Ghostface was named after a vinyl Halloween mask. It was sold as a Father Death costume in real-life. The mask was inspired by the Edvard Munch painting, The Scream.
Ghostface often called their victims on the phone, taunting or threatening them before stabbing them to death with an eight-inch hunting knife. They occasionally asked their victims horror movie trivia and stalked them in a manner reminiscent of said films.
At the end of each film after the cast of primary characters is shown, Ghostface appears with a loud sound and performing a brief action before the rest of the credits roll. These brief gag appearances are non-canonical to the movie and exist only as a playful jump scare to the audience.
High school student Casey Becker received a series of phone calls from a flirting stranger while she prepared a movie night with her boyfriend, Steven Orth. She realized her caller could see her, and that he had already beaten and tied Steve to a lawn chair outside her home. The caller forced her to answer horror movie trivia, and then gutted Steve when she answered a question wrong. Casey made a run for her life, but Ghostface caught her. He gutted her and strung her up to a large tree for her parents to find.
The next day, with the town of Woodsboro, CA reeling from the double homicide, Ghostface called Sidney Prescott at her home. Ghostface taunted her before attacking. She told him off, but discovered her boyfriend, Billy Loomis, nearby. Billy was brought into custody, but Sidney received another call from the killer. He informed her that she "fingered the wrong man... again," implying that he was responsible for her mother, Maureen Prescott's murder a year previously.
Woodsboro High School was temporarily shut down for the students' protection after Sidney was attacked by Ghostface in the school bathroom. With hardly anyone around, Principal Himbry was murdered in his office after school let out. He was later strung up to the flagpole as a diversion to get many students to leave Stu Macher's party at his home, where Ghostface struck again.
Sidney's best friend, Tatum Riley, was murdered in the garage. Next, Ghostface seemingly murdered Billy Loomis in the upstairs. Ghostface stalked Sidney outside, where he slashed the throat of Kenny Brown. Ghostface stabbed Dewey Riley and continued chasing Sidney outside. Eventually, Sidney made her way back inside the house, where she learned Ghostface was really Billy Loomis and Stu Macher. With the help of Gale Weathers, she saved her father, Neil Prescott, and killed both Billy and Stu.
Ghostface struck at a premiere showing of Stab (1997; continuity error), the slasher movie based on the Woodsboro Murders. He stalked Windsor College students, Phil Stevens and Maureen Evans outside the theater before murdering Phil in the restroom. He put on Phil's leather jacket and joined Maureen inside the theater, posing as her boyfriend. Ghostface stabbed Maureen to death in plain sight of the entire audience.
The next night, Ghostface called Cici Cooper at her sorority house. He taunted Cici before chasing her upstairs and throwing her off the roof to her death. This drew the attention of police and local partiers, leaving Sidney alone. Ghostface called and attacked her, but Derek Feldman interfered; Ghostface escaped after slicing his arm.
The next day, Ghostface scared Sidney at her play rehearsal before calling Randy, Dewey, and Gale in the campus center. Randy stalled the killer on the phone while Dewey and Gale tried to track him down, but Ghostface pulled Randy into Joel's news van and murdered him.
Shortly thereafter, Sidney received an instant message from Ghostface at the school library stating: "You're going to die tonight."
That night, Ghostface surprised Gale and Dewey in Windsor's film department with footage of the first four victims. The two ran, but Ghostface chased them down and stabbed Dewey viciously. Simultaneously, a second Ghostface killed Sidney's police escorts, Officers Andrews and Richards, while stopped at a red light on the way to a safe house. He tried to kidnap Sidney and Hallie, who were trapped in the backseat, but he lost control of the car when Officer Richards died stopping him. Ghostface was knocked unconscious in the crash, which allowed Sidney and Hallie to escape. He came to and murdered Hallie, then chased Sidney to the theater.
Inside the theater, Ghostface revealed himself to be Mickey, and then shot Derek. "Debbie Salt" brought Gale in at gunpoint, and Sidney recognized her as Billy's mother, Nancy Loomis. Sidney made use of the theater's set and she and Gale killed Mickey and Mrs. Loomis with the help of Cotton Weary.
A woman claiming to be from the Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro production called the Woodsboro Police Department looking for information on Sidney. They refused to give her any and a month later, there was a mysterious break-in. This would prove to be the work of Roman Bridger with his multi-voice changer. He didn't get Sidney's file because Dewey removed it to keep her safe.
Ghostface next tried to get Sidney's whereabouts from Cotton Weary. Ghostface called Cotton and threatened to kill his girlfriend, Christine Hamilton, if he didn't talk. Cotton refused, so Ghostface attacked Christine. He used his multi-voice changer to impersonate Cotton to confuse her. When the real Cotton showed up to protect Christine, she beat him over the head with a golf club. With her back turned, Ghostface stabbed her to death. Cotton tried fighting Ghostface off, but the killer stabbed him to death as well. Ghostface left a mysterious photograph of a young Maureen Prescott at the murder site.
Sidney dreamed that her dead mother came to her from outside. Maureen turned into Ghostface as Sidney approached the window. This startled her into waking up.
Actress Sarah Darling was soon lured to the empty Stab 3 production offices for a rehearsal with Roman Bridger. Ghostface appeared and chased her through the offices until he finally knocked her through a glass window and stabbed her in the back. He left another photo of Maureen with Sarah's body.
Ghostface called Sidney at her secret home using Maureen's voice at first. He switched to the sinister baritone and threatened her life.
That night at an informal wrap party at Jennifer Jolie's house, Ghostface struck again. He called Jennifer's bodyguard, Steven Stone, as Dewey, and then stabbed him to death. When the others found Stone's body, Ghostface cut the lights. He faxed fake script pages, tricking Tom Prinze into using a lighter to read. It ignited the gas Ghostface filled in the house and blew Tom up. Ghostface attacked Gale outside, but Dewey shot him. The killer fled, but left behind a third picture of Maureen Prescott. This photo included the message: I killed her.
Sidney came to Hollywood the next day to join Dewey and Gale since her location was compromised. Ghostface attacked her on the Stab 3 set and used a body bag to remind Sidney of Maureen. Sidney fought him off and the killer escaped.
That night, Ghostface crashed Roman Bridger's birthday party at John Milton's mansion. He seemingly killed Roman, and stabbed Angelina Tyler to death. He fought the others, murdering Tyson Fox and then Jennifer Jolie before subduing Gale and Dewey. He called Sidney and told her he'd kill Dewey and Gale if she didn't come to Milton's mansion. Sidney arrived at the mansion, and the killer made her pass a metal detector over her body, then discard her gun. He confronted her with the bound John Milton and revealed he was Roman Bridger, still alive, and confessed he was her half-brother. Roman filled her in on the missing pieces of Maureen's life and murdered Milton. He and Sidney fought to the death, and Sidney prevailed with the help of Dewey, Gale, and Mark Kincaid.
On the eve of the 15th anniversary of The Woodsboro Murders, Ghostface breaks into the Randall house, the home of Jenny Randall where she is having a sleepover with her friend, Marnie Cooper. Ghostface interrupted Marnie as she was being pranked with a fake Ghostface phone call by Jenny and killed her inside the house before taking her body outside. Jenny came downstairs to find Marnie and finds a phone on the floor which starts ringing. When she answers, it's the real Ghostface on the other line who threatens her and then throws Marnie's body through some double-glass doors of the house. Ghostface chases Jenny through the house and into the garage where he crushes her back with the garage door and then stabs her to death.
The next day, Ghostface hid evidence of Jenny and Marnie's murders in the trunk of Sidney's rental car which the police find after following a trail from Jenny's house. That night whilst Jill Roberts, cousin of Sidney, and her best friend, Kirby Reed are watching a movie together at Jill's house, Ghostface calls Jill from her ex-boyfriend, Trevor Sheldon's phone, which Kirby answers, and alludes to the fact that he knows Jill and Kirby are watching a movie and that he is hiding in the closet. When Kirby finds the closet empty, Ghostface reminds them that he never said Jill's closet and the pair realize he is talking about the closet of neighbor, Olivia Morris, a friend of Jill and Kirby's. Ghostface bursts out of Olivia's closet and guts her to death. Kirby and Jill's screams attract the attention of Sidney who runs next door and finds Olivia's dead body. Ghostface calls her on Olivia's phone and threatens that he'll be coming for her when he's ready and that he'll make her suffer until then. Ghostface then barges out of a closet behind her, but Sidney fights him off and throws him down the stairs, but he is able to escape before the police can catch him.
Whilst at the hospital treating Jill's wounds, Sidney fires her publicist, Rebecca Walters, who is followed into the parking garage by Ghostface. Rebecca tries to flee in her car, but Ghostface had already cut wires from her engine. He chases her through the parking lot, but as she tries to get back into the hospital, the handle breaks off and he catches her, stabbing her in the gut and then throwing her off the roof of the parking garage into a crowd of reporters witnessing a press conference by Dewey. The next night at Charlie Walker and Robbie Mercer's annual Stab-A-Thon, Ghostface disables cameras set up by Gale to catch the killer and when she goes back to fix them, he emerges from behind and stabs her in the shoulder before fleeing into a crowd of other attendees dressed as Ghostface. At the Roberts house, Ghostface kills Deputies Ross Hoss and Anthony Perkins in their police car. After discovering Jill has escaped to Kirby's house, Sidney and her aunt, Kate Roberts, try to go after her, but Ghostface attacks and kills Kate before Sidney flees.
At an afterparty at Kirby's house, Ghostface stalks the remaining teenagers. He follows Robbie outside who is live vlogging to his audience and kills him. Sidney arrives to get Jill away, but when they try to leave, Ghostface attacks them and Kirby. Ghostface chases Jill and Sidney upstairs, and Sidney helps Jill hide whilst she climbs out onto the roof where Ghostface chases her and then throws her off. Sidney runs back inside, and Kirby takes her down to a room in the basement to hide, but Charlie finds them and begs to be let inside. Kirby, not trusting Charlie, doesn't unlock the door and Ghostface emerges behind him and ties him to a chair, similar to Steven Orth in 1996. Ghostface calls Kirby and Sidney on Charlie's phone, and whilst Sidney goes upstairs to find Jill, he plays a trivia game with Kirby which she wins. When she goes outside to free Charlie, he pulls out a knife he had hidden and stabs Kirby, leaving her for dead.
Sidney comes back downstairs and as she calls out for Kirby, suddenly, Charlie grabs her from behind and holds a knife to her throat. She escapes his grasp, and she runs to the front door into the path of Ghostface's knife. He takes off his mask to reveal Jill underneath. Jill and Charlie take Sidney into the kitchen and reveal that they played the role of Ghostface together, fooling everyone around them to think it was anyone, but them. Jill's motives were to earn fame and fortune by being a final survivor of the Ghostface killing spree, obviously affected by growing up in the shadow of her famous cousin. Charlie's motives were to recreate the Stab movies and to win the heart of Jill. They planned on framing Trevor as the killer, but as they prepared to stab each other like Billy and Stu did 15 years prior, Jill stabs Charlie in the heart and stomach to kill him and frame him as an accomplice of Trevor's.
Jill reveals that it was her plan all along to frame Charlie and that the media would prefer a sole survivor like Sidney was after Randy died. She then stabs Sidney in the stomach. Believing her to be dead, she further pursues her goals by self-inflicting pain to make it appear as if she was attacked by Ghostface, but lived and defeated him. As the police arrive, Jill falls down next to Sidney's unconscious body and pretended to be unconscious too. Jill is taken to the hospital and as she imagines, she gets her 15 minutes of fame. She discovers Sidney is still alive and slips up by revealing she knows where Gale was stabbed. As Dewey realizes this, he runs up to Sidney's room where Jill is attempting to finally kill her. With help from Dewey, Gale, and Judy Hicks, Sidney is able to electrocute and then shoot Jill to death.
Ghostface calls Tara Carpenter whilst she's home alone, claiming to be a man named "Charlie" who knows her mother, Christina Carpenter, from "group". Tara believes this man could be her mother's boyfriend and so she goes along with the conversation, keeping her friend Amber Freeman informed the whole time. "Charlie" quizzes Tara about her love for horror movies and asks if she wants to play a Stab trivia game, which Tara is forced to play when the caller reveals he'll kill Amber if she doesn't. Tara plays along and mixes up a question about the original Stab movie and when she tries to run and save Amber, Ghostface appears at her door and stabs her. Ghostface breaks into the house and stabs Tara seven times and breaks her leg before being interrupted by the police.
Ghostface kills Vince
The next day, Ghostface kills Vince Schneider outside a bar after he threatens Liv McKenzie, it is then revealed that Vince was related to Stu Macher. At the hospital, Ghostface calls Samantha Carpenter and reveals that he knows she is the daughter of Billy Loomis and will expose that secret. Ghostface then appears from behind the door and attacks Sam, who escapes. It is later predicted by Mindy Meeks-Martin that Ghostface is trying to create a "requel" to Stab 8 to appease the "toxic" fandom.
Yes, today! A triumph over an old and bitter enemy.
The next day, Ghostface attacks and kills Judy and Wes Hicks and then attacks Tara at the hospital where he kills Deputy Clay and eventually Dewey Riley, who attempts to kill Ghostface by shooting him in the head. Sam, Tara and Richie Kirsch are lured to Amber's house at 261 Turner Lane to get Tara's spare inhaler and Ghostface attacks Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin leaving them both for dead. After an argument breaks out between Liv, Sam and Amber, Amber pulls a gun and kills Liv, revealing herself as a killer.
Ghostface unmasked
Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers arrive to the house and immediately know Amber is lying, so Amber shoots Gale and lures them inside. Sidney and Ghostface, who is Amber underneath, get into a fight and Richie appears to come to their rescue, only to reveal himself as the second killer. A fight breaks out between the group with Sidney and seemingly killing Amber by setting her alight with hand sanitizer, and Richie getting stabbed repeatedly by Sam before she slits his throat open. Sidney and Gale join Sam, reminding her that 'they always come back'. A horribly burned Amber than reappears from the kitchen, charging before being shot in the head by Tara, bringing the new killings to an end.
