"What's your favourite scary movie?"

―Billy Loomis as Ghostface^[src]

Ghostface
Known aliases:	Father Death
Location:	Woodsboro, California Windsor College, Ohio Hollywood, California
Known relatives:	N/A
Year of birth:	1995
Year of death:	N/A
Signature weapon:	Hunting knife
First appearance:	Scream
Portrayed by:	Various

Ghostface is the main villain in the Scream trilogy. An identity rather than an actual person, there have been five people to assume the Ghostface mantle. A serial killer, he/she often dresses up as a variation of a ghost, or the Grim Reaper (The name given to his costume in the film is "Father Death"). He also uses a electronic device to disguise his voice; when doing so, he is voiced by Roger L. Jackson.

Ghostface is named after the rubber mask under which he hides his face, a mask inspired by the Edvard Munch painting The Scream. He is also known as the Woodsboro Killer, after the town where he commits his murders. Ghostface often calls his victims on the phone, taunting or threatening them before stabbing them to death with an 8 inch hunting knife. He is usually known for asking his victims horror film trivia while stalking them.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Background 1.2 Woodsboro 1.3 Windsor College 1.4 Sunshine Studios 1.5 Fourth Ghostface 2 Other media

Biography

Background

While working as B-movie actress "Rina Reynolds" in Los Angeles, Maureen Prescott was gang raped at a Hollywood party hosted by film producer John Milton. Maureen became pregnant with Roman Bridger from the incident, but gave the baby up for adoption before moving back to her hometown of Woodsboro, California. She married Neil Prescott and they went on to have a daughter named, Sidney Prescott. Maureen was so traumitized from her rape she had various affairs and earned a reputation around town for being a "slut". Years later, her illegitmate son, Roman Bridger, tracked her down and tried to make contact, but Maureen rejected him, saying that Rina Reynolds did not exiest and that she wasn't his mother. She also told him that Sidney was her only child and he was Rina's child and not her's saying that Rina was dead.

"Maternal abandonment causes serious deviant behaviour."

―Billy Loomis^[src]

Roman responded by stalking Maureen and filming her adulterous behaviour with Cotton Weary and Hank Loomis the father of Sidney's boyfreind Billy Loomis. When Hank's wife, Debbie Loomis, found out about the affair she left Hank to raise Billy on his own, Roman later showed the footage of Maureen and Hank to a traumatised Billy claiming that Maureen was the reason why his mother moved out and abandoned him. This enraged Billy and Roman manipulated him into taking revenge on Maureen, advising him to take a weak-willed partner to sell out in case he got caught. Billy responded by brutally murdering Maureen with the help of his friend Stu Macher. They then framed Cotton Weary for the crime by wearing his Jacket with Maureen's blood on it by walking out of the house, when Sidney returned home she saw the figure and assumed he was Cotton. Cotton was put on death row following a testimony from Sidney, despite reporter Gale Weathers publishing a book claiming he was innocent.

Woodsboro

A year after they killed Mauren, Billy and Stu decided to continue their murderous rampage by planning a full-scale killing spree in Woodsboro. Their murders would be inspired by those of slasher movies. One night, dressed in "Father Death" costumes, they tormented Stu's ex-girlfriend Casey Becker over the phone. They asked her movie trivia questions pertaining to Halloween and Friday the 13th; when she answered incorrectly, they murdered her boyfriend Steven Orth in front of her. They then stabbed and killed Casey herself, and strung her corpse up on a tree for her parents to find. Sometime after, Billy and Stu kidnapped Neil Prescott, who was supposed to be out of town on business.

The brutal murder of Casey and Steve caused a sensation in the town, with police investigating the entire staff and student body of Woodsboro High. Gale Weathers also arrived in town to report on the murders. The next night, Stu attacked Sidney at her home and Billy came through her bedroom window to her rescue after she locked herself in her bedroom. He was caught moments later in possession of a celluar phone and Sidney suspected that Billy called and attacked her. The police questioned him, but had no real evidence and had to release him the next day. Meanwhile, Neil became a suspect in the attack when police were unable to find him. When Billy attacked Sidney again at school (wearing the mask and cloak), the students were sent home and the entire town put on a curfew. However, Stu decided to host a party at his remote house, which would be the setting for his and Billy's "final act". Beforehand Billy murdered Principal Himbry in his office.

"Watch a few movies, take a few notes. It was fun!"

