Halloween : The
Night He Came Home
In 1963 the terror began in the small little town of Haddonfield, Illinois. It was on Halloween night that a 6 year old boy turned the once quiet town into a bloodbath when he brutally murdered his 17 year old sister as she brushed her hair in front of a window after a liason with her boyfriend. Michael Myers, a name that would later become a household word was that 6 year old child. But this was no child, this was pure evil and the authorities realizing this wasted no time in putting the boy away for a long time. He was sent to Smiths Grove Insanitarium about 150 miles north of the town for treatment while his family and the town tried to move on from the ordeal. Under the care of Dr. Sam Loomis the young Michaels situation intensified as the frustrated doctor vainly tried to exorcise the evil from him. This struggle between doctor and patient continued for the next 15 years until Michael turned 21. It was on October 30, 1978 that Michael was to be taken in front of the judge to detemine his mental state and progress with Dr Loomis if any. It was a hearing that was never to be when Michael escaped from the facility using Dr. Loomis car to make his getaway. As Michael roared away into the blackness, Loomis fully aware of his patients state of mind exclaimed into the night, "hes gone, hes gone from here,...the evil is gone".
October 31,1978 started out like any normal day for Laurie Strode and her 2 best friends Annie and Lynda but little did they know what Michael Myers had in store for them. As Laurie left for school that fateful morning her path to school was a little different than usual. Her father, a real estate agent, had asked her to drop a key off at the Myers house in the hopes that he would finally get to unload that cursed piece of property. As she walked a young boy approached and asked her if she would be babysitting him that evening. It was Tommy Doyle and many a night Laurie had spent watching the youngster while his parents attended dinner parties, business fuctions and other social gatherings. Laurie, who had amassed a small fortune from sitting for the boy affirmed she would be. As the two approached the murder house Tommy became nervous and uneasy. He asked what she was doing there and when she told him he informed her that it was a haunted house and that "awful stuff happened there once". Unintimidated by little Tommys warning Laurie left the key under the mat but was unaware that someone was in the house already. It was Michael. Tommy told her he would see her later that night and ran off to school. Laurie then continued her walk to school, however she did not see that Michael was now following her.
School was pretty uneventful that day except for one thing that kind of weirded Laurie out during her literature class. While discussing a poem, Laurie had noticed a very spooky looking character staring at her from across the street. This person was wearing a white mask and a blue mechanics suit. Figuring it was Halloween she didnt think much of it at the time until her teacher asked her a question. Of course Laurie responded to the question, however when she looked back the mysterious man was gone. At the conclusion of the school day Laurie met up with her friends Annie and Lynda and as the 3 girls walked home they discussed their plans for that evening. Lynda who was extremely popular of course had a date with her boyfriend Bob. Annies boyfriend on the other hand had been grounded for playing Halloween pranks so she found herself babysitting Lindsey Wallace who just so happened lived across the street from Tommy Doyle. "Great we can keep each other company" said Laurie to Annie just as a car sped past the 3 girls. Although Laurie didnt want to alert her girlfriends at the time she was pretty sure it was the same guy who was staring at her during literature class. As Annie yelled at the driver the car drove off. Finally, the girls arrived at Lyndas house. At this point Annie was looking for something in her pocketbook so she did not see what was standing no more than 50 yards in front of them behind some bushes. It was the masked man and unfortunately Laurie saw him. As Annie looked up he casually stepped out of view so as a result she did not see him. Laurie informed her friend of what she had just seen but when the 2 girls reached the bushes the man was gone. Although Laurie was a little spooked out by this guy she tried to ignore it as the two proceeded on. They arrived at Annies a few seconds later. Annie told Laurie she would talk to her later and disappeared into the house. Laurie now alone continued hey journey home fearful that she would encounter the masked man again. Fortunately, she made it home in one piece with the exception of having the daylights scared out of her by Annies father, Sheriff Brackett. Feeling a bit safer now being home Laurie went into her bedroom to change but upon entering the room she realized that she had left the window open and being the end of October her room had somewhat of a chill in it. As she started to close the window however, she looked into her neighbors back yard and there standing amongst some sheets drying on a clothesline was the masked stranger again. She slammed the window shut but when she looked back once again he had vanished. The telephone then rang which heightened her growing intense fears. When she picked it up there was no answer so she quickly hung it up now wondering just what was going on. It rang again almost instantly but this time there was a much friendlier voice on the other line. It was Annie informing her that she would be picking her up. She also informed her that it was her on the phone the first time but that she couldnt talk because she was eating something. A little relieved Laurie showered and got ready to babysit.