Blackmore University professor, Laura Crane, matches with a man on Flirtr who asks her out on a date. Whilst waiting for him, she gets a call from him, and he claims he is lost, but is coming down an alley near the restaurant. As she gets closer, he begins to get panicked and says someone with a knife is following him. Laura runs down the alley and the voice on the phone changes to Ghostface's voice and he taunts Laura before jumping out of an alley and killing her. Ghostface takes off his mask to reveal Jason Carvey underneath. He returns to his apartment and puts the used mask in his Ghostface shrine.
He then gets a call from his roommate and best friend, Greg Bruckner, and they discuss their plan to finish making Richie's film, however, Jason realizes the voice on the other end isn't Greg, but is actually Ghostface who leads him to Greg's body in the refrigerator. The real Ghostface appears behind him, and stabs him to death, leaving behind Richie's old mask.
Later that night, Sam is called down to the police station by NYPD Detective Wayne Bailey, who Tara decides to go with despite Sam's reluctance, and along the way, Sam is called from Richie's old phone number. Sam answers and the killer on the other end taunts the sisters before ambushing them from an alley. The sisters evade Ghostface and run into a bodega where Ghostface follows them in and kills two customers and then the bodega clerk using his own shotgun. He stalks the sisters through the bodega, and they are able to run outside when the police arrive, but the killer escapes through the backdoor and leaves behind the mask belonging to Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker. The next morning, he kills Sam's ex-therapist, Christopher Stone by breaking through his front door glass and stabbing him in the eye. He steals Sam's therapy file and leaves behind the mask belonging to Roman Bridger.
That night at Sam and Tara's apartment, he seemingly murders Quinn Bailey and her latest gentleman caller, Paul 2.0, and whilst Sam, Mindy and Anika Kayoko try to escape by climbing across a ladder between their apartment and Danny Brackett's, he flips the ladder when Anika tries to cross, causing her to fall to her death. The next day, Wayne comes up with a plan to bait Ghostface by having Sam and Tara wander around in a park and hopefully trigger a phone call from him that they can trace. The plan is successful, and they track the call down to Gale's penthouse in the Upper West Side. In the penthouse, Gale gets her first phone call from Ghostface who murders her new boyfriend, Brooks, whilst he is distracted. Ghostface then attacks Gale, and she shoots him before getting another call from him.
As she searches the penthouse for him, she hangs up and re-dials his number, exposing his hiding spot. She fires multiple rounds through the door, but Ghostface breaks through the door and stabs her multiple times and leaves her for dead when he's interrupted by Sam and Tara's arrival.
That night, Tara comes up with a plan to trap and execute Ghostface and they decide to use the theatre to do this. Wayne agrees to the plan and tells them to travel in public. Along the way, they get separated in the subway station, forcing Mindy and Ethan Landry to travel on a separate subway. On the subway, Mindy is backed into a secluded corner of the subway car and Ghostface emerges, disguised as a commuter and as the subway passes in and out of light, he covers her mouth and stabs her in the gut before disembarking at the next stop. Ethan notices Mindy's injuries and seeks medical attention for her.
At the theatre, Kirby is wandering around (off-screen) and is ambushed by two Ghostface killers. One of those killers then attacks Tara, Sam and Chad and when Chad tries to hold the killer back to allow Sam and Tara to escape, the second Ghostface emerges, and they take turns stabbing Chad over and leaving him for dead. The two killers wipe the blood off their knives in sync and follow the sisters into the theatre where they prepare to fight. At that same time, Kirby regains consciousness and returns to the theatre hall, however, Sam and Tara are distrusting of her as Wayne told them that she was expelled from the FBI for mental health reasons. At that same time, Wayne arrives and shoots Kirby, revealing himself as one of the killers.
The two masked Ghostfaces emerge behind him, wearing Nancy Loomis' and Stu Macher's masks and unmask themselves to reveal Ethan and Quinn, respectively. They reveal that they are all the family of Richie, Wayne being his father and Quinn and Ethan being his brother, and they all want revenge for Sam killing him, which included them fueling a rumor that Sam was the real killer. The sisters evade the three killers and after fighting throughout the theatre are able to kill Quinn and Ethan. Sam falls over the railing with Wayne and Wayne is knocked out. When he comes to, Sam calls him using the Ghostface voice and then Sam stabs him to death using Billy Loomis' mask, robe and knife. Ethan, having survived a mouth stab from Tara, attempts one last time in killing the sisters, but Kirby crushes his skull using the same TV that killed Stu, bringing an end to the New York City Murders.
Couple Scott and Madison visit Stu Macher's old home, now turned into a tourist attraction full of fan service to the Stab movies, including a motion sensing Ghostface animatronic. The two recieve a call from the owner of the attraction, asking them movie trivia and bidding them a good stay in a mock-Ghostface voice. Madison later recieves a threatening call from the real killer in the kitchen when Scott leaves for the bathroom, claiming that she will die tonight. While Madison examines the Ghostface animatronic in the other room, Scott sneaks up behind her in a Ghostface suit in an attempt to scare her, but notices something strangely humanlike about the animatronic's movement. Straying to close, Scott is grabbed by the 'animatronic', replaced by a real killer, and is stabbed twice in the chest and once through the side of his skull while a horrified Madison watches, killing him.
Ghostface pursues Madison and the two get into a struggle at the top of the stairs, with both falling over the railings. Madison clings onto the chandelier and tries to swing back onto the balcony, but loses her grip and falls onto Ghostface, who points his kife upwards, impaling her. Ghostface stands back up and walks into the other room, returning with a can of gasoline. He pours it throughout the house and onto the immobilised Madison before lighting a match and burning her alive. Ghostface leaves the burning house and presumably makes his way to Pine Grove, Indiana.
The next day, Sidney Prescott, now going by Sidney Evans, receives a call from Ghostface while in the office of her coffee shop, The Little Latte. Sidney brushes Ghostface off, labeling him 'another asshole hiding behind a voice changer'. Ghostface calmly responds that he isn't hiding this time. He requests a video call, revealing himself as an aged and scarred Stu Macher. Stu makes remarks about Sidney's new town and daughter, Tatum Evans, and reveals that he's standing outside of Tatum's theatre. A now worried Sidney rushes over immediately.
While students Hannah Thurman and Aaron are practicing with the former's fly system for an upcoming school production, Aaron suddenly dissapears and leaves Hannah suspendes. Someone begins to mess with the system backstage, slamming her into the cardboard walls of the set. Ghostface then makes his appearance from behind her. He repeatedly stabs a swinging Hannah before positioning himself in front of her with his knife raised, eviscerating her as she swings forwards. Sidney and her husband Mark, the chief of police, arrive at the theatre in time to see Ghostface standing next to Hannah's mutilated body. Sidney fires at him, scaring him off. She finds Aaron backstage with his throat slit before reuniting with a clueless Tatum.
After having their house searched by the police, Sidney and Mark plan to leave town with Tatum the same night and begin collecting their important belongings. Ghostface emerges from the attic behind Sidney's back and begins turning off the house's lights, scaring Sidney and Mark. The two rush to find Tatum, who is brought out at knife point by Ghostface. Mark is forced to give up his gun, but helps Tatum break free and gets into a fight with Ghostface, alongside Sidney. Ghostface knocks Mark out by throwing him down the stairs and chases Sidney and Tatum into a secret room behind a closet. Locked out, Ghostface attempts to find another way in and hears the two trying to leave the house through the walls. Ghostface stabs at them, but gets his knife bent and stuck in the wall. He cuts Sidney's arm with a fire poker before following them outside. An enraged Mark fights with him once again and tackles him onto the road. Ghostface is then ran over and killed by a van driven by Gale, alongside Chad and Mindy, who have become her new interns. The killer is unmasked and revealed as a stranger who Sidney saw at the coffee shop earlier that day. The police identify him as Karl Gibbs, an escaped murderer and a patient of Fallbrook Psychiatric Hospital.
Sidney erroneously believes that the murders are over until she and Gale recieve another threatening call from Stu shortly after. The next day, Sidney and Gale discover that Stu's morgue files were stolen from Woodsboro bsfore setting off to Fallbrook, where they meet orderly Marco Davis. He recognises Stu as a "John Doe" who was submitted to the hospital after recieving severe head trauma and mild amnesia, and who was just released from the hospital a few weeks prior. Sidney then proposes to Gale that they bait Stu into calling them by having Sidney appear on an interview. Meanwhile, at the Evans Home, Mark is ambushed, trapped in plastic wrap, stabbed repeatedly and held hostage by Ghostface.
Tatum, Chad and Mindy sneak out after the recently established curfew to gather a few possible suspects at Parker’s Tavern. The suspects in question are Tatum's boyfriend Ben Brown, along with Tatum's friends Lucas Bowden and Chloe Parker. Meanwhile, Gale airs her interview with Sidney live, but doesn't receive a call until the interview ends. During said call, Stu reveals that he is across town and outside of the tavern, and claims that he's going to "punish [Tatum]." Sidney impulsively leaves Gale to go after Tatum on foot. Back at the tavern, Tatum admits to Ben that she wants to be with Sidney and decides to drive over to the news station to join her. While in Ben's car, however, she discover's that he's been attempting to use deepfakes to replicate Stu's appearance. Believing he is the killer, she knocks him out with his laptop and flees, but is confronted by Ghostface coming around the corner.
Inside of the tavern, Chad and Mindy are left alone after interrogating Ben, Chloe and Lucas. With their three prime suspects conveniently gone, they decide to leave as well, only to find the doors and windows locked. In the kitchen, Chloe is attacked by another Ghostface who injures Chad, Mindy and Lucas. Chloe hides under the counter but is quickly discovered. Ghostface slams her down onto the counter and throws her into a stack of cups, killing her by impaling her neck and face. Lucas partially recovers from his injury and attempts to crawl away, but Ghostface grabs him and impales his head onto a beer tap ornament.
Outside, Tatum manages to lose Ghostface and runs into Ben. The two reconcile, but the reunion is cut short when Ghostface appears and stabs Ben to death. Tatum flees to her mother's coffee shop and locks herself in the office, receiving a call from Sidney. With assistance, Tatum manages to knock Ghostface out by shooting him through the wall. Sidney urges Tatum to finish him off by shooting him in the head, but Ghostface awakens and wrestles the gun from Tatum. Ghostface is knocked to the ground yet again, allowing Tatum a chance to escape, but the second Ghostface from the tavern appears at the door and rushes Tatum. Sidney arrives at the coffee shop shortly after and recieves a call from Ghostface from Tatum's phone. He reveals that he's holding Tatum hostage at the Evans home and threatens Sidney into confronting him.
At her house, Sidney is greeted by a video displayed on every screen in her house, featuring Stu, past Ghostfaces Nancy Loomis and Roman Bridger, and Dewey Riley. The four taunt her before Stu reveals that he has Tatum tied to a chair in the backyard, much like Steven Orth and Charlie Walker before her. Sidney rushes over to Tatum, only to be stopped by a Ghostface holding her at knifepoint. He unmasks and reveals himself to be Marco. He invites in a second Ghostface, who he claims to be Stu, to hold Tatum at knifepoint as he drags out the barely alive body of Mark. The second Ghostface then unmasks, revealing Sidney's neighbour and Lucas' mother, Jessica Bowden, underneath. Jessica goes on to tell Sidney that her past experiences in 'killing the bad guy' had inspired her to break free from her abusive marriage by killing her husband. However, Jessica was dissapointed by Sidney's absence from the New York Murders and checked herself into the psychiatric ward where she met Marco, who used his experience as a Google employee to create "Stu", who had simply been a deepfake to throw Sidney off the whole time. The two, alongside Karl, then devised a plan to find Sidney and kill her in front of Tatum just as Maureen Prescott had been killed three decades prior, thus creating 'Sidney 2.0' through the the trauma Tatum would endure.
Unbeknownst to the two, Mark, using the last of his conciousness, had been using a sharp tool from the garage to untie Tatum whiel they were distracted. Tatum breaks free from her restraints, distracting Marco and Jessica. Sidney quickly pulls out her gun and shoots Marco in the head, killing him instantly. Jessica flees and manages to get the jump on Sidney, who follows her. She tries to strangle Sidney but is stabbed multiple times with a screwdriver. Tatum appears and shoots her, but she dissapears before the mother and daughter can finish her off. She makes one last desperate attempt to kill them shortly after, but has her face torn clean off by multiple shots from Tatum and Sidney's guns. She finally drops dead, bringing an end to the Pine Grove Murders.
Identities and Motives
Scream (1996 film)
"We all go a little mad sometimes..." - Billy Loomis
Billy Loomis:Maureen Prescott had an affair with Hank Loomis, which prompted Hank and Billy's mother to divorce. Billy killed her out of anger. A year later, Billy and Stu started a murder spree in Woodsboro, planning on copying their favorite movies and becoming heroes when they survived. Their plan was to frame Maureen's husband, Neil Prescott, and culminate in killing their daughter, Sidney Prescott. It was then revealed two movies later, that Roman mentored Billy to kill Maureen and eventually kill Sidney since Roman made it sound like Maureen was the cause of the divorce between Billy's parents.
"Surprise, Sidney!" - Stu Macher
Stu Macher: Stu was a horror movie fanatic who followed his best friend, Billy Loomis, around. Submitting to peer pressure from Billy, Stu helped murder Maureen Prescott. A year later, they committed a murder spree in their hometown, planning on recreating their beloved horror movies and becoming heroes for surviving the bloodbath. Their first targets were Stu's ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend (Casey Becker and Steven Orth). They also killed Stu's current girlfriend, Tatum. They eventually went on to kill multiple people, however, he came to his death when he tackled Sidney and she bit his hand, which gave her time to drop a TV over his head, electrocuting and killing him almost instantly.
Scream 2
"Don't you know history repeats itself..? Surprise, Sidney. Since Derek here dissapeared on my ass, I've been alone all fuckin' night. Thanks a lot, 'partner'." - Mickey Altieri.
Mickey Altieri: A psychopathic film geek, Mickey wanted to create a sequel and be the star of a trial-of-the-century type media circus. Mrs. Loomis found him online on a murdering kind of website and paid for his tuition at Windsor College, where he worked himself into Sidney's close circle of friends to make it look like he wasn't the killer when the murders first started, however, Mickey actually planned on not getting away with the murder spree, wishing to be the center of the following media circus and debate on movie-making ethics. It's possible he wanted revenge for something, as that most of the Ghostface killers have another motive, however, it was never revealed.
