Halloween is one of the most popular and successful franchises of all time -- not just in horror but in all of cinema. It's hard to keep track of all themovies in this series. There have been sequels, reboots, semi-reboots that only acknowledge certain films, and a weird anthology sequel that doesn't really belong anywhere and sticks out like a sore thumb. Even if you're not a fan of Halloween, you know all about this franchise. You know its iconic masked villain, Michael Myers. You know that most of these films star Jamie Lee Curtis. You know there are a ton of movies in the series. But do you know the little-known facts behind these iconic films, the scenes that took place behind the scenes? Here are some fun, behind-the-scene facts that you may not know about the iconic Halloween franchise.
10 Jamie Lee Curtis's Cameo in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
- Release Date
- October 22, 1982
- Director
- Tommy Lee Wallace
- Cast
- Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy, Michael Currie, Ralph Strait, Jadeen Barbor
- Main Genre
- Horror
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is the weird cousin of the Halloween franchise. At the time, the plan was to retire Michael Myers and turn Halloween into an anthology series. Each film would focus on a different Halloween element. While the first two movies revolved around a serial killer, Season of the Witch focused on -- yep, you got it -- witchcraft. It's the only film in the Halloween series to exclude Michael Myers -- though it doesn't exclude Jamie Lee Curtis.
Unbeknownst to most fans, Curtis provided an uncredited voiceover cameo for the movie, playing both the Santa Mira curfew announcer and the telephone operator. Season of the Witch was lambasted by critics and had the lowest box office numbers in the series. Panicking, producers decided to bring back Michael Myers and make him the star of the franchise. But for some fans, Season of the Witch is actually the best Halloween sequel.
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9 Halloween (2018) Was Released on Michael Myers's Birthday
Halloween (2018)
- Release Date
- October 18, 2018
- Director
- David Gordon Green
- Cast
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Haluk Bilginer
- Main Genre
- Horror
Directed by David Gordon Green, 2018's Halloween was a semi-reboot. Although it's the eleventh installment in thefranchise, it serves as a direct sequel to 1978's Halloween, disregarding the other entries in the series. Set forty years after the original, It's the first in a trilogy of films that pits an older Laurie Strode (Curtis) against Michael Myers.
It was released on October 18, which happens to be Myers' birthday in the Halloween universe. Hats off to the producers for pulling that one off. Another fun fact: 2018's Halloween is the highest grossing slasher film of all time with $255 million at the global box office.
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8 Haddonfield, Illinois Doesn't Exist
The Halloween franchise is set in Haddonfield, Illinois. But if you ever planned to visit it, then sorry Halloween fans, you can't -- because this famous suburban town actually doesn't exist. There is a Haddonfield, New Jersey though. In fact, one of the writers and producers of the original Halloween, Debra Hill, was born there. Something tells us this likely inspired the name for the film's setting. Just a hunch.
7 The Original Actor to Portray Myers' Face Got Paid $250
Actor Nick Castle plays Michael Myers behind the mask in the original Halloween. But it's Tony Moran we see when the character's face is finally revealed in the movie. Apparently, Moran was only paid $250 to be the face of the iconic serial killer. Although in the producers' defense, no one knew that their little independent filmwould become as big as it did, and Moran only appeared for a few seconds.
According to the actor, he was supposed to have a cameo in 2021's Halloween Kills, but it was allgedly cut due to disparaging remarks that Moran made about Halloween and its fanbase.
6 Halloween Was Almost Called The Babysitter Murders
Halloween (1978)
- Release Date
- October 27, 1978
- Director
- John Carpenter
- Cast
- Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, Kyle Richards, Charles Cyphers
- Main Genre
- Horror
Believe it or not, Halloween didn't start with John Carpenter. The idea actually came from producer Irwin Yablans, though his concept was a bit different. Irwin originally pitched a movie about babysitters who were being stalked and killed by a mysterious figure during Halloween. He called it (cue drum roll) The Babysitter Murders. Carpenter saw the potential of these ideas and, along with Debra Hill, shaped them into what became the original Halloween. And thankfully, they changed the title.
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5 Janet Leigh Came Out of Retirement to Make Halloween H20 With Her Daughter Jamie Lee
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
- Release Date
- August 5, 1998
- Director
- Steve Miner
- Cast
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, LL Cool J, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe
- Main Genre
- Horror
Janet Leigh is a Hollywood actress, who's known for playing the screaming victim in the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. She's also the mother of Halloween franchise star, Jamie Lee Curtis. By 1997, Leigh had been retired from acting for nearly 20 years. But she temporarily came out of retirement to appear in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later with her daughter. Leigh plays Norma Watson, the secretary of Laurie Strode (Curtis).
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4 Freddy Krueger Worked on the Original Movie
Actor Robert Englund is famous for playing another iconic horror movie villain, Freddy Krueger. But long before he appeared in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Englund actually worked on the set of the original Halloween -- for a single day. As the story goes, his roommate at the time was working on the set and conned Englund into going to Pasadena with him, where the film was being shot. The pair spent their time scattering dead leaves around Pasadena to make the scene look more like autumn. Who could've predicted that Englund would go on to star in his own horror franchise just six years later?
3 John Carpenter Didn't Want Halloween to Be a Franchise
Regarded as one of the masters of the horror genre, John Carpenter is credited as the mastermind behind Halloween. He co-wrote and directed the original film -- and in his mind, things should've ended there. He never intended for Halloween to become a franchise. Sure, at the end of Halloween, Michael Myers mysteriously vanishes after being shot six times, leaving the finale open. But that was the point. Carpenter wanted Myers' fate, and the fate of his would-be victims, to be left ambiguous.
But the powers that be -- also known as Hollywood producers -- knew there was more money to make from Michael Myers and turned that little, independent film into one of the most successful horror franchises ever. Although he's produced other entries in the series, Carpenter never came back to direct a film, though he did direct the reshoots for Halloween II.
2 Paul Rudd's First Starring Role Was in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
- Release Date
- September 29, 1995
- Director
- Joe Chappelle
- Cast
- Donald Pleasence, Paul Rudd, Marianne Hagan, Mitch Ryan, Kim Darby, Bradford English
- Main Genre
- Horror
Most people know Paul Rudd as a comic actor, who's appeared in everything from the TV show Friends to Judd Apatow comedies. They also tend to think that Clueless was Rudd's first starring role. But that isn't the case. Rudd actually got his start in the horror genre. His first starring role came in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, the sixth installment in the franchise. It's regarded as one of the worst films in the Halloween series.
Fortunately, that didn't stop Rudd from establishing a successful Hollywood career. He's now a popular leading man and plays a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. People magazine even crowned him "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2021. The man has certainly come a long way from being chased by a masked serial killer with a machete.
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1 More Than a Dozen People Have Played "The Shape" AKA Michael Myers
Between 1978 and 2022, there have been a whopping 13 films in the Halloween franchise. During that time, eight different actors have slipped on the mask and played Michael Myers. That number more than doubles, though, when you count stuntmen, stand-ins, and any actor who played an unmasked or childhood Michael Myers in the franchise. Six people alone played a version of Michael Myers in the original 1978 film.
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