Halloween (novel)
Encyclopedia
Halloween is a 1979 novelization
by Curtis Richards of the horror film
Halloween
(1978) which has been out of print
since the late 1980s. The novel elaborates on aspects not featured in the film such as the origins of the curse of Samhain
and Michael Myers
's life in Smith's Grove Sanitarium
.
The prologue of the novel takes place at the dawn of the Celtic race in Ireland and tells the story of a young 15-year-old disfigured boy named Enda who is passionately in love with the King Gwynwyll's daughter, Deidre. After being severely humiliated for attempting to win her love Enda attacks and brutally slays Deidre and her fiancé at a community ritual event on Halloween. Enda is immediately killed by the other members of the village and his soul cursed to wander the Earth forever, re-creating the events of that night.
In Chapter 1 we flash forward to 1963 and witness several eerie interactions between little Michael Myers and his grandmother. The grandmother is concerned as Michael has been admitting to hearing voices and having visions and nightmares (which are about the events that happened in the prologue with Enda and Deidre). The voices "tell me to say I hate people", says Michael. There is also discussion between the grandmother and Michael's mother about Michael's great-grandfather who apparently committed some sort of undescribed violent act. "I think there are enough similarities," says the concerned mother.
Chapter 2 details Michael's experiences further. When he, along with some other children and dressed in the infamous clown disguise complete with mask, later knocks on the Myers home door for trick-or-treats his sister Judy asks "what are you going to do if I don't give you anything?" to which Michael replies "we're going to kill you". Shocked, Judy responds "who said that? Michael Myers--was that you?". Michael replies "I'm not Michael Myers. I'm a clown", already hinting at the transformation that has taken place.
In Chapter 3, we get a look inside Michael's head.
Chapter 4 details Michael's trial and sentencing. Details of Michael's experiences at the Smith's Grove "Sanitarium" are given. A conversation between Michael and Loomis gives further insight into Michael's personality. Additionally, strange "occurrences" take place which intrigue Dr. Loomis who gradually becomes aware of what he is dealing with:
Michael eventually commands the ward as neither the staff nor the other inmates dare to challenge or defy Michael for fear of retribution.
, an adaption of the 1981 Halloween II screenplay
, was written by horror and science-fiction writer Dennis Etchison
under the pseudonym Jack Martin. Etchinson wrote the sequels as well. Halloween III's novel was not changed in any way to follow an alternate path of Michael Myers
, and followed the movie screenplay very well. Halloween 4 was the last movie in the series
to be novelized.
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
by Curtis Richards of the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
Halloween
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
(1978) which has been out of print
Out-of-print book
An out-of-print book is a book that is no longer being published. Out-of-print books are often rare, and may be difficult to acquire.A publisher will usually create a print run of a fixed number of copies of a new book. These books can be ordered in bulk by booksellers, and when all the...
since the late 1980s. The novel elaborates on aspects not featured in the film such as the origins of the curse of Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
and Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers...
's life in Smith's Grove Sanitarium
Sanitarium
Sanitarium may refer to:*An alternate spelling of sanatorium, a medical facility for long-term illness or a summer resort.*Sanitarium, California, in Napa County*Battle Creek Sanitarium, made famous by John Harvey Kellogg...
.
Plot
"The horror started on the eve of Samhain, in a foggy vale in northern IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, at the dawn of the Celtic race. And once started, it trod the earth forevermore, wreaking its savagery suddenly, swiftly, and with incredible ferocity".
The prologue of the novel takes place at the dawn of the Celtic race in Ireland and tells the story of a young 15-year-old disfigured boy named Enda who is passionately in love with the King Gwynwyll's daughter, Deidre. After being severely humiliated for attempting to win her love Enda attacks and brutally slays Deidre and her fiancé at a community ritual event on Halloween. Enda is immediately killed by the other members of the village and his soul cursed to wander the Earth forever, re-creating the events of that night.
In Chapter 1 we flash forward to 1963 and witness several eerie interactions between little Michael Myers and his grandmother. The grandmother is concerned as Michael has been admitting to hearing voices and having visions and nightmares (which are about the events that happened in the prologue with Enda and Deidre). The voices "tell me to say I hate people", says Michael. There is also discussion between the grandmother and Michael's mother about Michael's great-grandfather who apparently committed some sort of undescribed violent act. "I think there are enough similarities," says the concerned mother.
Chapter 2 details Michael's experiences further. When he, along with some other children and dressed in the infamous clown disguise complete with mask, later knocks on the Myers home door for trick-or-treats his sister Judy asks "what are you going to do if I don't give you anything?" to which Michael replies "we're going to kill you". Shocked, Judy responds "who said that? Michael Myers--was that you?". Michael replies "I'm not Michael Myers. I'm a clown", already hinting at the transformation that has taken place.
In Chapter 3, we get a look inside Michael's head.
"It was the voice. the voice stirred up the hatred. It had done so in his dreams and now it was doing it in real life. It had begun with the strange pictures in his head at night, pictures of people he had never seen--oh, maybe in comic books or on television, but never in real life. People in strange costumes, animal skins, armor, leather, drinking and dancing wildly around a fire. One couple in particular. They looked like Judy and Danny, madly in love with each other, dancing in a circle around a huge bonfire while he, Michael, stood in the crowd hating them, burning up with jealousy".
Chapter 4 details Michael's trial and sentencing. Details of Michael's experiences at the Smith's Grove "Sanitarium" are given. A conversation between Michael and Loomis gives further insight into Michael's personality. Additionally, strange "occurrences" take place which intrigue Dr. Loomis who gradually becomes aware of what he is dealing with:
"Every time Michael was slighted, or fancied he was, by a staff member or other inmate, some awful vengeance was visited upon the offending person. It might be a day, a week, a month later, but Michael got even. The problem for Loomis was that no one ever observed the boy doing it directly...a nurse who quarreled with Michael fell down the stairs two days later, fracturing her pelvis. A boy who borrowed a game from Michael and forgot to return it suffered a vicious rash that hospitalized him for a month"".
Michael eventually commands the ward as neither the staff nor the other inmates dare to challenge or defy Michael for fear of retribution.
Sequels
The series of novels spanned three more sequels. Halloween IIHalloween II
Halloween II is a 1981 slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, and written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. It is the second installment in the Halloween series and is a direct sequel to the Halloween set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers continues to...
, an adaption of the 1981 Halloween II screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, was written by horror and science-fiction writer Dennis Etchison
Dennis Etchison
Dennis William Etchison , is an American writer and editor of fantasy and horror fiction. Etchison refers to his own work as “rather dark, depressing, almost pathologically inward fiction about the individual in relation to the world.”Stephen King has called Dennis Etchison “one hell of a fiction...
under the pseudonym Jack Martin. Etchinson wrote the sequels as well. Halloween III's novel was not changed in any way to follow an alternate path of Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers...
, and followed the movie screenplay very well. Halloween 4 was the last movie in the series
Halloween (franchise)
Halloween is an American horror franchise that consists of ten slasher films, novels, and comic books. The franchise focuses on the fictional character of Michael Myers who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his older sister, Judith Myers...
to be novelized.