"It's called a makeover. You should try it. Looking a little tired yourself there, Gale." - Nancy Loomis
Nancy Loomis: Billy's mother orchestrated the murder spree at Windsor College out of vengeance for Billy's death. She also channeled her hatred for Maureen Prescott, who slept with her husband, onto Sidney. Mrs. Loomis found Mickey Altieri online and paid for his college tuition, giving him her motherly help and guidance. Secretly, she set Mickey up to take the fall for the entire copycat killing spree, planning on murdering him after she achieved her revenge. Even if anyone suspected there was a second killer, the persona she created of "Debbie Salt" couldn't be traced back to her. Sidney originally thought Gale was the killer, when Mickey told the second killer to reveal herself, however, she used Gale as a hostage and Sidney noticed it was Billy's mother.
Scream 3
"Roman Bridger: director, and brother." - Roman Bridger
Roman Bridger: A director, Roman tracked down his birth mother (Maureen Prescott), who shunned him and told him that she already had a family. Roman, the offspring of a vicious rape, was not wanted. Roman mentored Billy Loomis to kill Maureen and was enraged by the fame gushed upon his half-sister, Sidney Prescott. He planned on framing Sidney for a murder spree and walking away as the new hero. However, he came face to face with his sister and exposed himself to her, saying that Maureen didn't want him, and she had a whole new life, with another child.
Scream 4
"Kirby? This is making a move..." - Charlie Walker
Charlie Walker: A film fanatic, he aspired to win the heart of Jill Roberts and saw them as a remake version of Randy Meeks and Sidney Prescott. Jill strung him along, and together, they planned a new murder spree in Woodsboro. This would work to continue the stagnant Stab series, as well as propel Charlie and Jill into the limelight for surviving Ghostface's attacks. In the end, Jill betrayed him and stabbed him to death, stating that it would work best for her if she was the sole survivor.
"Hello, Sidney! Surprised?" - Jill Roberts
Jill Roberts: Jill grew up in the shadow of her famous cousin, Sidney Prescott. She felt like her mother, Kate Roberts, loved Sidney better, which translated itself into an irrational jealousy toward Sidney's attention and sought to take it for herself. Not wanting to work hard or get a job, Jill planned a murder spree in Woodsboro to achieve this. She partnered with her friend, Charlie Walker, who was in love with her. Jill betrayed Charlie, stabbing him to death, and set-up her ex-boyfriend, Trevor Sheldon, to look like the second Ghostface killer. She then horribly injured herself to maximize sympathy for her as the new hero. However, Dewey and Gale, find out that Jill was the real killer and not Trevor. They go to Sidney's room and find Jill trying to kill her, but they got there in time to pull her off. In the final showdown, Gale is able to distract the psychotic teenager long enough to give Sidney enough time to recover from Jill's attack and be able to electrocute her. Jill recovers and picks up a shard of glass planning to stab Sidney with it, but she is shot by in the chest by Sidney who knows the killer always comes back for one last scare.
Scream (2022 film)
"I know.. Welcome to act three." - Amber Freeman
Amber Freeman: Amber was a fan of the Stab movies ever since her parents bought 261 Turner Lane, Stu Macher's old house. After being appalled by the events of Stab 8, she connected with other fans on a Stab subreddit, one of those fans being Richie Kirsch. The pair devised a plan to create their own "requel" to Stab and Amber revealed information about Richie's girlfriend, Samantha Carpenter, that she is the daughter of Billy Loomis, that they could use as the basis for their movie, as well as framing her as the killer. They went along with their plan, eventually unmasking themselves and Amber is killed after being set on fire and then shot in the head.
"Oh, thank god, you're still alive... Because I really wanted to be the one to kill you." - Richie Kirsch
Richie Kirsch: Richie was a fellow Stab fan and another one who was appalled by Stab 8. After meeting Amber Freeman on a Stab subreddit, they devised a plan to create their own "requel" and they were going to use Samantha Carpenter as their killer and Tara Carpenter and her friends as the basis for their movie. Richie tracked down and got close to Samantha, eventually gaining her trust and starting a relationship with her. When Tara gets attacked, he goes to Woodsboro with Sam and after a few more murders, Richie unmasks himself and is ultimately killed by Sam after underestimating her.
Scream VI
"The worst part is... you teach a class about slashers, and you still walked into a dark alley. Alone." - Jason Carvey
Jason Carvey: Jason planned to instigate his own killing spree with his friend, Greg Bruckner, to finish off Richie's movie, a killer he idolized. Acting alone, Jason donned the mask to kill his professor, Laura Crane, by luring her in through a dating app. He had a hidden Ghostface shrine in their dorm room. It is likely this wasn't the first time Jason killed as he made a comparison to having blue balls over killing. It is unknown if Greg had killed anyone before this. Jason is the first Ghostface killer to be killed by another Ghostface killer in a massacre; the first official copycat Ghostface of the film series, so far, given Jason was only acquainted to Tara and her friend/fellow survivor Mindy Meeks-Martin (with her twin, Chad) as their Film classmate, as he was not part of the Core Four's friend group at Blackmore University (excluding Sam, as she wasn't enrolled).
"Good work. Both of you." - Wayne Bailey
Wayne Bailey: Wayne was a police detective and the father of Richie Kirsch. He indulged Richie's love of the Stab movies and helped him build a shrine in an abandoned theatre in New York City. After discovering the truth behind Richie's murder in Gale's new book, Requel: Terror Returns To Woodsboro, Wayne sought revenge against Samantha Carpenter for killing him and joined forces with his son and daughter to carry out his plan. He was killed after being stabbed over forty times and once in the eye by Sam.
"Mindy was right. It was easy to juke the roommate lottery. All I had to do to meet you is room with a conceited, condescending Alpha, literally named Chad!'" - Ethan Landry
Ethan Landry: Ethan was the brother of Richie Kirsch and son of Wayne Bailey. After discovering the truth of Richie's murder, Ethan sought revenge against Samantha Carpenter for killing him and agreed to his father's plan. Ethan enrolled at Blackmore University and manipulated the housing arrangements to be roommates with Chad to get close to him and the rest of the Woodsboro survivors. He met his death after having his skull crushed by Kirby Reed with the same TV that killed Stu.
"Hey roomies. You didn't see that one coming, did you?" - Quinn Bailey
Quinn Bailey: Quinn was the sister of Richie Kirsch and daughter of Wayne Bailey. After discovering the truth of Richie's murder, Quinn sought revenge against Samantha Carpenter for killing him and agreed to her father's plan. Quinn enrolled at Blackmore University and answered a roommate listing by Sam and Tara in order to get close to them and the rest of the Woodsboro survivors. She met her death after being shot in the head by Sam.
Scream 7
"Hi, neighbor. How you holding up?" - Jessica Bowden
Jessica Bowden: Jessica was the mother of Lucas Bowden, who had become a single mother after leaving her abusive relationship. After hearing about Sidney's triumphs against Ghostface and Billy Loomis in particular, she decided to kill her husband due to Sidney inspiring her. When Sidney disappeared from public life and was not present during the New York City killings, Jessica was disappointed and, discovering where Sidney had moved to, spent time at the mental institution where she met Marco, ultimately moving next door to Sidney with her son Lucas. She met her death after being shot multiple times in the face by Sidney and Tatum.
"Yeah. Me. Well, me and Karl..." - Marco Davis
Marco Davis: Marco was a fan of Stu Macher's, who idolized the original Woodsboro murders. Using his background in AI, he managed to create a deepfake replica of Stu, leading Sidney on a false trail throughout the Pine Grove Murders. He met his death after being shot in the head by Sidney.
"Who is that?!" "I don't know, but I saw him today in the coffee shop." - Gale Weathers and Sidney Evans about Karl.
Karl Allan Gibbs: Karl was a Fallbrook Psychiatric Hospital mental patient and idolized Stu Macher and the original Woodsboro murders. He met his death after being run over by Gale.
Quotes
"No, you listen you little bitch! You hang up on me, I'll gut you like a fish, understand?! [laughs] Yeah... Can you handle that... Blondie?" — Billy Loomis to Casey Becker in Scream (1996)
"You should never say 'who’s there?' Don’t you watch scary movies? It’s a death wish. You might as well come out here to investigate a strange noise or something.'' — still to Casey Becker
"What's your favorite scary movie?" — Ghostface's most iconic line.
"If you hang up on me, you'll die just like your mother! Do you wanna die, Sidney? Your mother sure didn't!" - Billy Loomis to Sidney Prescott in Scream (1996)
"Have you ever felt a knife cut through human flesh and scrape the bone beneath?" — Nancy Loomis to Randy Meeks in Scream 2.
"Why are you even here, Randy? You'll never be the leading man. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be the hero, and you'll never, ever get the girl. Wrong guy, dead boy." - Nancy Loomis to Randy Meeks in Scream 2.
"Let's play a little game. Answer right, your girlfriend lives. Answer wrong, she dies." - Roman Bridger to Cotton Weary in Scream 3.
"It was a simple game, Cotton. You should have told me where Sidney was. Now, YOU LOSE!" — Roman Bridger to Cotton Weary before killing him in Scream 3.
"...And it's called, Sarah gets skewered like a fuckin' PIG! Still in character... Sarah?" — Roman Bridger to Sarah Darling in Scream 3.
"You're not going anywhere, Sidney. It's time you came to terms with me, and with mother." - Roman Bridger to Sidney Prescott in Scream 3.
"YOU HANG UP ON ME, I'LL CUT THROUGH YOUR NECK TILL I FEEL BONE!" — Unknown killer to Sherrie in Stab 6 within Stab 7.
"Do I sound like a Trevor to you?Think of me as your director, you’re in my movie, you've got a fun part so don't blow it". — Jill Roberts to Jenny Randall in Scream 4.
"...Same one Marnie's in, only her part got cut WAY back, but you? You're the dumb blonde with the BIG TITS! We'll have some fun with you before you die!" still to Jenny Randall in Scream 4.
"This isn't a comedy, it's a horror film. People live, people die! And you'd better start RUNNING." still to Jenny Randall in Scream 4.
"I asked you a question. What's your favourite scary movie?!" - Charlie Walker 'to' Jill Roberts in Scream 4.
"I've got plans for you. I'm gonna slit your eyelids in half so you don't blink when I stab you in the face. You'll die when I want you to Sidney. Not a moment before. Until then you're going to suffer." — Charlie Walker to Sidney Prescott in Scream 4.
"You know, Rebecca, it doesn't sound to me like you're in the hospital. Sounds like you're in a parking garage. A dark and deserted parking garage. But if you want to be in the hospital, I'd be happy to put you there... IN THE FUCKIN' MORGUE!" — Jill Roberts or Charlie Walker to Rebecca Walters in Scream 4.
"You're a survivor, aren't you Sidney? Your one and only skill - you survive. Well, I have one question for you. What good's it to be a survivor in this little drama, if everyone close to you is dead?" - Jill Roberts to Sidney Prescott in Scream 4.
"Ah, friends count but it's the family ties that cut deep, am I right?" - Jill Roberts to Sidney Prescott in Scream 4.
"Tell Sidney heads are gonna roll tonight! Tell Sidney it's all because of her! Or maybe she wants to take his place? I promise to be quick." - Jill Roberts to Kirby Reed in Scream 4.
"NONE OF THE ABOVE! Peeping Tom (1960), directed by Michael Powell. First movie to ever put the audience in the killer's POV." — Jill Roberts to Kirby missing a trivia question Scream 4.
"Bonus question Tara: Do You think I made it inside your house before you could rearm?" - Richie Kirsch to Tara Carpenter in Scream (2022).
"Hello, Sheriff JU-DEE! I think you know. I'm a fan of scary movies, and knives. What's your favorite scary movie?" - Amber Freeman to Judy Hicks in Scream (2022).
"By the time I see you, I'll have gutted your baby boy!" - Amber Freeman to Judy Hicks in Scream (2022).
"Hello Samantha. Richie can't come to the phone right now. He's finding out what happens to people who stick their noses in business that doesn't concern them." - Amber Freeman to Samantha Carpenter in Scream (2022).
"Really? You can’t save your own sister? All you have to do is say, “Kill Richie”! Or say, “Kill Tara'', and I’ll make sure to hit all the organs I missed last time!'' — Amber Freeman to Samantha Carpenter in Scream (2022).
"You forgot the first rule of surviving a Stab movie. Never answer the... WAIT!" - Richie Kirsch to Sidney Prescott in Scream (2022).
"Who gives a fuck about movies?" — still to Jason Carvey in Scream VI.
"You should be thanking me, Sam. Jason and Greg were gonna kill you and your sister. I gutted them before they had the chance." - Wayne Bailey to Samantha Carpenter in Scream VI.
"I'm going to show the world who you really are: a liar and a killer. I'm going to punish you, Sam." - Wayne Bailey to Samantha Carpenter in Scream VI.
"No, you're gonna die, Samantha. Chocking on your own blood, while I hack up your sister." - Quinn Bailey to Samantha Carpenter in Scream VI.
"For a mastermind, you're not very bright. Waiting for me to call, desperately hoping I’m nearby so the police can grab me? But I’m not nearby. I’m a step ahead." - Quinn Bailey to Samantha Carpenter in Scream VI.
"Hello, Gale. Strange that you and I have never spoken on the phone... this is long overdue." — Wayne Bailey to Gale Weathers in Scream VI.
"Don't you know the legacy characters are disposable now? Nobody cares about last century's heroes." - Wayne Bailey to Gale Weathers in Scream VI.
"Call it nostalgia. Or maybe you deserve to be PUNISHED for all that money you made off the misery of others. Maybe it's time, someone make a buck, reporting - YOUR death." - Wayne Bailey to Gale Weathers in Scream VI.
"Maybe you did hit me. Maybe I'm wounded! Or maybe I'm wearing a bulletproof vest." — Quinn Bailey to Gale Weathers in Scream VI.
"You would’ve made a good killer, Gale. Sidney never would've made sense, and Dewey was the fan favorite. But you cracking under the pressure and turning into Ghostface would’ve been a great twist." - Quinn Bailey to Gale Weathers in Scream VI.
"It was always about poor, sweet Sidney sucking up all the oxygen. Where did that leave you to be?" - Quinn Bailey to Gale Weathers in Scream VI.
"I'm sorry about your boyfriend. All those muscles didn't help much." - Quinn Bailey to Gale Weathers in Scream VI.