An hour or so later Annie picked up Laurie in her moms car. As the two drove they engaged in small talk never aware that a car was following them driven by a very familiar looking masked man. En route they ran into Annies father who informed the pair that someone, "probably kids", had broken into the hardware store and stole a rope, a couple of knives and a Halloween mask. As the two girls drove away Dr. Loomis pulled up to warn the Sherriff of Michaels possible return to Haddonfield. With his back turned to the street he never saw that Michael was in fact already there and in pursuit of the 2 teenagers.
Annie dropped off Laurie and the night which noone would ever forget had begun.
At the outset of the evening Laurie and Tommy watched horror movies together and then Laurie read to the young boy. Later on Laurie talked with Annie on the phone. Annie never realized that the entire time Michael was staring at her from the window. She let Laurie go after spilling butter on her clothes while making popcorn for Lindsey. She decided to wash her clothes out back in the laundry room and was very lucky that Michael didnt kill her right then and there especially when she locked herself in the room. Maybe it was Lindsey that extended her life that extra few minutes when she rescued her babysitter from the laundry room. She had gone outside to tell Annie that Paul, her boyfriend had called. When Annie at last got to talk to Paul she found out that he had managed to sneak out from being punished and only needed a ride to see her. Annie quickly remedied that situation as she asked Laurie to sit for Lindsey so that she could pick up her escaped lover. Laurie being the responsible and good hearted person she was of course agreed to do her friend this favor. Shortly thereafter Annie dropped little Lindsey Wallace off at the Doyle house. She then realized she had left the keys to her moms car back at the Wallace house. Singing to herself she went back inside and grabbed the keys very relieved that she was finally going to get to see her escapee. She shut the door behind her and headed to the car. When she got to the car the windows were all fogged up but thinking nothing of it she got in anyway. It was the last mistake Annie would make because as she attempted to start the car Michael from the back seat started to strangle the helpless teen. Running out of air rapidly she tried to thwart her attacker but with little to no avail. In a desperate attempt to live she started blowing the horn to alert a neighbor, a passerbyer, or anybody that could save her. Michael realizing that he might be discovered before unveiling his deadly wrath on the girls decided he was done playing with Annie Brackett and silenced her once and for all by slitting her throat from ear to ear. Michael satisfied now grabbed the girls lifeless body and carried it back inside the Wallace house to prevent further suspicion. As he walked with the limp body, Tommy playing a joke on Lindsey saw Michael from the window carrying the corpse. The horror movies had put Tommy in a very frightened state of mind so he started yelling and screaming that he had saw the "bogeyman. Laurie immediately told the boy to quiet down because he was scaring Lindsey. She assured him that there was no such thing as the bogeyman.
Meanwhile back at the Wallace house Lynda and her boyfriend Bob had just pulled up. They frequently used the house for their sexual encounters. When they discovered that Annie was gone for the night they decided to make themselves at home by making love in the bedroom upstairs. When they finished Bob journeyed downstairs to get a couple of beers for him and Lynda. However, before Bob can complete this task he encounters Michael in the kitchen closet and before he can even utter a single scream he is pinned to the wall with a large kitchen knife. Michael admires his work for a moment but realizes his work is far from finished. He decides to disguise himself in order to kill Lynda so he shrouds himself in a white bed sheet and puts Bobs glasses on to trick the girl. Sure enough Michael fools Lynda into believing that he is Bob. After several attempts to go along with the gag, Lynda gets frustrated and picks up the phone to call Laurie. Michael seizes this opportunity to make his move by choking her with the phone cord before she can even get out a single word to Laurie. As Lyndas lifeless body dropped to the floor Michael picked up the phone to his ear in perhaps one of the most chilling moments of the movie. On the other end of the line Laurie was certain that it was either Annie or Lynda playing a joke on her. Emotionless and almost mechanical Michael hung up the phone and awaited his next victim. He wouldnt have to wait long as Laurie was now getting very suspicious of the goings on at the Wallace house. She checked on the kids and finding them asleep she set out to get to the bottom of this mess. She started walking over to the house and when she got there she went inside. The house was dark and quiet, too quiet she thought. After all Bobs van was parked out front. She next ascended the stairs and saw a light on in the bedroom at the far end of the hall. She cautiously approached the door and slowly opened it and was horrified to see her friend Annies dead body laid out on the bed with Judith Myers tombstone placed at the head of the bed. She screamed in shock and slowly started to back up as Bobs body swung down from the ceiling, the knife still imbedded in the chest. Laurie now in a full fledge panic became disoriented and attempted to hide in a closet but before she could, the door swung open to reveal that it was already occupied by Lyndas expired corpse. Just then Michael appeared out of the darkness wielding a large kitchen knife much like the one he used to impale poor Bob. He lunged at the frightened teen cutting her on her left arm sending her spiraling over the railing and down the staircase. Bewildered and shaken up she managed to get to her feet