; Halloween; Friday the 13th; Spawn
The Story: The story of Cassie’s first hunt.
Notes: While researching slashers on the internet, Cassie reads of a man who kills in dreams in Ohio (Freddy Krueger of A Nightmare on Elm Street), a masked maniac who terrorizes a small town on Halloween (Michael Myers of Halloween), and a camp plagued for 30 years by a psycho who won’t die (Jason Vorhees of Friday the 13th). She also finds an article about Hellspawn, that includes a picture of Spawn.
BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON (FILM)
Release Date: July 6, 2004 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Leslie Vernon
Horror Crosses: A Nightmare on Elm Street; Halloween
The Story: A documentary crew follows the behind the scenes planning of a slasher.
Notes: Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Michael Myers (Halloween) are referred to as real life serial killers.
HACK/SLASH VS. CHUCKY (DEVIL’S DUE PUBLISHING)
Release Date: March 2007 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Hack/Slash; Child’s Play
Horror Crosses: A Nightmare on Elm Street; Friday the 13th; Halloween; Zatara
The Story: Cassie Hack teams up with Chucky for a mutual cause.
Notes: In the story, Chucky compares himself (as being better) to Freddy (Krueger), Jason (Voorhees), and Michael (Myers). Cassie once again meets Laura Loch, who says her spells backwards just like John Zatara and his daughter Zatanna from DC Comics.
For other slasher blogs, check out the following:
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