"Hello, Detective Bailey. I've got one question for you. (...) What's your favorite scary movie?" - Samantha Carpenter to Wayne Bailey while briefly using her father's old costume in Scream VI.
"You're going to die tonight. (...) It's not Scott. (...) The person who's gonna kill you." -Marco Davis to Madison in Scream 7.
"Listen, you little bitch! I'm gonna slice you open and rip your guts out!" still to Madison in Scream 7.
"...Because the fun part is over, Madison!" still to Madison in Scream 7.
"Relax! I'm not going to hurt her, until you're here to see it." - still to Sidney Evans in Scream 7.
"...Where the heart is! Until I stab a knife through it. Come alone." - still to Sidney Evans in Scream 7.
"Welcome home, Sidney! We've been waiting for you.." - Marco Davis to Sidney Evans in Scream 7.
Behind the Mask
There is much debate and speculation about which killer is Ghostface during the series. Some instances are obvious while others can be argued endlessly. It is believed Kevin Williamson revealed who he intended to wear the costume in comments made through the years concerning the first Scream. If any can be verified, please link to source.
The different Ghostface masks used in the first 4 Scream movies.
Maureen Prescott's murder: Billy and Stu committed the murder one year prior to the events of the film, as referenced in their dialogue. But it is unknown whether or not they wore the Ghostface costume. In the Stab 3 flashback set, Maureen's body is seen with a phone, suggesting she may have been called by them first (she may also have been attempting to call for help).
Casey's phone calls: Billy. From Casey's kill (stabbed one handed), one can work backwards to tell it was Billy on the phone with Casey from the front entrance of the house as Ghostface was able to hear her ask "who's there?" after playing mind games on her by ringing the doorbell (then chastising her for it).
Casey and Steve's murders: Stu killed Steve, Billy killed Casey. Going from the above, Stu would be placed at the patio entrance with Steve. He then breaks in through the back and runs to the front to open the door for Billy. The Ghostface that killed Casey stabbed her with one hand. This is Billy's M.O. whilst Stu's is to use two hands on the knife for his killing blows. Working backwards from this, one could tell Billy switched off with Stu (who found her first) after Casey knocked Stu off with the phone. Stu then assisted Billy in gutting and hanging Casey from the tree due to how quickly this action was executed.
Neil Prescott's abduction: Both, as he was their target to frame for the murders. After leaving Casey's, Billy and Stu went to Sidney's (though we only see Billy) to kidnap Neil since he's seen in the same outfit during the closing act. It can also be assumed that they also took Neil’s car and drove it back to Stu’s house since it is also not discovered until the final act. Additionally, Billy or Stu likely took Neil’s house keys and used them to break into the Prescott residence the next day and waited for Sidney to come home from school prior to attacking her.
Sidney's first phone call: Billy. He is seen with a phone and appears at the bedroom window too soon after Sidney locks herself in her bedroom.
Sidney's house attack: Stu. For Billy to be the only Ghostface here, he would have to run downstairs, go outside to run around the perimeter of the house, ditch the Ghostface costume, and climb into Sidney's second story window in a matter of seconds.
Call at the Riley house: Stu. He called to 'prove' Billy was innocent since he was locked up at the time.
Sidney's bathroom attack: This is debatable. Evidence pointing to it being a prankster is that Ghostface didn't have a knife. It’s unlikely that Stu was the prankster as he was wearing khaki pants at the time while the prankster is wearing jeans. It’s also unlikely for Billy to be the prankster since there would be no way for him to sneak into the bathroom without being seen by either Sidney or the two other girls. However, with the school on the alert it was, it'd be a risk to sneak a knife into the school (especially along with the costume) and could be why Ghostface doesn't have a knife in this scene if it is one of the killers. Also, Billy has been shown to enjoy playing mind games with his victims (especially Sidney) and probably didn't want her dead here as it would ruin the third act plan for their spree (Ghostface's attack on Sidney at her house appeared to also be without the intention of killing her).
Principal Himbry's murder: Billy. His whereabouts were unknown at the time while Stu was seen with Sidney and Tatum outside the school. Though he left somewhere unknown, he was most likely setting up the party still. Shortly afterwards, he was seen in the video store with Randy, while Billy arrived later after hiding Himbry's body. Even with this, we see Ghostface playing mind games with Himbry, which is also Billy's M.O. of the two (as he did so with Casey before then Tatum and Sidney after). Further evidence that Billy is the killer is based on the way Ghostface holds the knife (with only the right hand raised up) just like how Casey was killed earlier in the film. Billy then proceeded to take Himbry’s body and hang it from the goal post, likely before the party at Stu’s house started and left it there for the other teenagers to find later that evening.
Stalking Sidney and Tatum: It was most likely Billy, or possibly another prankster; either of the killers making these moves would be risky. If it was one of the killers, it would most likely be Billy since the mind games were more his M.O.
Tatum's murder: Billy. Stu was still hosting the party and may have been noticed excusing himself to the garage right after sending Tatum there for more beer. He closed the door and Billy probably was already waiting there for her. Billy also plays more mind games with the faux-acting and 'wanting to play psycho killer'. In addition, when Tatum tried to reenter the house, the door is locked. When Ghostface attempts to do so, the doors is unlocked. This is easiest explained as Stu locking Tatum inside with Billy and then unlocking it so Billy could reenter and stash the costume to 'arrive' at the party.
Phone call to Randy: Although we do not hear the caller’s voice on the other end of the phone, this was Stu (possibly using the Ghostface voice) calling his own landline to inform Randy and the rest of the teenagers of Himbry’s death. While Randy stays behind, the other teenagers clear out of the house, to discover Himbry’s body for themselves.
Billy's 'murder': Stu, as Billy is playing victim.
Sidney's chase: Stu still, after 'killing' Billy. Also, Stu would know how to surprise Sidney and to go the other way through the door like that since it is his house.
Randy's near murder: Stu, who entered the room and found Randy still there, not knowing that he would still be in the house. Billy would most likely still be upstairs still playing dead, and we can also see Ghostface holding the knife with two hands, which is Stu's M.O.
Kenny's murder/Gale Van Crash: Stu still, after nearly killing Randy. After Sidney escapes the van, Billy presumably emerges from the house off-screen and helps Stu place Kenny’s body on top of the van since this would require the assistance of another person due to Kenny’s weight. After that, Stu remained in the area and presumably hid somewhere off-screen to witness Gale crash the van and incorrectly assume that Gale is dead. This explains why Randy thought Stu was the killer because he was stalking him or saw Stu as Ghostface checking if Gale was dead and (presumably) changing out of the costume, as he was outside even after Gale hit him with the phone.
Dewey's and Sidney's attack: This was Billy. After helping Stu place Kenny’s body on top of the van off-screen, Billy went back into the house and heard Dewey call out for Sidney’s father, at which point Billy went downstairs, and stabbed him. Billy then chases Sidney to the police car and locks herself inside as Ghostface taunts her with the keys. Billy then sneaks in through the back of the car and attempts to strangle her, which is consistent with his M.O. After Sidney escapes the police car, Billy disappears and presumably meets up with Stu again off-screen, at which point he incorrectly informs him that Gale is dead (and possibly that Randy knows that Stu is the killer). It is confirmed that this conversation took place since Billy asks Stu about it when Gale reappears later. After that, Billy either goes through a window in the house, or the garage and back up to the bedroom and pretends that nothing happened.
Randy's shooting: Billy shoots him in the chest, we witness this, and reveals that he is the killer.
Phil's and Maureen's murders: Mickey kills Phil and takes his jacket to trick Maureen into thinking he is her boyfriend. Maureen then touches him and isn't suspicious, pointing at Mickey being Ghostface here. His body type is similar enough to Phil's to fool her, while Mrs. Loomis would be obvious. Mickey then kills Maureen and runs off, presumably with Mrs. Loomis waiting as the getaway driver. Mickey also later reveals to the friends that Maureen was stabbed seven times, further implicating that he killed her.
Sidney's prank call: Cory Gillis.
CiCi's phone calls: This is debatable but both killers were there because when CiCi's friend is talking to "Ted" on the phone, there is a killer sneaking in behind Cici without a phone at the same time "Ted" is talking.
CiCi's murder: This is also debatable. Evidence pointing to Mickey being the likely killer is that he and CiCi were classmates and Ghostface seems to move around the house as if they have been there before. To further add, Mrs. Loomis' motive was to seek revenge on those who caused the death of her son, which CiCi obviously was not affiliated with. Whilst Mickey was recreating the Woodsboro Murders, by killing victims with the same name as those who died in Woodsboro, which included CiCi, due to her real name being real name Casey, in reference to Casey Becker. Additionally, Mickey doesn’t arrive at the Delta Lambda mixer until after CiCi was killed, which would allow Mrs. Loomis to stay behind and be the first on scene and get the scoop before Gale. Even though Mickey, Derek and Randy show up around the same time to the mixer, there is no indication that they arrived together, given how the relationship between Derek and Mickey did not seem close besides being acquaintances or friends, nothing that would expose one another. Similar to the house with CiCi, Ghostface also moves around the Greek house as if familiar with the layout, cutting off Sidney during the chase and being able to slice Derek's arm and escape in a way that no one noticed where. Also (while debatable as well like noted), he was likely the Ghostface who physically attacked Sidney at the Greek house since we see that Ghostface put the blade of the knife completely through the door in one motion, something only Mickey has been shown to accomplish (multiple others throughout the series have not been able to do this whilst Mickey also did it earlier against Phil). With Cici fitting the Woodsboro copycat M.O. (Mickey's), it also stands to reason that since Mickey would not physically be able to do it himself, Mrs. Loomis could've stepped in. However, in the finale Mickey's word's "Told you it was gonna would work, now wait till the trial(...)!" plus Nancy's overall niche motivation suggest she is unlikely to have done it if Mickey could've, specially given how Mickey confessed her aid was mostly guidance and financial, whilst the Woodsboro victims were Nancy's thing.
Sidney's phone call: Mrs. Loomis. She hurriedly rushed off after Cici's murder and told Gale that she had a 'deadline.' This was most likely an excuse used by Mrs. Loomis to coordinate the attack on Sidney as the news of Cici's murder would reach the mixer which was right across the street. Presumably, Mrs. Loomis made the call from an isolated location since Derek was standing right outside the sorority house and would have heard her calling otherwise. Also, the caller asks Sidney “Remember me?” during the call, hinting at Mrs. Loomis' history with Sidney.
Sidney's Greek house attack: This is also debatable. Evidence pointing to Mickey is that he's the only Ghostface depicted as being able to plunge the blade of the knife completely through doors and the like as he did against Phil and as Ghostface does during this attack. Throughout the series, we've seen Stu, Roman, and Charlie attempt a similar type of stab with only Roman seen as even puncturing the tip of the blade through to the other side. Also, whether Mrs. Loomis was the caller or the attacker of CiCi, she is not in the vicinity to don the costume after the hysteria of Cici's body being discovered whereas Mickey is could easily have stashed his nearby to wear for this attack.
Derek's injury: This is debatable and depends on who was Ghostface during Sidney's Greek house attack.
Sidney's theater scare: This was a hallucination of Sidney.
Randy's (Gale's) phone call: Mrs. Loomis. She hid in Gale's van and called Gale's phone at a time when Gale was seen using it. She also seems to have almost as great an interest in Gale as she does Sidney for her role in Billy's death. Randy just-so-happened to pick it up before Gale could.
Randy's murder: Mrs. Loomis. She admits to this during the closing act.
Sidney's IM: Mickey. He would have access to the campus computers as well as the library whereas Mrs. Loomis would not.
Gale and Dewey's attack: Both. Mickey was the one in the projector room and would know how to operate it and then left to catch up to Sidney and Hallie. This would place Mrs. Loomis as the Ghostface that pops up behind Gale and takes over the attack. Also, with the physical strength that Mickey's Ghostface displays during the movie, it makes more sense that Mrs. Loomis' Ghostface was unable to get into the room Gale barricaded herself in (either by pushing past the shelf Gale used or by breaking the glass pane to the room).
Andrews', Richards', and Hallie's murders: Mickey. Having left the projector room, Mickey goes for Sidney and Hallie before they're out of reach and is able to physically overpower the second detective using the great physical strength we see him use throughout the film. Also, he has a nasty gash on his forehead when he is revealed as the killer which he most likely gained from the car crash.
Derek's murder: Mickey.
Mickey's shooting: Nancy.
Gale's shooting: Mickey.
Sidney's attacking: Nancy.
Nancy's murder: Cotton (possibly assisted by Sidney, just in case).
Since Roman is shown to be the only killer in the film, all of the murders are his doing. However, there is more than enough evidence to support that Angelina Tyler was originally his accomplice.
Cotton Weary and Christine Hamilton's murders - The theatrical version of the film makes it very obvious Roman killed them both due to the scene being re-shot to firmly establish one only killer. However, in the alternate opening, it's more apparent that there were two killers, as one killer was still talking to Cotton on the phone as he discovered Christine's corpse in the closet before he is ambushed by another killer who has no phone. In this scenario, Angelina likely killed Christine and used her voice on the phone while Roman killed Cotton.
Sarah Darling's murder - An unused shot from the deleted scenes shows that somebody (likely Roman) was spying on Sarah as she was entering the Sunrise Studios Production Office from above a building, once again indicating a second killer. Since Sarah received a call from Roman, he was possibly the one spying on her as she entered the office, acting as a lookout and waiting for all of the potential witnesses inside to leave so that she can be left alone. Roman calling Sarah would be Angelina's cue to attack and kill her. If Roman had actually been the one calling Sarah from within the closet, Sarah would have heard him. Also, two killers in this scene also guarantees that Sarah will die, depending on what choice she makes. One killer is hiding in the costumes rack, conveniently where Sarah goes to hide. There's no way Roman could have known that she would hide there, unless he was waiting outside for Sarah in case she attempted to escape via the front door, meaning Angelina is hiding in the back just in case Sarah decides to hide inside the office instead, which is exactly what she does.
Police Department Caller: Dewey reveals to Gale that a woman had contacted the Woodsboro Police Department to obtain Sidney's files, as part of their research for Stab 3. This is more ambiguous and could go either way. The caller could have either been Angelina, who wanted Sidney's information so that she could prepare for the role, or Roman who was using his voice changer.