and run away as Michael very methodically descended the stairs. In search of an escape route she ran into the kitchen and locked the door behind her to buy some time knowing that Michael was hot on her heels. As Michael pounded on the door to get in Laurie frantically looked for a way out. She spotted a double glass paneled door at the far end of the room but when she attempted to exit through it she discovered that a rake was prohibiting her from opening it. In an all out panic she punched out one of the panels of glass to remove the rake as Michael broke through the door. When Michael slowly approached she swung the door open and for the time being escaped. She then ran to the house next door and pounded on the door screaming for help but the occupants inside figuring that she was just playing a Halloween prank ignored her plea for help. With nowhere left to run she headed back to the Doyle house but upon getting there couldnt find her keys. With Michael in hot pursuit, she banged on the door for Tommy to let her in. What seemed like an eternity elapsed until Tommy finally awoke and let her in just in the nick of time. She sent Tommy and Lindsey back upstairs and instructed them to lock themselves in one of the bedrooms while she readied for Michaels next attack on the first floor. She suddenly realized that she was not alone in the room when she spied an open window and heard Michaels labored breathing. Suddenly, Michael as quick as a cat came from behind the couch and very narrowly missed stabbing Laurie burying his blade in the couch cushion instead. In the split second it took Michael to free his weapon from the cushion Laurie had already found a way to counter Michaels offensive when she spotted a knitting needle in a basket of yarn at her feet. Before Michael could attack again she stabbed him with the implement lodging it in the side of his neck. Michael pulled the needle from his neck but could advance no further. He collapsed to the floor and laid there motionless. Laurie struggled to her feet and went upstairs to check on the kids. They had managed to hide in one of the bedrooms and upon hearing Lauries voice they now unlocked the door. When they saw Laurie they ran to her and embraced her. Tommy who had been right about the bogeyman all along asked Laurie about Michael. She responded by saying that she had killed him. Somehow Tommy knew this not to be true informing Laurie that "you cant kill the bogeyman". Almost on cue the three turned to see in fact that Laurie had not killed the evil shape which now stood in front of them. The two kids immediately ran back into the bedroom and again locked the door behind them. With Michael closing in Laurie ran into the other bedroom and locked herself in the closet. In horror Laurie saw the shapes shadow pass by the closet door as she tried to remain as quiet as possible so as not to alert Michael of her whereabouts. There was no place for Laurie to go and Michael knew it so it didnt take him long to figure out where she was. He approached the closet and tried to open it and finding it locked he forcefully started to break in. With nowhere to run Laurie had to use what was available to her to defend herself. She reached above her and grabbed a wire coat hanger and began to unravel it. By this time Michael had just about finished his assault on the closet door and started to reach in for Laurie. Laurie once again was just a little quicker as she jabbed him in the eye with this crude weapon. As Michael reached for his injured eye he made the mistake of dropping his knife at Lauries feet. The hysterical girl wasted no time in seizing this opportunity to end this nightmare once and for all as she grabbed the knife and plunged it into Michaels chest sending him backwards and down to the floor. She waited a moment to see if Michael had survived the attack but not hearing his distinct breathing she decided that now was her time to get the kids to safety, as well as herself. She exited the closet and tiptoed around Michaels motionless body. She went to the bedroom door and told the kids to let her in. When they did so she instructed them to go down the street to the Mackenzies house and have them call the police. The children ran down the stairs and out the front door screaming for help.
Luckily, Dr. Loomis had spotted his stolen car in the neighborhood and had been patrolling the streets looking for his former patient. When he saw the two kids emerge from the house screaming he knew he had found him. He immediately sprang into action and ran towards the house knowing that he may already be too late .
While Laurie waited for the cavalry to rescue her, she was unaware that Michael was once again conscious. With her back to Michael she was unable to see him sit up almost robotically and turn his head. As she staggered up the hall, Michael slowly got to his feet and proceeded after her. When she got to the end of the hallway Michael at last caught up with her and began strangling her. She fought him off with every ounce of strength left in her battered body and bought herself a second or two of safety when she managed to pull the mask off of her attacker. It was all she would need as Dr. Loomis ascended the stairs, revolver in hand, ready to fell this unstoppable monster. As Michael slipped his mask back on a shot rang out. Michael was hit and staggered backwards into one of the bedrooms. Loomis followed after him expecting to find him down and out. Instead he found Michael standing, ready for another onslaught. Loomis fired again, and again and again sending Michael backwards with each shot until Michael fell from the balcony to the ground below. As Loomis watched his nemesis hit the ground, Laurie approached, still in tears and asked him "whats the bogeyman"? Loomis composed himself and answered "as a matter of fact it was". However, when Loomis looked back out on the lawn Michaels body was gone but how.......
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