"Not Afraid of the Dark? You don't know Jack" ― Slogan of Jack's first icon appearance
John "Jack" Schmidt better known as Jack the Clown is the first icon of Halloween Horror Nights who was original to the parks, as opposed to IP characters such as Betelgeuse, the Cryptkeeper and Imhotep. He remains one of the most recognizable Halloween Horror Nights characters.
History
Background
Origins
John "Jack" Schmidt was born in the Shadybrook Asylum during the late 1800s.[1] Also born in this asylum was Jack's brother, Eddie. Jack and Eddie's family was extremely abusive, and Jack would run away while leaving Eddie behind. At some point, Jack orchestrated a riot which he used to escape from Shadybrook.
Dr. Oddfellow's Grand Circus & Exposition
Freed from the asylum, Jack found work at the travelling Dr. Oddfellow's Grand Circus & Exposition, a circus rumoured to have hired ex-convicts. Here, Jack became a 1920s/1930s clown and began murdering children. By 1920, Jack had murdered thirteen children whom he kept the corpses of on the premises of the Circus, inside of his travel luggage.[2] It is sometimes said that Jack is the origin of the myth that some people place razor blades in Halloween apples/candy.
On the Halloween of 1939, the police were honing in on Jack. For assistance, Jack turned to the circus' ringmaster Doctor Rich Oddfellow. However, Oddfellow was himself a serial-killer who had murdered and mutilated several circus patrons to absorb their souls into his mystical Cane of Souls which gave him supernatural powers and extended his own life. Not wanting the police to find out about his own murders, Oddfellow murdered Jack but not before Jack left a permanent scar on Oddfellow's face.
After this, Oddfellow hid the corpses of both Jack and the thirteen children on the circus grounds. Jack's carcass would be put in a large jack-in-the-box with the letters of his name spelt around it. However, some of Oddfellow's blood shed from the scarring spilled into Jack's corpse, causing the clown's undead husk to develop supernatural properties.
Release
By the 1980s, props from Oddfellow's circus found their way to a Louisiana junkyard. In 1980, a BBC team of journalists doing a story on dark rides of America found Jack's box, turned its crank, and discovered his rotting corpse. The crew called the authorities which found the corpse of Jack and his child victims, who transported them out in ambulances.
However around midnight, Jack murdered the driver of his ambulance and left his vehicle in the bayou. Jack then murdered the journalists, removing body parts from them like legs and eyeballs (possibly to cannibalize as he supposedly thinks journalists taste like chicken). After this, Jack became a figure of urban-legend.
Not Afraid of the Dark?
In the year 2000, Universal Studios purchased various authentic props from Dr. Oddfellow's Circus, including Jack's jack-in-the-box. Jack then took over and terrorized Universal studios for their Halloween events. Jack would seemingly return the following year.
Jack's brother Eddie wound up becoming a serial-killer himself, albeit a masked slasher with a chainsaw. In 2001, Jack assisted Eddie in running the murderous gameshow/business, "RUN" in which Eddie and his goons would hunt down and murder live contestants. This business was shut down in the December of 2001, which Jack would mock Eddie for.
Horror Nights Nightmares
Note: The year setting of this haunted house is unknown, but it came out around 2004 so may be set around that time.
At some point, Universal Studios did production on a film based on the, "Halloween Horror Nights" incidents known as, "Horror Nights Nightmares", produced by L. Surphlis and R. West, co-produced by W. Robinson, while written by K. Babel and M. Aiello. The real Jack the Clown was amongst the monsters/criminals used in Universal's production due to his jack in the box being used as a prop for an exterior photo booth scene while the crew was warned to stay calm and alert a manager if they heard maniacal laughing or saw that one of the jack-in-the-boxes were open.
On the thirteenth day of filming, October 13th, Jack's presence seemed to cause special effects issues for his part of the shoot. For some reason, a VIP tour group was allowed onto the closed set and were attacked by Jack the Clown as well as the other horror nights icons allowed on the set which included Jack's brother Eddie as well as Dr. Albert Caine/The Caretaker and Paulo Ravinski/The Director.