Phone Call to Sidney: This is one of the more egregious plot hole in the film, in that Roman somehow managed to contact Sidney, who was in hiding, by calling her and using the voice of their mother, Maureen Prescott, to scare her. Sidney had hidden herself pretty well in the film, so much so that not even Detective Mark Kincaid could track her down. There is a throwaway line in the film that Roman could have used scanners to track her phone calls, but it doesn't explain why he needed to ask and threaten Cotton Weary for Sidney's location. If Angelina is the second killer, then it could be possible that, at the Stab 3 wrap-up party, she seized an opportunity to snag Sidney's number by going through Dewey's phone when he wasn't paying attention (the only person who is in contact with her) and sending it to Roman. The film also reveals that Jennifer is the only other person to use Dewey's phone and it is possible this is when Angelina snatched it.
Steven Stone's Phone call and Murder: Ghostface calls Steven using Dewey's voice to distract him long enough to sneak up on him and kill him. The Ghostface who attacks Steven literally in the middle of the call has no phone, meaning Angelina made the call while Roman killed him.
Tom Prinze's death: Technically, both Roman and Angelina are responsible. Angelina was the one to turn on the gas stove while Roman cut the power, faxing the script pages to the house guests, and attacking Gale at the bottom of the hill. Logistically, it would be near impossible for Roman to have done everything in this scene by himself, as he'd have to run to Jennifer's house to turn on the gas after killing Stone, cut the power, fax the script pages, and attack Gale at the bottom of the hill all without being detected. Angelina would be able to inconspicuously wander off and set the trap of turning on the gas, because she's an invited guest and can wander around unsuspected, while Roman trying to do all of this would be suspicious, regardless of being in costume or not. Angelina, if paying close attention, behaves very suspect during the party, constantly going in and out of the house. She also simply wandered off from everyone right before the explosion happened and safely walked down the hill to reunite with everyone else, as she knew when the explosion would happen. Angelina also does not reply to Dewey's question when he asks how she got on the other side of the hill by feigning "hysteria" over Tom's death.
Sidney's attack on the Stab 3 Set: This scene makes it very obvious that there's two killers as Ghostface keeps popping out of each nook and cranny to attack Sidney as if they can teleport, which is obviously impossible if there's only one killer. Before this scene takes place, Sidney inadvertently catches Angelina in the bathroom before she can change into her Ghostface costume to terrorize her. Angelina saying that she was only sneaking props off the set was a quick cover-up story, which Sidney seems to believe (likely due to the fact she didn’t want to make the same mistake of accusing someone of being the killer for a third time after previously accusing Cotton Weary of killing her mother and that Derek Feldman was Mickey Altieri’s accomplice during the Windsor College Murders when, in fact, both Cotton and Derek were innocent). As Angelina leaves the bathroom, she intentionally leaves her hairbrush behind with intention of luring Sidney to the set. Once Sidney arrives, Ghostface (Roman) appears from behind and grabs Sidney but she is able to subdue him. Sidney then retreats back inside the house where Ghostface reappears from the closet and chases Sidney up the stairs which, again, indicates that this is Angelina as Roman could not be in two places at once. Sidney then throws Angelina from the trap door onto the bed before she flees, giving Roman enough time to make his way to the crime scene bedroom and use Maureen's voice to scare Sidney, forcing her to jump out the window before Dewey and the police arrive. Again, it would be impossible for the Ghostface in the body bag who scared Sidney to have been the same person that Sidney threw down the trap door, as Sidney even double checked seconds before that scene occurs that Ghostface wasn't coming back up the stairs.
Splitting everyone up at Milton's mansion: The party scene is very suspicious, in that Roman and Angelina are the first ones there and they are seemingly eager to split up the group in the mansion to look around, so as to separate them and make it easier to kill them. This would mean that Angelina helped fake Roman's death.
Finding Roman's Gear: Dewey and Gale find Roman's gear and tools to suit up as Ghostface in the closet, including the costume and the voice changer that allows him to imitate other voices perfectly. However, Ghostface apparently has another one, as the voice is heard when they're attacking other characters even though Gale took the one from the closet. If Roman were the only killer, why would he need a second one? The other one clearly belongs to Angelina.
Angelina's death: Angelina confesses to Gale and Jennifer, shortly before running off, that she slept with Milton to get the role of Sidney. This would appear to clear her name, as she runs into Roman as Ghostface and he seemingly stabs her to death. If she had actually been Roman's accomplice, then she wouldn't have needed to sleep with Milton to get the role, as Roman could have simply cast her himself as it's his film. It's possible that she is telling the truth, but it doesn't negate the theory that she is the second Ghostface, as Roman could have taken advantage of her pain and anger to rope her in as the accomplice in the next Ghostface killing spree, as she'd jump at the chance to get revenge on Milton.
Marnie's murder: Both killers were present. Charlie was the one who killed Marnie because his M.O was stabbing his victim multiple times whereas Jill stabbed once.
Jenny's phone call: After Charlie killed Marnie, Jill started talking on the phone with Jenny. Charlie then threw Marnie’s body through the window as there is no way that the caller could do both tasks at the same time. Charlie then chased Jenny around the house and killed her by crushing her back with a garage door and then stabbing her
Jenny's and Marnie's murders: Charlie chased Jenny and killed her by crushing her back with a garage door and then stabbing her to death. The reason for Jill choosing Jenny as victim was because she was the girl Trevor cheated on Jill with. Jill also wanted everything to do with the first kills since they were meant as a signal to everyone that Ghostface is back. However, it is heavily speculated that Charlie is Jenny's killer, as he tells Sidney after revealing himself that he has great footage of her murder, though that doesn't exactly mean that he had to kill her, he could just follow Jill chasing Jenny, and record the kill.
Olivia and Jill's phone calls: Charlie, because Jill cannot call herself.
Sidney's car boot: Most evidence points towards Charlie. As Jill was with Kirby and Olivia since she left her house, the same day Sidney and Rebecca arrived at Woodsboro, while Charlie's whereabouts are not established until the beginning of school. It is more likely that Charlie planted the blood, Out of the Darkness novels and Ghostface merchandise in Sidney's car boot while no-one was around because Jill would probably still be with Kirby and Olivia at the time.
Jill and Kirby's call: Charlie, because Jill cannot call herself #2.
Olivia's murder: Logically, Charlie kills her while Jill is next door with Kirby. Charlie also states during the climax of the film that he has great footage of his Olivia kill. Kirby's caller from Trevor's phone is also obviously Charlie as Jill is with Kirby when she receives the phone call, and maybe also to distract Olivia from the sound of Charlie talking inside her closet. Jill's prank call to Olivia before Kirby's call was probably a signal to Charlie to begin his phone call to Kirby. However, an error occurs, in that the police were in the car when Olivia arrived home, but sometime after went after a "suspicious figure." Charlie would have to have been in the closet before Olivia got home. The only solution here is that the "suspicious figure," was not Ghostface, but rather a random, unknown person or a figment of the officers' imagination.
Sidney's first phone call: This was Charlie as well since Jill was on her way to Olivia's house. If she had called, someone would have heard and noticed her. Besides, Charlie might have hidden in a good place to call Sidney.
Jill and Sidney's attack: Jill is playing victim, while Charlie is attacking in the costume.
Rebecca's murder: This one is debatable. Some would think that this was Jill because Charlie is seen with Robbie at the press conference when Rebecca is thrown onto the news van from several stories above. Jill was probably also the one who made the calls to Rebecca as Charlie was probably with Robbie at that time. Jill is also the one who sabotaged Rebecca's car so she couldn't start it because Ghostface is seen with cords in his hand when she jumps onto the hood of Rebecca's car. In order for Jill to be the sole survivor, she had to kill Sidney and people close to her. However, Rebecca's more likely killer is Charlie, as Jill was treated and watched at the hospital, making it virtually impossible for her to sneak out, while Charlie eluding Robbie would be easier. Also, Jill didn't have a Ghostface costume with her at the hospital, while Charlie had his with him after Olivia's death. Also, Olivia died in the same night as Rebecca, and there's a time skip between Charlie being with Robbie earlier that night and Rebecca dying towards the end of Dewey's press.
Gale's attack: Charlie attacked Gale while Jill watched on her computer from home. Jill had no way to get to the Stab-a-thon and back without being noticed by somebody. Gale sees a webcam in the haystack, and it moves to focus on her. This is Jill operating it from home and that's how knows she and Gale have the matching "shoulder wounds" she mentioned to Dewey at the end of the film. Some fans believe that Jill is the one who actually attacked Gale, but Charlie may have just told Jill about it.
Hoss and Perkins' murders: After the Stabathon was broken up, with the police having fallen for the "false ending trap", Charlie makes his way to Kate's house. This makes sense as his distraction had worked, and as Sidney sees later on on the TV, Time has passed since the stabathon, meaning by this time Kirby has already picked up Jill. Charlie is Hoss and Perkin's killer as he hands Jill their gun in the finale, stating "The cops want you to have this", implying he killed them and took it off their bodies.
Call at the Roberts house: Jill is the one who made the call because the caller told Sidney to put on the TV so she could see the report about Gale's attack. Charlie was in the car on the way to Jill's house after attacking Gale at the Stab-a-thon and he had no idea that the attack was already on the news. After arriving in front of Jill's house, Charlie also informed her about Gale's attack. Shortly after that, Jill called Sidney.
Kate's murder: With Charlie still at the house, he was the one to kill Kate. Further evidence of this is him arriving later than Jill at the afterparty, and the fact that unlike her he covers his arms, possibly to hide bruising.
Trevor's abduction: Jill subdued Trevor somehow (more than likely by seducing him) and tied him up. It's unknown when he was brought downstairs as neither killer really had the time for that.
Robbie's murder: Killed outside Kirby's house by Charlie. Charlie admits later that he has great footage of his Robbie kill. Jill is also seen without costume in this scene.
Sidney and Jill's attack: Charlie is the killer here as Jill is seen.
Sidney's roof attack: Still Charlie because Sidney told Jill to hide under the bed while she was covering her escape out to the balcony.
Charlie's attack: Jill is the killer here as Charlie is seen.
Kirby's phone call: Jill is the caller here as Charlie is seen. Jill also does not finish the “last chance” question to Kirby, likely due to the fact that she knew that Sidney was close by and would have heard her.
Kirby's attack: Jill calls her while Charlie is tied up. After Charlie is freed by Kirby, he stabs her revealing he is one of the killers.
Sidney's attack in Kirby's foyer: Charlie grabs her and holds a knife at her throat, but she gets away, only to be stabbed by "Ghostface" who then takes off the mask and it's revealed that the killer is Jill.
Trevor's murder: Jill shoots him in the groin and forehead while he is tied up on the floor with duct tape.
Charlie's murder: Jill betrays him and stabs him in the heart and stomach.
Sidney's stabbing: Jill is doing it without costume.
Jill's beating: She is doing it herself, to look like a victim.
Sidney, Dewey and Judy's hospital attacks: Jill is doing it without costume.
Jill's murder: As Jill is about to shoot Gale, Sidney comes from behind her and electrocutes her head with defibrillator paddles. Still alive, Jill tries stabbing Sidney with a glass shard, but Sidney knows killers always come back to life for "one last scare" and shoots Jill in the heart.
Tara's phone calls: This was both Amber Freeman and Richie Kirsch. Richie made the phone calls and recorded the video of Amber with a view of his knife to scare Tara. This would mean that Richie snuck away to Woodsboro from Modesto and then returned before news of Tara's attack broke. It is presumed that Amber hacked Tara’s alarm system from her phone before emerging from behind to finish off the attack on Tara since she knew her the best and would most likely know the layout of her house.
Tara's attack: This was Amber with Richie on the phone. Amber also confirms this later in the hospital attacks when she says that she'll hit all the organs she missed last time.
Vince's murder: The evidence points to Richie being the killer here since it only takes a single stab wound to kill Vince whereas Amber kills her victims with multiple stabs. We also see this when Wes is killed later in the film. So in conclusion Richie likely killed Vince.
Sam's phone call: Amber did the phone call since Sam’s caller ID says “Maybe: Amber Freeman.” If Richie called her, Sam would have heard him. Also, the caller tells Sam that they are aware of Sam’s family secret (about Billy Loomis being her biological father) and Amber confirms to Sam that she received this information on a drunken account from Sam’s mother in the climax of the movie. The most likely scenario is that Amber conferenced Richie into her call with Sam and listened to the conversation while waiting for his verbal cue to strike.
Sam's hospital attack: Richie attacked Sam as Amber was at the Sheriff's Department having been questioned by Sheriff Hicks around the time Sam was attacked.
Judy's phone call: Quote: ''Ever seen the movie, Psycho?'' reveals Amber, because in the later scene of the movie Amber imitates the noises from the shower stabbing sequence in Psycho.
Judy's murder: Both killers were there as it is the only time in the movie that both killers are unaccounted for. Amber killed Judy after calling her, because Ghostface used Amber's M.O (stabbing multiple times). and then went to the hospital.
Wes' murder: After Amber went to the hospital, Richie stayed behind to finish off Wes because he was stronger than Amber and he had the better chance to overpower him.
Clay's murder: This murder occurs off-screen, though it is most likely Richie since, again, it only takes a single stab wound to kill him. We already know that Richie arrived at the hospital before Sam and he appears a few moments later, then Ghostface (Amber) shows up shortly after that. It is presumed that Amber and Richie switched into and out of the costume since the sound of doors opening and closing is heard multiple times before Tara sees Richie and hits him with the phone.
Richie, Tara and Dewey's attack: It was Amber, because Richie was still playing victim.
Dewey's murder: Obviously Amber, who confirms this to Gale at the end of the movie. Richie had already escaped on the elevator with Sam and Tara and was still present outside the hospital after the murder occurred.
Chad's attack: This was Amber as Richie was driving to 261 Turner Lane with Tara and Samantha and arrived just as Ghostface finished his attack on Chad.
Mindy's attack: This was Richie, as Amber was upstairs with Tara getting her inhaler and Richie had excused himself to the Basement where he likely changed into the Ghostface costume and then came back upstairs to attack her.
Liv's murder: Amber is doing it without her costume, thus revealing that she is the killer.
Tara's abduction: Obviously Amber after she killed Liv and revealed herself while Richie flees to the basement with Sam.