―Stu Macher^[src]

Stu's party was attended by dozens of teenagers, as well as Gale Weathers and local police deputy Dewey Riley. When Billy showed up, he and Sidney discussed their relationship and made love for the first time. Eventually, after hearing of Principal Himbry's death, most the partiers left to see his corpse. After Billy kills Stu's girlfriend Tatum Riley and Stu kills Gale's camera man Kenny they chase Sidney once more and injured both Randy Meeks and Dewey.Sidney makes her way back inside the house where Billy and Stu finally reveal their true intentions to Sidney; planning to to murder her and frame her father Neil Prescott for the crime; to do this, Stu places the devices used by himself and Billy in  a bound-and-gagged Neil's shirt pocket. Sidney eventually managed to turn the tables on her attackers, killing Stu with a television set while Gale shot Billy. Randy warns Sidney that Billy would return for "one last scare". Indeed his prediction was right and Billy springs up prompting Sidney to shoot her ex-boyfriend through the head.

Windsor College

The actions of Billy and Stu's killing spree would go on to become a media sensation. Gale Weathers cashed in on the murders with a book entitled The Woodsboro Murders, which was eventually adapted into a Hollywood movie called Stab. When Billy's mother Debbie Loomis, found out what had happened in Woodsboro, she decided to take revenge on Sidney for murdering her son. She recruited young serial killer, Mickey Altieri, over the internet to be her partner; the two met in the "classifieds" of a psycho killer website. Mickey was a film student at Windsor College, which Sidney and Randy also attended, who wished to be caught for his murders. In the resulting trial, he planned to blame his crimes on cinema violence.

Mrs. Loomis and Mickey carried out their first murder at a sneak preview of Stab, killing Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens in the theatre the film was playing. The murders provoked discussion in the media as to whether the movie itself was directly responsible; Mrs. Loomis posed as local reporter Debbie Salt as a way of involving herself in the case without suspicion. Gale Weathers arrived at Windsor College with Cotton Weary in tow, hoping to report on the murders and conduct an interview between Sidney and Cotton. Dewey Riley also showed up hoping to support and protect Sidney. Soon after the killings in the movie theatre, film student Casey "Cici" Cooper was murdered in her sorority house and Sidney was attacked at a nearby party. Gale deduced that the victims all shared names with the victims at Woodsboro and that the killer was copying Billy and Stu.

As Dewey, Gale, and Randy tried to figure out who the killer was, Mrs. Loomis phoned them up and taunted them. Randy was tasked with keeping her occupied while Gale and Dewey tried to find out where she was calling from. When Randy made the mistake of insulting Billy, Loomis attacked and killed him in public and broad daylight before disappearing. Later that night, Gale and Dewey were attacked in the college building and Dewey was stabbed almost to death. Meanwhile, Mickey hijacked the police car transporting Sidney to safety, killing her protectors and best friend, Hallie McDaniel. Sidney escaped to the campus theatre, where Mrs. Loomis and Mickey revealed to her their identities. Loomis betrayed Mickey, who let off one shot at Gale before being shot himself. A confused Cotton Weary showed up to find "Debbie Salt" holding Sidney hostage, and saved Sidney's life by shooting Loomis. After Mickey briefly sprung back up, Sidney and Gale finished off both killers with help from Cotton. (She shot Mrs. Loomis in the head, just in case she survived being shot in the neck by Cotton).

Sunshine Studios

Sidney, after the dastardly murders by Mickey Altieri and Debbie Loomis, escaped into desolation and was soon to be tracked down by another psychopath involved with Maureen Prescott who dons the identity of Ghostface.

As the cast of the latest stab film begin to be brutally murdered and left with the calling card picture of Maureen Prescott during her time as B-Movie actress for Jonathan Milton at Sunshine Studios, Sidney is called out of hiding.

She is soon brutally attacked on the Stab 3 Woodsboro set in her own replica of her original bedroom in Woodsboro.

The final confrontation ends with the unmasking of the killer, revealing he is Roman Bridger, the son of a rapist male and Maureen Prescott. He confesses on behalf of putting the blame of the murders and John Milton on her hands as vengeance for being the only claimed child of Maureen Prescott.

Roman's film of Maureen's illicit affair with Billy Loomis' father, which broke up his family, was shown and his pointers created the first Ghostface with Stu Macher to follow in the footsteps.

Roman was killed by Sidney and Dewey Riley, leaving the final connection to Maureen's murder dead and buried.

