The Jason Voorhees Copycat who Ruined Halloween for a Small New England Town

In October of 1988, just a week before Halloween, a mentally ill man put on a Jason Voorhees mask, walked into the home of an 18-year-old acquaintance, brutally murdered her, and then just vanished into thin air. This paralyzed the town of Greenfield, Massachusetts with fear.

Sources:

Chapters:
Intro 0:00
Factor 1:56
A Horrific Scene 3:48
Mark Branch 6:09
The Murder 21:10

[ellerose]

People need to realize this: if someone around you talks about harming someone else or themselves, please take it seriously! It is a reliable warning sign that many sadly don't know about.

[texoma_outdoors]

I was bullied as much as anyone growing up, never had any friends. I have no sympathy for people that use that as an excuse for bad behavior

[shelbabe]

Part of me wonders if Mark wanting the report back was a test to see if his wishes had been complied with. When he knew it hadn't, that gave him a "reason" to want to get back at the sisters, and then when he heard there was an opportunity to kill one of them... he took it, not caring who it was. While Jason may have been inspiration, it didn't cause him to commit murder. I was bullied as a kid and LOVE horror movies, but that doesn't make me want to go out an murder people. There was something much darker in him.

[melissaarellano]

RIP Sharon, I can't even imagine the fear she must have felt in her last moments.

[OptometristPrime]

I've seen other similar comments below, but for what it's worth I was bullied relentlessly for years. I mean absolutely ruthlessly. By the 5th grade I had been beat up, called every name one can imagine... some names I didn't even understand at the time, I had been stalked, I had been s**ually assaulted by two older boys (twin brothers, no less), those same twins and some other older kids down the street had faked a home invasion while I was home alone... I was 9 years old when all that happened, someone (not those kids surprisingly) was making explicit phone calls to my house and it only got worse from there. My parents parents were divorced and so I moved in with my dad in the country when I was 11. He owned a video rental store and I sat in the back and watched every horror movie in the store from 6th through 9th grade. Only had one friend. Everyone at school hated me. If anyone was ever a prime example of a candidate for something like this story, I was up there in the "highly likely" to offend category. But I never would have considered ACTUALLY doing something like this. No matter how mad or depressed I was.Your environment only controls you if you let it control you.

Afterthought: This is also why I am highly hesitant about red flag laws and things like that. Because looking from the outside, I would have been locked up if laws like that were in place. All the factors were there and well established. But I was never a threat to anyone.

[thesbleeder]

Also, he bragged about his attempted murder from 1987 to his friends; none of them reported it.

[mattelder]

We as a society NEED to address bullying more than we currently do. So many incidents like this are traced back to bullying.

[robertb.]

Back in 1988 I was 16 and a friend of mine and I went and saw Halloween 4 at the theater. Never remember hearing about this tragedy. That was before the internet and the media had 100% control over what was shared or not shared.

[thesbleeder]

The thing is, Jason being bullied was not introduced until Freddy vs. Jason in 2004.

In 1988, Jason was just a kid who had been believed to have drowned and who came back to avenge the death of his mother.

So I don't know why he thought Jason was relatable.

[lilbread]

Funfact: In Western Europe, at the beginning of the 20th century, when novels were introduced to a larger public (aka, not just the elite), it was argued that reading, if you didn't have the good education (aka, rich) was the cause of violence. Women already weren't authorized to read the newspapers (they wanted to keep them away from politics), but novels were also out of the window (literally, they couldn't read). And if you read, it was used against you if you were arrested. Yes, novels were used as proof during murder trials.

[soledadharen]

It's been a while since I saw Friday the 13th, but I don’t recall Jason being bullied. In the original movie, Jason drowns in Crystal Lake while at summer camp because the camp counselors were too busy making out to watch him. The killer in that movie was Jason's mother, Mrs. Voorhees.

[Old_Goth_Lady]

My partner and I both absolutely love horror films. Physical violence is the least of our priorities. That’s a lazy excuse for the behavior this monster indulged in. I’m glad you pointed that out. Love your channel 🖤

[samhaze]

He must have been held back a few years in school if he was obsessed with Jason since 2nd grade. 1988, he's 19 years old. Friday the 13th came out 1980, that would make him 11 years old and in 5th grade. So for that to work he must have been held back and was in 2nd grade at age 11.

[robgau]

I'm surprised I have never heard of this. I absolutely love horror movies, but you gotta be way gone in the head to want to be Jason Voorhees.

[kellygrubbs]

I was a teenager at that time. I’m from Georgia and don’t remember hearing about this but that particular horror movie and character were absolutely terrifying to me!!!! I’m 54 now and still can’t bear to hear that little chant that was in at least the first movie! I have an ex that used to do the chant just to make me cry so hearing about this horrific case makes my spine crawl! I agree though that it had to have been severe mental illness that caused Mark to go off the rails and commit the murder. 😳😳😳😳

[MartyMcFly]

It pisses me off when people blame horror movies for a persons behavior. I’ve been a HUGE horror movie fan my entire life and I never once had a thought of killing someone. Movies don’t create psychos.

[wadewilson]

Blaming things like movies, video games, and mental health offers an out for murders. We have to face the fact that some people are just plain evil. The only real thing you can do with evil people is be ready for them, you are your own first responder.

[darksoldiersbowl]

Children can be totally cruel, not aware of the consequences of their actions when bullying.
Cannot believe that all the signs were there, such as threatening to kill, was not picked up by adults.
Another brilliantly non judgemental post, told with sensitivity.
Have never heard of this tragic story.
Thank you as always. All the best.

[Matisse_Famke]

I have mental health issues and I'm obsessed with Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls, it doesn't mean I'm going to become this protagonist irl...

[pauljsalamoff]

I totally remember when this happened. I grew up in a town called Natick, Massachusetts and I had actually made my own Jason costume for Halloween that year and my mother refused to let me wear it on Halloween because of this incident. The irony of all this, is that I would grow up to become a make up effects artist and then an award-winning horror/Sci-fi Author and Filmmaker… And I almost worked on the effects for Jason goes to Hell!