Gale's shooting: Amber is doing it without her costume. She feigned being a victim to Gale and Sidney, though they didn’t fall for it, then went back inside after Gale was shot.
Sidney's phone call: Richie was on the phone, since his voice can clearly be heard saying ‘Wait!'' before Sidney hangs up and shoots him in the leg.
Sidney's attack: This was obviously Amber since Sidney is talking to Richie when the attack occurred.
Sam's stabbing: Richie is doing it without his costume, thus revealing he is the second killer.
Amber's attack: Tara, we witness this.
Richie's murder: Samantha killed Richie by stabbing him countless times, slitting his throat and shooting him in the head.
Amber's murder: Sidney, Gale and Tara all took part in Amber's murder. Sidney doused Amber in hand sanitizer as Gale shot Amber forcing her onto the stove and setting her alight due to the hand sanitizer, they threw over her. Tara then shot Amber through the head as she came running out of the kitchen.
Laura's phone call: Ghostface, who calls Laura, is the same Ghostface who later kills her, for evidence see below.
Laura's murder: This was Jason Carvey, as he unmasks himself after killing her.
Greg's murder: It is not known exactly when Greg was killed. It's possible he was killed before Laura was killed. It is also unknown since when Ethan was at the Frat Party, and since Paul came to Quinn's apartment. Despite the fact that we do not know the exact time of Greg's death and the whereabouts of the Kirsch families at that time, it is most likely Wayne who killed Greg, because it is hard to imagine Ethan or Quinn beheading Greg. Wayne mentions to Sam in the final act: "We had to kill those two wannabe film students". Just as Wayne is Jason's killer (see evidence below), the fact that Wayne says "We had to kill" instead of "I had to kill" suggests either Quinn, Ethan or both may have been involved in Greg's death. However, as previously mentioned, it was Wayne who was most able to dismember Greg and had the best conditions to do so.
Jason's phone call: This call is falsely attributed to the same Ghostface, who killed Jason. Wayne waited in Jason's apartment until he found Greg's body in the refrigerator, and if he had called, Jason would have heard him, meaning that if Wayne killed Jason, Quinn would have been the one to call Jason. Ghostface calls Jason from Greg's phone, this would imply that it must have been the same Ghostface who actually killed him (we already know it's Wayne), however the fact that Wayne was hiding in Jason's apartment and if he was calling, he would have been heard by Jason, this fact excludes Wayne from being the caller in this scene. It is not known exactly how much time passed between Jason's murder and Sam's return to her apartment where Quinn was present, and it is also unknown when Paul came to Quinn. Ghostface in this scene is also watching Jason through the cameras, and Quinn would be in a better position to do that than Wayne. To see how Quinn might have gotten Greg's phone, check: Sam's stolen ID.
Jason's murder: The murder happened sometime after 9:00 p.m., and as Quinn was in her apartment (and also probably the caller in this scene) and Ethan Landry was at the frat party with Chad, Ghostface, who kills Jason is Wayne. Shortly before dying, Jason tells Ghostface “we have to finish the movie,” to which Ghostface responds “who gives a fuck about movies!?” Once again, this is consistent with Wayne since, during the climax, he admits to Sam and Tara that he’s not a fan of the Stab movies (despite Richie’s love for them). With this murder, the Richie Kirsch's and Amber Freeman's masks were left.
Sam's stolen ID: Quinn was Sam's roommate. When Sam left for Dr. Stone, Quinn most likely stole Sam's ID and delivered it to Jason's apartment, where Wayne killed Greg. That's when Wayne was able to give Greg's phone to Quinn, who then went back to her apartment and called Jason while Wayne waited for Jason.
Sam's first phone call: First, we need to establish one fact: Ghostface who calls and then attacks is not the same Ghostface. With that being said, the caller to Sam was likely Quinn seeing as the call took place shortly after Sam and Tara left the apartment. We know that Quinn called Wayne at the same time Sam declined the phone call from Gale, after which Wayne requested Sam come down to the precinct. This would give Wayne an excuse to leave the crime scene (presumably leaving it in the hands of his colleagues), find an isolated location to put on the costume, and head to Sam and Tara’s apartment (and since Quinn already lived at there, Wayne would know the address). Also, the caller tells Sam and Tara to watch their backs, after which Ghostface attacks Tara from behind. Since the Ghostface who attacks Tara from behind doesn't have a phone on him, and even if he had somewhere to hide it, it's a similar situation to Jason's call: Sam and Tara would hear Ghostface calling. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that Quinn went into another room and remained on the line with Wayne so as not draw suspicion from the others, then used Richie’s phone (we know that she owns two phones since she comes back to get the second phone after interrupting Tara and Chad) to call Sam and conferenced Wayne into the call, allowing him to listen to the conversation on mute before making his move.
Sam and Tara's attack/Bodega Murders: Two people are mostly suspected of being Ghostface in the Bodega: Wayne and Ethan. However, he also can't exclude Quinn for being the Ghostface in the Bodega, below will explain why. The argument that tells us it's Wayne is that Ethan and Quinn were in the apartment at the time of the attack and had no way to sneak out. On top of that, Ghostface in the Bodega showed great shotgun skills, which would suit Wayne since he was a cop. Assuming Wayne was the Ghostface at the Bodega, the caller to Sam was probably Quinn. It is possible that after Sam and Tara left for the police station, Mindy, Anika, Chad and Ethan also left the apartment. This would leave Quinn alone in her apartment again, allowing her to call Sam without anyone else being suspicious. As absurd as it may seem at first glance, Wayne was most likely not the Ghostface at the Bodega, but just a Ghostface, who calls Sam, here's why: Wayne was at the crime scene in Jason and Greg's apartment. Wayne first calls Sam (at 9:57-9:58 p.m.) from there and lures her to come down the station, and after Sam and Tara escaped from the Bodega, Wayne was already present at the police station. For Wayne, it would be problematic to move from place to place so quickly, as well as to hide the costume. Later in the movie, when Kirby and Wayne are tracking the timeline of Ghostface, on the Ghostface's timeline board it is shown that the Bodega attack occurred on 10:03 p.m., meaning that: Wayne would have to leave Jason and Greg's apartment in less than 5 minutes (in addition, put on the costume somewhere unnoticed) and later after the attack get faster to the police station before Sam and Tara, and in addition hide the costume somewhere. Wayne, however, wouldn't have much trouble being the caller in this scene. Ghostface in this conversation also takes credit for killing Greg and Jason, and we know it was Wayne, and also, what Ghostface says to Sam on the phone, is very similar to what Wayne says to her in the final act, about Sam "being punished". That leaves us with either Ethan or Quinn as the prime suspects to be the Ghostface in Bodega. If we assume that Mindy, Anika, Chad and Ethan left the apartment along with Sam and Tara, then Quinn was left alone in her apartment again. This would allow her to sneak out undetected in a Ghostface costume and attack Sam and Tara, since Ethan would be with Chad then. However, if we assume that only Sam and Tara left the apartment, Ethan was the Ghostface in this scene. Somehow Quinn would have to distract the rest of the group to allow Ethan to slip away, or Ethan might just be lying to his friends about going back to his apartment. It also should be noticed, that when Ghostface is pushed onto the bikes by Sam and Tara, he grunts in a voice similar to Ethan's, and a moment later he says "Shit!", which also sounds like Ethan. What remains unclear is how Ethan (or possibly Quinn) would have learned to use a shotgun. However, it can be inferred that Wayne taught his kids using a shotgun. In summary, we have two possible scenarios: Quinn being the caller, and Wayne being the attacker, or Wayne being the caller, and Ethan or Quinn being the attacker, though the former is the most likely. With these murders, Ghostface leaves behind Jill Roberts' and Charlie Walker's masks.
Dr. Christopher Stone's murder: This murder happened sometime after 8 am as Kirby’s white board denotes a time stamp of 8:37 am, meaning the murder could have only taken place during this time span. This is also the only time in the movie that all three killers are unaccounted for, meaning any of them could have done the deed. Despite that, the most evidence points to Wayne, because Sam told him and gave details about Stone, such as where he lived. Therefore, it’s possible Wayne left the precinct to commit the murder and stole Sam’s sessions notes. Additionally, since there were no witnesses to the murder, it’s possible Wayne called in the murder anonymously before returning to the precinct, which would then allow the police to discover the body and process the crime scene. At the police station, where Wayne informs Kirby about Dr. Stone's death, Wayne strongly emphasized the cause of Stone's death as if he was proud of it. With this murder, Ghostface leaves behind Roman Bridger's mask.
The Apartment Attack: This attack includes Paul's death, Quinn's fake death, Mindy and Sam's attack, and finally Anika's murder. It obviously couldn't be Quinn because she was seen faking her death. Quinn is also seen talking to her father on the phone before the attack, which would also exclude Wayne from being Ghostface here. Wayne, after revealing himself, also tells Sam and Tara how he faked Quinn's death and that "he had to be sure he was first on the scene so he could switch Quinn's body out with a fresh one". This tells us that Wayne came to the apartment after the attack and was unlikely to be responsible for it. It's possible that during the attack, Wayne killed an unknown teenage girl and dragged her corpse to the apartment so everyone would think it was Quinn. Thus, the only possible Ghostface in this scene is Ethan. This can be deduced from the way he slices Mindy's arm (just like he did twice with Sam during the revelations), and stabs, then rips open Anika's stomach. Wayne had a different way of stabbing his victims, like he did with Jason. Even though Ethan had an alibi that he was in Econ Class the whole time with hundred other people, it is probably false, as it is likely that he left class earlier than the other students, and since "he was in a study hall with a hundred other people", nobody really would notice him being absent.
Sam's second phone call: This was Quinn, who was hiding in Gale's penthouse to lure them there, as Wayne was in the park with Sam and Tara and Ethan was in the police van with Kirby, Chad and Mindy.
Gale's first phone call: This was probably Wayne. Since the attack takes place at night, it can be presumed that Wayne separated from the group by that point and was able to get a ride somewhere after Sam and Tara commandeered his car and made the call from a remote location. Since Quinn is responsible for Brooks' death happening at the same time as Gale's call, Gale would overhear Quinn attacking Brooks. Also, the caller tells Gale that “she won’t be able to stop this” just as the attacker throws Brooks through the glass on the bookshelf. Therefore, it is once again likely that Quinn was conferenced into the phone call and listened on mute while waiting for her verbal cue to attack.
Brooks' murder, Gale's second phone call and attack: This was Quinn as she both admitted to being responsible and was already in the apartment. Also, Gale calls back the phone number (which is Richie’s old phone number that Quinn used during both phone calls to Sam) and hears the phone ringing from behind the door. Furthermore, the caller directly references Gale shooting at them with her gun moments earlier.
Mindy's attack: This was Quinn as she admitted to attacking Mindy, Ethan was also on the subway in plain sight and Wayne was at the police station.
Kirby's attack: This was both Quinn and Ethan as Kirby confirmed that "they" both attacked her and Quinn and Ethan were the two masked Ghostface's in the theatre.
Tara and Chad's Attack: Quinn stabbed Tara in the back and chased the group before being beaten up by Chad. When Chad was about to finish Quinn, Ethan stabbed him from behind, saving his sister, and then Quinn and Ethan attacked Chad together and stabbed him wearing Nancy Loomis and Stu Macher's masks.
Kirby's shooting: Wayne, in his reveal.
Quinn's murder: This was Sam who shot her through the head.
Wayne's murder: This was Sam who stabbed him to death using Billy's robe, mask and knife various times on his chest and arms, despite wearing a vest, with the fatal stab being to his eye. Sam kills him shortly after 4:27 a.m., which is when she called him using the Ghostface voice.
Ethan's murder: This was both Tara, who stabbed Ethan on the inside of his mouth, and Kirby who crushed his skull with the same TV that killed Stu.
Scott and Madison's murders: It is unknown if these murders are connected to the ones committed in Pine Grove, as they aren't brought up at all (even in the reveals). There's no way for us to know who killed them as Jessica nor Marco revealed that they had recently been out of town. However, given the fact Jessica and Karl were accounted for the next morning after the murder, knowing the large distance between Woodsboro, California, and Pine Grove, Indiana, this leaves Marco as the likely suspect as he does not even live in town. Karl would find it hard crossing states, being an escaped mental patient, and given Sidney's overall paranoia, Jessica would also be unlikely to leave without incriminating herself. Another clue to this being Marco is the fact Stu's death certificate and records were stolen from Woodsboro, and Marco, having a background in Google security, is the most likely suspect.
Sidney's first phone call: Ghostface, who calls Sidney, is the same Ghostface who later kills Hannah, for evidence see below. This is confirmed to be Jessica.
Hannah and Aaron's murders: The murder occurred around 11:26 am. This is Jessica since the caller confirmed she was outside the school, as Ghostface ambushed and attacked Aaron behind stage slitting his throat before playing with Hannah's costume rigging, causing her to get tangled in the rope, dangling. She slashed Hannah's arm and leg before stabbing her in the gut and then eviscerating her. We think it's likely her because Mark mentioned the killer knew the theatre's layout with precision, which she would know as her son worked there. Also, even though she and Lucas had an alibi, the only thing that was confirmed was his presence at home at one point until the moment the police called in for questioning, but not the entire time.
The Evan's home attack: This was Karl Gibbs, as he was unmasked after being run over by Gale.
Sidney's second phone call at 9:52 pm: This call happened after the attack on the Evans family, meaning the caller could have been Jessica or Marco. This is Jessica as she and Lucas were seen talking to Gale before that, and the Ghostface on the call was heavily taunting Gale.
Mark's attack: This was likely Jessica, as it occurs during the curfew, when Sidney and Gale meet Marco at the mental hospital a few hours away, whilst Jessica lives next door.
Sidney's third phone call: This could've been either, as both Jessica and Marco were at the bar. However, as she was inside ready to attack the group whilst he was outside, this makes Marco the likely culprit. See below for more evidence.
The bar attack, Chloe's and Lucas' murders: Since Marco reveals he is the Ghostface that Tatum shot at and incapacitated, that makes him the Ghostface who chased her all the way from the bar, making Jessica the one who attacks the Meeks twins and kills Lucas and Chloe. This explains why she arrives much later at Sidney's store where Tatum is caught.