The Final Ghostface or so they thought...

Fourth Ghostface

Jealous of the fame that Sidney received for surviving every spree, her cousin Jill Roberts became the fourth Ghostface, with the intent of framing her ex-boyfriend, Trevor, and becoming famous as the "new Sidney". She enlisted the help of Charlie Walker, who agreed because he loved her. Their first victims were Jenny Randall and Marnie Cooper, and they left evidence in Sidney's rental car just to haunt her.

Charlie then stages a threatening call to Jill and her friend Olivia, throwing off suspicion. Dewey Riley questioned them about the calls. Sidney went to live with her aunt, Jill's mother, temporarily. Olivia became a victim of Ghostface the next day while Jill and her friend Kirby watch. Sidney tries to save her, and Jill assists; Charlie (in costume) injures them and escapes. While they are in the hospital, Charlie and his friend suggest to Gale that the new killers are using the rules of horror movie remakes and will strike at a party that night.

Gale is injured while investigating the party. The policemen assigned to protect Sidney's house are killed. Upon realizing that Jill has left the house, Sidney tries to tell Jill's mother Kate, who is killed by Ghostface.

Sidney went to Kirby's house to protect Jill. She witnesses Ghostface killing Robbie, while Kirby is forced to answer movie trivia to defend a tied-up Charlie. Kirby "wins the game", and goes to untie Charlie. Charlie stabs her in the stomach and reveals that he is Ghostface. Jill arrives in the Ghostface mask and cloak before revealing herself and her motives. She pulled Trevor out of a closet at that moment and shot him in the head. Jill betrayed Charlie by stabbing him in the heart (to kill him), and then again in the stomach (to cause him more pain), and framed him as Trevor's accomplice. She then stabbed Sidney in the stomach and injured herself to make it appear that Trevor attacked her. Dewey and the police arrived and took both Sidney and Jill to the hospital again.

Dewey informed Jill that Sidney was still alive, not knowing that Jill was Ghostface and would try to kill Sidney. Jill entered Sidney's hospital room and attemped to finish her wounded cousin off; meanwhile, Dewey and his partner Judy found evidence that Jill had been the one who attacked Gale and went to the room to save Sidney. They were right in time, as Jill had not caused Sidney any fatal injuries. As she attemped to kill her, they arrived and intervened. Jill knocked Dewey out with a bedpan and shot Judy, however Gale stalled until Sidney jumped up and electrocuted Jill with fully-charged paddles to the head. Jill got back up again while they weren't looking and grabbed a piece of glass to kill Sidney with, but Sidney had realized that Jill would do so and shot her in the chest. Outside of the hospital, news reporters ironically proclaimed Jill the "sole-surving hero", which is exactly what she had been trying to accomplish. 

While two of the most insane Ghostfaces had been killed, there remained no doubt that someone would take up the identidy again. It was just a matter of when, and who.

Other media

• Ghostface appeared as the main antagonist in the spoof movie Scary Movie, where he attempted to kill Cindy, Bobby, Buffy, Brenda, Ray, and Greg because they killed a man named David Keegan about one year ago. At first, it appears that he is Bobby and Ray (mirroring Scream, where he turned out to be Billy and Stu), but was later revealed to be Buffy's brother, Doofy, who feigned mental retardation. He succeeded in killing Greg, Buffy, and Ray, but Brenda was killed by the audience in a movie theater and Bobby was killed by Ray. He was unable to kill Cindy. At the end, he leaves with Gail Hailstorm, leaving his costume behind, and Cindy was hit by a car (she, along with Ray and Brenda, returned from the dead in Scary Movie 2).
• Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th is about a man who wears a Jason Voorhees mask, calls a woman named Screw, and she was electrocuted before "The Killer" killed her. Disappointed, he tries to smoke to relieve his stress, but his mask burns and melts into a Ghostface mask continuing to try. He nevers succeeds to kill anyone with a speaking part, unless it's from something else.
• Ghostface appeared in the Robot Chicken episode, "That Hurts Me", as a Big Brother contestant alongside Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Pinhead, and Leatherface. He shrunk Freddy's sweater in the drier, causing him and Michael to be the two on the chopping block to get evicted. He won a phone call home, and called Drew Barrymore, telling her that the Charlie's Angels sequel was a piece of crap. He convinced the others to vote for Michael instead of him, resulting in Michael getting evicted.