The Arrival
In (presumably) the year 2006, Jack was once again imprisoned within his box. The demonic being the Lord of Darkness acquired the box and released Jack to celebrate the sixteenth cycle of Halloween Horror Nights, along with the Caretaker, the Director, and Elsa Strickland/The Storyteller. After being brought forth, Jack opened his box to reveal a giant "Human Blender" inside with a man trapped within whom he pulverized into a bloody mush.
Maximum Madness
At some point (likely around 2006), Jack was institutionalized within the Shadybrook Asylum where he was born (against the wishes of presiden Estep-Spencer). Jack may have sent letters to his brother, Eddie, in San Francisco. These letters were stamped to be returned to their sender. Around this time, health inspectors deemed the asylum too unsanitary to live in due to smeared feces across the restrooms. Jack amassed a large following within the asylum and was imitated by other inmates, and he used this power to throw riots.
A week after a riot, on the September 13th of 2006, Michelle Estep-Spencer resigned from Shadybrook with a warning for the new owners about Jack. Jack later lead a mass breakout of the asylum.
Carnival of Carnage
In the year 2007, Jack the Clown found Doctor Oddfellow and seemingly murdered him (actually sending him to the Dark Dimension) and took Doc's Cane of Souls. Jack's carnival would include a funhouse where he terrorized visitors, possibly set up in Coney Island.[3] Assisting him in the circus was, "Chance", a female clown who acted as Jack's primary protégée, hench-woman, and lover.
Also recruited as, "Sideshow" performers in Jack's circus were: Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Bubba "Leatherface" Sawyer, and possibly ventriloquist Mary Shaw in a theater tent and the shapeshifting alien, "The Thing" kept in a mobile containment unit with the words, "What is it?". Typically Freddy Krueger would be limited to dreams, however due to the drug, "Sleepwell" which was previously used to prevent nightmares and Freddy's attacks, a side-effect of the drug resulted in Freddy causing waking dreams. Jack's carnival appeared to have a truck, dealing out Sleep-Well.
The circus also seemed to have a burlesque tent which may have been used by vampires looking for prey, namely, "The Reckless Ones" connected to Castle Vampyr. Other performers in his, "Midway of the Bizarre" included: the Rat Lady, minions of the Lord of Darkness, the Troupe Macabre of clowns and mimes, "Motormaniac" biker clowns, the Chainsaw Drill Team, Killer Carnies, the darkly cartoonish Treaks & Foons created by the Caretaker Dr. Albert Caine, and various other freakish performers.
Twenty Years of Fear
In 2010, the paranormal-investigator organization Legendary Truth: The Collective inadvertently released the ancient deity Fear from his lantern prison at Universal Studios. On September 24th, Fear took over Universal to celebrate his, "Twentieth Cycle" and summoned five heralds, one of whom was Jack the Clown representing Carnage. Truth launched a mission to oppose Fear, and were ultimately able to trap him within his lantern along with his heralds and various other monstrous supernatural entities.
The Carnage Returns
Jack was mysteriously released from the Lantern (possibly by the ghost, "Bloody Mary"). Jack then betrayed Fear and took over Halloween Horror Nights using his Carnival and Carnage, accompanied by his protegée, Chance. Not long after this, Jack was stopped and imprisoned within his box and on the June 27 of 2016, Chance was announced by newspapeerers to be institutionalized in Shadybrook where she had a mental-breakdown and amassed a following of patients.
Icons Captured
Jack would escape from his box but return to being trapped within the lantern, this time alongside Chance. Attempting to gather souls along with the other, "Icons" trapped within, they lurked within the lantern's version of an insane asylum where they attacked passing-by people.
In 2023, Doctor Oddfellow escaped from the Dark Dimension and reclaimed his Cane of Souls and ringmaster status.
Development history
Jack first appeared in the 2000 Halloween Horror Nights show Jacked Up, and the 2000 haunted house The Fearhouse. Halloween Horror Nights X had Jack as the main icon, which he reprised the following year as a replacement to Eddie whose design inadvertently resembled first-responders to the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers.
Appearances
Halloween Horror Nights
The Cabin in the Woods
Jack and the Caretaker made a (likely non-canonical) cameo in the elevator scene, likely as monsters used by the Organization for their sacrifices.
Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins
This house retold Jack and Oddfellow's origins.
Halloween Horror Nights X
The first event in which Jack was icon.
Fearhouse
Jacked Up
This was one of Jack the Clown's first ever appearances.
Halloween Horror Nights XI
This was Jack's second year as icon, replacing Eddie.
Run
Blueprints with bloody messages from Jack, mocking Eddie's failure were later released.
Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16
The Arrival
Jack was one of the icons summoned by the Lord of Darkness.
PsychoScareapy: Maximum Madness
Jack was main-antagonist of this haunted house.
Run: Hostile Territory
Jack was mentioned as having run the original, "RUN" show with his brother, Eddie.
Sweet 16: The Director's Cut
Jack was one of the icon hosts.
Halloween Horror Nights: Carnival of Carnage (HHN 17)
Jack was icon of this HHN, which had theming to his Carnival of Carnage.
Jack's Funhouse in Clown-O-Vision
This haunted house was themed around a twisted funhouse run by Jack.
Midway of the Bizarre
This was also themed to Jack's carnival.
Halloween Horror Nights: Twenty Years of Fear
Fear Revealed
PsychoScareapy: Echoes of Shadybrook
A schedule in Shadybrook mentioned, "Jack C. Schmidt". He appeared via button activated cameo.
Halloween Horror Nights 25
Jack was icon of this HHN.
Body Collectors: Recollections
Jack and Eddie appeared as babies in the Shadybrook Asylum.
Carnage Returns
This event was themed to Jack's Carnival of Carnage.
Jack Presents: 25 Years of Monsters & Mayhem
Halloween Horror Nights 30
Jack was the icon for this HHN.
Jack'd Up Experience
Marathon of Mayhem: Carnage Factory
HHN Icons: Captured
Jack and Chance appeared in an asylum as icons imprisoned within Fear's lantern.
Horror Nights: The Hallow'd Past
Horror Nights Nightmares
Jack was one of the HHN icons who appeared on the set, terrorizing guests.
Lunatic's Playground 3D: You Won't Stand a Chance
Jack's crimes were mentioned on the newspaper outside of the haunted house.
Rat Run
Shadows from the Past
Slaughter Sinema
One, "Jack J. Schmidt" was director and presenter of fictional 1980s horror film Pumpkin Guts.
Tribute Store
The 2020 tribute store had a room themed around Jack. In 2023, he & Chance appeared along with other HHN icons on the cover for a "Halloween Horror Nights Mystery Game" board game.[4]
Trivia
- Jack the Clown seems to take influence from other fictional characters and historic figures (particularly clowns).
- Jack the Clown's relationship with Chance takes obvious influence from the relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn from DC Comics. Jack's association with Shadybrook asylum may be inspired by the Joker's association with Arkham Asylum.
- Jack the Clown having been a child-murderer disguised as a clown may be inspired by historic serial-killer John Wayne Gacey (1942-1994) who abducted children as Pogo the Clown.
- The story of Jack's corpse being found amongst the props may be inspired by the real-life incident of Elmer McCurdy (1880-1911), a train-robber whose corpse was put on display in a carnival, before being turned into a wax sculpture and then discovered in 1976 by the production crew of The Six Million Dollar Man.
- Jack the Clown and Eddie being brothers is a meta allusion to how Eddie was created for Halloween Horror Nights XI but was replaced by Jack due to the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City (as Eddie's masked design could have been interpreted as resembling 9/11 first responders).
- This is similar to how the Caretaker replaced Cindy Caine as icon, only for Cindy to later be made into the Caretaker's daughter.
- Jack frequently expresses a contempt for the character of Betelgeuse from Beetlejuice.
External links
Gallery
References
- ↑ https://orlandoinformer.com/blog/history-of-jack-the-clown/
- ↑ Flyer for circus from 1920 in 2020 Halloween Horror Nights tribute store
- ↑ Coney Island was circled on the website description page providing backstory
- ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2023/08/photos-comic-book-shop-halloween-tribute-store-facade-featuring-tons-of-easter-eggs-at-universal-studios-florida/