Tatum's attack and Ben's murder: This attack happens at the same time as the bar attack, and since we know that Jessica is the one that killed Lucas in the bar, this was Marco, as he confirms he was the one who got shot. He is temporarily taken out by Tatum, but Jessica appears and helps Marco kidnap Tatum. Because of this, Marco is responsible for Ben's murder. He stabs him to death when he appears to help Tatum.
Tatum's kidnapping: Both Jessica and Marco.
Sidney's fourth phone call: Both of the killers were together and accounted for, so either of them could have called Sidney. This had to have been Marco as he is calmer.
Deepfakes of Stu Macher, Roman Bridger, Nancy Loomis and Dewey Riley: Marco, as he was luring Sid to the back porch.
Marco's murder: Sidney, via headshot, after Jessica's reveal.
Jessica's murder: This was Tatum who shot her thrice in the abdomen, and then Sidney and Tatum finished her off during the "One last scare", shooting her repeatedly in the head and face, killing her instantaneously.
Relationships
For more information, see below for Victims, and individual listed characters pages. Furthermore, see category page Relationship and see page in it's category, Groups.
In the climax of Scary Movie, the killer was revealed to be both Bobby Prinze and Ray Wilkins. However, it turns out they were copycat killers of a serial killer that already existed. The real killer was Doofy Gilmore, a policeman who had been faking mental retardation.
In Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth, the killer's mask is not originally that of Ghostface, but begins as a hockey mask which resembles the one worn by Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series. After being set on fire when the killer tried to smoke a cigarette, it melted to resemble Ghostface. In this film, unlike the Scream version of Ghostface, he constantly fails to kill anyone important; the various kills are accidental, or people in the background with almost no part in the plot. In the climax of the film, the killer turns out to be Doughy's long lost twin cousin. He is accidentally shot by Hagatha, who was using a gun as a mirror to touch up her make-up. He later attempts to escape, after waking up in a mockery of the usual horror shock endings, only to be shot many times by Doughy and beaten up by a mob of cops who mistake him for being black. He still survives, and as revealed in a where-are-they-now segment, he apparently settled down. At the end of the film, it turns out that another person has taken up the guise of Ghostface, and apparently has better skills, attacking his victims with ninja-like tactics.
Roger L. Jackson reprises his role of Ghostface in the Robot Chicken episode "That Hurts Me" as one of the movie killer contestants in a show that parodies Big Brother. He portrays the token black character so often seen in reality shows. He launches a prank war on Pinhead, purposefully shrinks Freddy Krueger's sweater in the wash, and when given a free cell phone call, he calls Drew Barrymore to threaten her and complain that the Charlie's Angelssequel sucked. When both he and Michael Myers were set to be eliminated, Ghostface gave a heartfelt speech about how he'd cherished his time on the show and wouldn't hold any grudges over being eliminated, which saved him from elimination, as opposed to Michael, who simply stabbed Freddy repeatedly as a response, which didn't even make Freddy bleed, but instead merely annoyed him.
Ghostface has also made a cameo in Tripping the Rift, as the judge in the episode when Chode sells his soul to the devil and finds a way to sue him.
In the anime Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Mr. Despair attempts to dream of his own death scene. The screen switches to a familiar shower scene from Psycho as Mr. Despair is taking a shower. Suddenly he is attacked by Bruce Lee, Darth Vader, Ghostface, and other familiar faces before dying the exact same way in Psycho.
In his book Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, Adam Rockoff opined that Ghostface's mask was a "striking, surreal and downright terrifying presence". Calling the mask a "hyperbolic rendering" of Edvard Munch's The Scream, Rockoff wrote that the 'face' is "twisted in an exaggerated, almost mocking grin, as if reflecting the look of terror and surprise on his victims' faces."
Scream Ghostface costume. A popular choice for Halloween
Tony Magistrale also discussed the similarities between Ghostface's mask and The Scream in his book Abject Terrors: Surveying the Modern and Postmodern Horror Film, stating that the painting "an apt representation of the degree of alienation from other people inspires the killers' murderous agenda". The mask of Ghostface is widely renowned for it's major appearance on Halloween night. It has been the most common costume on Halloween since the launch of it. There are many variations such as a mask where it can produce fake blood. Also, in the 2010 Halloween, there were new costumes of Ghostface. One that was a scarecrow, and the other, having the regular robe, but with a zombie mask.
Weapons and Equipment
Buck 120 Hunting Knife: The iconic weapon of the Ghostface killer. Usually used to stab victims, slit their throats or gut them.
Cellular phone: Though rarely seen, Ghostface would use a handheld portable phone in tandem with the voice-changer to initiate contact with his victims either to leave threatening messages or taunt and ease them into a state of panic before going in for an attack.
Voice-changer: An electronic device used to mask the killer's real voice and change it to a deep, grunting voice.
Video Camera: Used by the 'Remake' killers, to record a video of them murdering their victims in order to obey the rule of which the killer should film the murders.
Out of the image
Gun: Usually used when Ghostface finally reveals his/her identity to their last victim.
Abilities and Attributes
Unlike supernatural killers, such as Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger, Ghostface is human, but has several skills of a deadly killer. Ghostface is skilled in spying and stealth, allowing him or her to hide in unexpected places. Also, he or she exhibits extreme durability against physical harm and has high levels of physical strength. As seen in Scream 2, he was able to kill Officer Andrews and Officer Richards, who were considered two of Chief Lewis Hartley's best men. In the fourth and fifth entries, they are able to kill multiple deputies and eventually Sheriff Judy Hicks. Also, in the 5th film, Dewey Riley finally meets his demise after surviving multiple near fatal attacks throughout the series. In the sixth film, Kirby Reed is revealed to be an FBI agent and towards the end of the movie nearly dies after having been shot by Wayne Bailey after he reveals himself and his children to be the killers, and is stabbed in her old wound stab spot from Charlie, by Ethan. In Scream 3, he was able to kill both Cotton Weary and Jennifer Jolie's bodyguard, Steven Stone, despite their size.
They are also shown to be great at evasion. In the first Scream, after killing Casey Becker and Steven Orth, they are able to escape before Casey's parents find her body. In Scream 2, at the start of the movie, they are able to kill both Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens at a screening of Stab and able to leave without been seen, due to most of the patrons wearing Ghostface costumes throughout the theater. Later on, they are able to kill Randy Meeks on campus with hundreds of students nearby during broad daylight and able to escape without being seen. In Scream 4, after killing Olivia Morris, they are able to evade Sidney Prescott, who attempted to try and help Olivia before finding her dead body. In the sixth film, they're able to kill Dr. Christopher Stone and break into his home during the day and are able to leave without being seen. Later in the movie, they wound Mindy Meeks-Martin while on the subway with dozens of passengers onboard and able to leave without being seen.
Ghostface seems to display a heightened sense of awareness. He or she is often able to know where his victims are located before a physical attack, where they are hiding, and/or to be where they will attempt to escape. As seen in Scream 2, he was able to tell if, when, and where his victim would place his head against a bathroom stall dividing wall (enabling Ghostface to stab the target in the head from the next stall over).
Ghostface is strong enough to lift up a person and to stun his victims with punches. He can endure several damages like having a beer bottle thrown on his face and surviving some stab or bullet wounds. Ghostface is very skillful in wielding his knife and has enough strength to puncture through doors with his knife. Ghostface kills his victims by stabbing them on vital points or slitting their throats.
He is also fast enough to catch most of his victims. Wayne Bailey was shown to be quick enough to dodge a shotgun blast from the Bodega Clerk that he eventually steals the weapon from and kills.
The first two Ghostface killers (Billy and Stu) would often gut their victims and hang their corpses.
Throughout the series, Ghostface is shown to be great at manipulation. At the start of the first movie, they are able to trick Casey Becker into playing a game of trivia in order to save her boyfriend, Steven Orth, however when she gets a trick question wrong, they kill him and eventually her soon after. Then towards the end of the movie, Billy Loomis tricks his girlfriend, Sidney Prescott into thinking the killer (Stu Macher) attacked him, before revealing himself to indeed be one of the killers. In Scream 2, when Mickey Altieri reveals himself as a killer, he tricks Sidney into thinking her boyfriend and his friend, Derek Feldman was his partner in the killings, which makes Sidney hesitant to help Derek despite his pleas. Mickey then kills Derek and mocks Sidney for not trusting him.
In Scream 3, Roman Bridger had a voice changer that could copy other voices, confusing his victims (the Assembly Cut of the film explained this in a brief, deleted scene where Ghostface downloads his target's voices via audio files on a computer and transfers them onto mini-CDs of which the killer imprinted them from after ejecting them from the computer's disc slot after completing the transfer; using these discs in his voice changer to mimic anyone's voices based on their pre-recorded vocals online). At the start of Scream 3, he calls Cotton Weary and pretends to be a female fan flirting with him before using the Ghostface voice and taunting him by saying he broke into his home and is going to kill Christine Hamilton, his girlfriend. He then attacks Christine after she gets out of her shower and uses Cotton's voice and tells her he is just playing around. By the time the real Cotton gets to his home, Christine is convinced he is her attacker and ignores his warnings about Ghostface and attacks him with a golf club, Ghostface then shows up and kills her. Cotton tried to fight back, but was too weak, due to his injury from the golf club and Roman kills him. He was able to convince actress Sarah Darling to come meet him at the empty studio, of which she gets locked inside in all alone and Roman taunts her as Ghostface before killing her. Later at John Milton's mansion, Roman fakes his death with a fake dummy of himself (or he faked it using prosthetics for his death by stabs using fake blood and knife in his chest, as well as taking a medication to suppress his breathing and heartbeat, as Gale found him in the coffin and checked his pulse. This would track with Roman faking his death successfully, given he was the film director, the second to do so after Roman's mentee, Billy, and succeeded by Quinn Bailey. Given the original first four films' director Wes Craven's commentary in the third film on Roman's facade's plausibility) and goes on to kill the rest of the Stab 3 cast and eventually revealed himself as the killer and eventually kills the infamous horror producer Milton, whom he had kidnapped, similar to Neil in the first film.
In Scream 4, Ghostface (Charlie Walker) calls Kirby Reed and Jill Roberts and tells Kirby to check the closet, she goes to check and finds it empty, which he taunts them and says he wasn't talking about Jill's closet and reveals himself to be hiding at Olivia Morris' closet and kills her. At the start of Scream (2022), Ghostface (Richie Kirsch) calls Tara Carpenter and tricks her into a game of trivia after threatening to kill her best friend, Amber Freeman (not knowing she is one of the killers alongside her sister's boyfriend, Richie Kirsch). Towards the end at Amber's house, they are able to steal Liv McKenzie's phone to lure Liv's boyfriend and Randy's nephew, Chad Meeks-Martin and attack him. When Chad doesn't return, his sister, Mindy suspects Liv of being the killer, before being attacked herself, both alone after the party dies down at Amber's house, which was also Stu's house from the first film. Liv then returns to the house with blood on her hands claiming to find Chad's wounded body, before being killed by Amber Freeman, who reveals herself to be the killer alongside Richie Kirsch. In Scream VI, Quinn Bailey (with the help of her father, Wayne) is able to fake her death before revealing herself to be one of the killers alongside her family. Wayne Bailey is able to trick both the Carpenter sisters and Meeks-Martin twins (Core Four) towards the end by saying Kirby Reed was exiled from the FBI due to her mental health, which allows Wayne and his children to trap them all at the theatre before they reveal themselves to be the killers.
Ghostface wore a bulletproof vest under his Father Death costume, which allowed him to survive gunshots to the chest. The bulletproof vest would then turn out to be an essential tool later used as protection for other killers, such as Amber Freeman, Wayne Bailey, and Quinn Bailey.
Every killer has shown basic knowledge in the handling of firearms but have never carried out a shooting murder while in disguise. Every gun purposely used by the killers were always acquired from an outside source (e.g. downed police officers). While all the Ghostface killers are shown to use handguns after unmasking themselves, Wayne Bailey is the first to kill with a shotgun while still masked after successfully disarming the Bodega clerk. Bailey was likely the most skilled Ghostface in firearms due to his law enforcement background.
Ghostface is sometimes a little bit of a klutz; Ghostface gets hit by doors and other objects like a refrigerator door while fighting with Tatum, and sometimes fall down to the floor while chasing Sidney. This ability likely renders from the fact that their mask gives them minimal eyesight while in pursuit, thus making their viewpoint slump in the way of other surroundings below or around them.
Seven of the Ghostface killers (Billy, Mickey, Roman, Jill, Amber, Ethan and Jessica) have been able to survive potentially fatal wounds and spring back up for one last scare (although they were killed immediately after). The other eight Ghostface killers and accomplices were killed beforehand and thus never committed their one last scare moment (Stu, Nancy, Charlie, Richie, Quinn, Wayne, Karl and Marco), with Charlie being the only killed by his accomplice.
Despite actually being different people, Ghostface has a habit of menacingly wiping the blood off his knife with one gloved hand and has a thorough knowledge of horror film genre, including tropes, conventions, and trivia.
Behind the Scenes
The character was inspired by a real-life serial killer, Daniel Harold Rolling (dubbed the Gainesville Ripper), who murdered five college students in Gainesville, Florida over four days in August 1990. Rolling was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 1994, before being executed in 2006 at the Raiford Prison, where he was interred at its onsite cemetery.
In Scream, Stu was meant to mention having to pee before Sidney is attacked in the high school bathroom, but it was believed to be too strong a clue that he was the killer.
In the original Scream 2 script, there are three killers: Mrs. Loomis, Derek Feldman, and Hallie McDaniel (the sixth film derived from said script with differences in each film, although similarly applying with there being an older killer guiding young ones, although in the sixth film, they're a family trio; also in the sixth with there being 2 male killers and 1 female, as opposed to the original trio of killers in the original script from the second film being 1 male and 2 female killers).
In the original Scream 3 script, Angelina Tyler is a second killer. She reveals herself to be a former classmate of Sidney's and now in a relationship with Roman.
Currently, eight Ghostface killers have been family members, with the other four Ghostface killers as the accomplices to these separate family member killers as friends or mentee's (Billy to Stu, Mickey to Nancy) or lovers (Charlie to Jill, Amber to Richie), throughout all six Ghostface massacres, so far (Roman as the only single Ghostface solo killer, who's younger half-cousin, Jill, attempted to do as well after betraying her accomplice, like Nancy to Mickey), from three families being:
The Loomis Family (son, Billy and mother, Nancy, responsible for the respective first two Ghostface massacres), the Prescott/Roberts Family (Sidney's older half-brother, Roman, responsible for the third massacre as Sidney's maternal teen cousin, Jill, helmed the fourth), and the Kirsch/Bailey Family, with the latter being the newest responsible for the fifth and sixth massacres (son, Richie having done the fifth massacre, while his father, Wayne, and his children being Richie's two younger siblings, middle child/sister Quinn and the youngest brother Ethan, committing the sixth).
The original first two Ghostface massacres of the mid-1990s (the original Woodsboro Murders in 1996, Windsor College Murders in 1997), in "requel "trend, are loosely reapplied as callbacks during the fifth and sixth massacres in the early-2020s (Third Woodsboro Murders in 2022, the fifth killing spree, to the New York Murders in 2023, sixth overall), all 26 years apart, it's elements involve two grieving, revenge stricken parents (Nancy and Wayne) after the deaths of their sons as Ghostface killers (teenage Billy to Nancy, adult Richie to Wayne) in Woodsboro, who'd failed to finish their killing sprees and died at the hands of their girlfriends and final girl survivors/protagonists (Sidney to Billy, to Billy's daughter, Samantha to Richie).
This leads the parents to take on the Ghostface mantle of their deceased sons to follow the survivors to college and commit a sequel killing spree (often referred to as copycat murders) at their targets and the survivors' respective colleges (Windsor College in Ohio, Blackmore University in New York City), targeting them, their new friends and love interests, and various others.
Difference being that unlike Nancy, posing as a reporter under an alias and hiring serial killer Mickey, a student and a part of Sidney's friend group at Windsor, police detective Wayne over 26 years after Nancy, instead recruits his own children and his former elder's son's siblings to attend Blackmore University, who'd wound up as roommates to the survivors, with only Ethan using an alias (whether either first or last name, or both, is unclear).
The reverse of the college murders in Scream VI taking place in a real-world location (New York City) despite at a fictional college, which in itself is in the requel trend. a reverse to Scream 2 (fictional college in real state of Ohio) as well as in the original trilogy the sequel to 2, Scream 3 (the first instance of the whole franchise setting a massacre in a real-world location, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California), that which Scream 7 reverses Scream 3 in its location setting, opting for a small fictional town, Pine Grove, Indiana, following the previous sixth massacre taking place in a real-world locale (New York City); as the "requel" trilogy (starting with Scream (2022) as the fifth film, Sept. 2022, concluded in Nov. 2026 by the seventh film, Scream 7), serves as a reverse mirroring of the original trilogy (Sept. 1996- Feb. 2000), in respects to the new order of settings of each Ghostface massacre(s).
Billy and Stu, aside from remaining thus far, the first and only same-sex Ghostface duo in the Scream franchise, are the first two killers, whose relatives ended up being central to the beginning and end of the Third Woodsboro Murders (2022),
As the first as a victim being Stu's nephew, Vince Schneider, being the first victim with Billy's daughter, Samantha Carpenter, as the final girl defeating the killers, with her own boyfriend, Richie, a Stab fanatic and purist who was obsessed with her father in the fandom, alongside his accomplice, teen Amber, also a fan and who's a former successor owner to Stu's house, 261 Turner Lane (Richie and Amber paralleled Samantha's father and his accomplice, 26 years prior).
Four Ghostface killers as family members, from two separate bloodlines, each share a bloodline to their kin as being the firstborn daughters of the former couple, Sidney and Billy, separately, frm the original film and first Ghostface murders.
Samantha Carpenter in the Loomis family (Billy's daughter, Nancy's granddaughter).
Tatum Evans from Scream 7 (Sidney's daughter, Roman's half-niece and Jill's first cousin, once removed).
The only person to wear the Ghostface costume and use the voice changer who wasn't a murderer was Sidney. During a brief moment in Scream, she does this to turn the tables on Billy and Stu. It can be argued that she is a murderer since she kills several of the killers later in the franchise, though she was only doing it in self-defense. She is succeeded by Samantha Carpenter, arguably, due to her father being Billy Loomis, and having the lust, psychologically, for murdering like her father, albeit in self-defense. Sam during the sixth film, like Sidney in the first, dons her father's old costume and knife, ironically, to murder Wayne Bailey and calls him beforehand by also using the voice changer.
Out of the seven Ghostface killing sprees in the films, only two of them have occurred, in-universe, in real world locations and cities; the first being Hollywood/Los Angeles, California in Scream 3 on February 1-4, 2000, second being New York City, New York in Scream VI on October 29-31/November 1, 2023.
The only instances in the franchise of people wearing the Ghostface costume and not being killers is both two unnamed male students in the first Scream (which was hinting to the ultimate reveal of two male killers, subliminal), and the movie audience during the opening of Scream 2, during a sneak peek of the first Stab (which in turn is a meta reference to Scream; and the 1996 Woodsboro Murders, whose source material was derived off the book Gale Weathers wrote about the events, making it a film-within-a-film), as well as New Yorkers throughout the city (excluding Jason Carvey) wearing it as a Halloween costume during the New York Murders during Halloween week, 2023, in Scream VI, succeeded by Scott wearing the costume to scare his girlfriend, Madison, in Scream 7.
The 3 victims of the copycat murders from Scream 2 are:
The copycat murders of Scream 2 are a dangling plot point. Mickey and Mrs. Loomis begin murdering victims based on their names matching those of the original Woodsboro Murders, but stop at 3. While the investigators discover the pattern, nothing comes of this, or is mentioned in the final confrontation. This is fleshed out slightly more in earlier drafts of the script, but still not resolved. Whether the two killers planned this as a red herring or altered course as they went along remains to be seen. From a story perspective, this fits in with the two killers having very different motives.
The murders in Scream 3 follow a similar path to Scream 2. Roman killed the cast in the order their characters died in the Stab 3 script, until veering off course and killing without a pattern, just as Mickey and Mrs. Loomis started as copycat killers until Randy's murder. In both cases, characters tried deducing who would be the next victim based on the pattern right when the killer stopped using the pattern.
The Scream 3 characters may indeed have been killed in accordance with the Stab 3 script if you allow for the exceptions of non-cast members (Christine Hamilton, Steven Stone, and John Milton). Cotton Weary was set to cameo as himself in the opening death scene and he was the first actor to die. Sarah Darling's Candy was the second to die. It's known that Ricky was written to die and since the fictionalized Gale Weathers was set to be the killer, she would have died last. Tyson Fox dies between Sarah and Jennifer Jolie, who was the last killed. It's unknown if Sidney and Dewey's characters were set to be killed, but since Tori Spelling and David Schwimmer didn't return, it's likely the producers wanted to kill the characters off, making it possible that they died in the order Tom Prinze and Angelina Tyler were murdered.
One of the killers "Came back to life for one last scare" in each film:
Billy Loomis (shot in the head by Sidney) - Scream (1996)
Mickey Altieri (shot in the chest by Sidney and Gale) - Scream 2
Roman Bridger (shot in the head by Dewey) - Scream 3
Jill Roberts (shot in the heart by Sidney) - Scream 4
It would have been possible that Nancy could have returned for one last scare, but she was shot in the head by Sidney, after she and Gale killed Mickey.
Ghostface killed a pair of victims in the opening of each film, except Scream (2022):
Chloe Parker (throat impaled with glass shard) - Scream 7
Lucas Bowden (head impaled on bar tap ornament) - Scream 7
Like Cici Cooper in Scream 2 and Tyson Fox in Scream 3 before her, Anika was stabbed prior to falling to her death by Ghostface.
However, unlike the others, Anika wasn't thrown off or pushed, but rather due to escaping via a ladder and trying to crawl to another building while suspended on a high level and a horizontal makeshift ladder, was thwarted in her attempt to escape by Ghostface, due to the other side from where they escaped being not overseen.
Roman, Ethan, Quinn, Karl and Marco are the only killers who die in their Father Death costumes.
Roman Bridger was the only Ghostface who had no accomplice.
Each of the Ghostface in the first 4 movies killers had the opportunity to kill off the 3 main characters:
Billy nearly stabs Sidney (Gale shoots him before he does that). The scene before that, Stu and Billy were about to kill Sidney if it weren't for Gale distracting them. (Scream)
Ghostface also stabbed Dewey in the back, but he survived. (Scream)
Ghostface brutally stabs Dewey, but he survives once again. (Scream 2)
Mickey reflexively shoots Gale, but she survived. Before that, Mrs. Loomis had her at gunpoint and could have killed her instantly. (Scream 2)
Sidney intensely escapes a police car through a knocked-out Ghostface at the driver's seat. Mrs. Loomis has Sidney on a knife-point (Cotton Weary ends up saving Sidney by shooting Mrs. Loomis). (Scream 2)
Gale falls into a basement along with Ghostface who was knocked-out temporarily. (Scream 3)
Ghostface throws his knife at Dewey into his head, but the handle hits him instead and knocks him out. (Scream 3)
Ghostface ties Gale and Dewey together to hold them as hostage to lure Sidney when he could've just killed them. (Scream 3)
Roman strangles Sidney to death, but stops when Dewey turns down the electricity of the house, he also shot her with a gun (but she wore a bullet-proof vest) and could've shot her in the head. (Scream 3)
Ghostface had the chance to stab Gale at a vital point, but hesitated when Dewey fires his gun. Jill also held Gale at a gun-point and was going to shoot her. (Scream 4)
Jill threatens to blow Dewey's head off with his gun. (Scream 4)
Jill could've stabbed Sidney even more in Kirby's house, but she was probably in a hurry as she was aware that the police were coming. (Scream 4)
Jill Roberts being the killer is ironic. Her character is based on Sidney Prescott and the fact that she is a Ghostface killer is a reference to the fact that some fans often speculate that Sidney Prescott would eventually become the Ghostface killer due to witnessing the deaths of the people close to her.
Jenny Randall and Marnie Cooper represent Casey Becker and Steven Orth (killed first simultaneously after one receives a call from Ghostface. A deleted scene shows that they were hung and tied to a chair like Casey and Steve).
Trevor Sheldon represents Neil Prescott. Both were kidnapped, bound and gagged, and would-be framed for the murder spree.
Jill and Charlie's plan to make their innocence in the killing spree more solid by stabbing each other, is just like Billy and Stu's plan in the first movie.
Jill stabbing Charlie to death on purpose, is a reference to Scream 2 when Mrs. Loomis betrays her accomplice, Mickey.
It is arguable that Jill and Charlie also tried to 'remake' the Windsor College Murders since a few of their victims' deaths are parallel to the Windsor College victims:
Ghostface slashes Jill's arm to make Sidney think that Ghostface is trying to kill her, this is similar to Ghostface slashing Derek's arm leading Sidney to doubt whether he is an accomplice of Ghostface.
Rebecca was thrown from a several stories building, similar to Cici's death who was thrown off a two-story building from the balcony.
Robbie's death was reminiscent of Randy's brutal murder.
Kirby's attack was reminiscent of Hallie's murder, as both were attacked by surprise by Ghostface.
Sidney killed both murderers by herself in Scream. In Scream 2, Cotton shot Mrs. Loomis to free Sidney. Mrs. Loomis was shot again by Sidney, making her the third killer killed by Sidney. Mickey was shot by both Sidney and Gale. In Scream 3, Sidney mortally wounded Roman, but in the end, Dewey is the one who killed him. Charlie was killed by Jill, and Sidney also killed the last of the "remake killers", her cousin, Jill. This repeats in Scream 7, where Sidney shoots Marco in the head, and with the help of her daughter, is able to shoot Jessica to death in the face and head.
Both female killers, Jill Roberts and Mrs. Loomis, betrayed their accomplices in the end.
The remake killers, Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker have similarities to the previous 5 killers:
They are a duo similar to Billy and Stu as well as Mrs. Loomis and Mickey.
Charlie is betrayed by his accomplice just like Mickey.
Both tried to attack and failed to kill Sidney.
Both planned to frame someone else.
Both attempted to stab each other to make it seem they were attacked by the killer.
Jill craves for fame of being the survivor of the new Ghostface killing spree just like Roman Bridger.
Each of the Ghostface killers, except Mickey, Richie, Ethan, or Jessica gets themselves hit by a glass object:
Billy Loomis: beer bottle thrown into the face (whilst attacking Tatum Riley).
Stu Macher: vase smashed into his head, Television screen smashes into his face (getting killed by Sidney Prescott).
Nancy Loomis: a prop jar is smashed to her head (after Sidney distracted her).
Roman Bridger: a beer bottle is smashed into his face (whilst having a physical fight with Sidney).
Charlie Walker: a glass picture frame is smashed into his shoulder (whilst trying to attack Sidney).
Jill Roberts: runs into a glass picture frame and jumps onto a glass coffee table (Self Inflicted).
Amber Freeman: thrown and smashed with glass hand sanitizer bottle on her head and face, causing her to become spread with the flammable substance before set on fire (whilst having a physical fight with Sidney and Gale, bottle thrown by Sidney).
Quinn Bailey: thrown down onto a glass table (whilst attacking Gale Weathers).
Wayne Bailey: falls onto a glass display case (after charging at Sam and falling over a ledge with her).
Marco Davis: shoved into a storefront window (whilst murdering Ben Brown and in an attempted attack on Tatum Evans, who shoved him).
In Scream 4, it is proven that Marnie Cooper is the Steven Orth in the film as she is first to die, while Jenny Randall as the Casey Becker as she has a vast knowledge of horror movies and is taunted before dying as the fourth installment is following the remake movies this century.
Although several people have worn the Ghostface mantle throughout the franchise, all follow a certain pattern; there is probably more than one killer (Roman Bridger was the only Ghostface to act alone). The partnership is a sham so that the main killer will later get rid of his accomplice to save himself (Roman convinced Billy to involve Stu simply so he could frame him if something went wrong. Nancy didn't hesitate to shoot Mickey to make him take the blame, even though he was also more than willing to betray her. And Jill used Charlie, taking advantage of his feelings only to kill him and discard him later to frame him). The only exceptions are Amber and Richie, and Wayne, Ethan, and Quinn, who showed signs of actually caring about each other. All of them, at least the main killer, are linked to Sidney Prescott or one of the previous killers, either directly or indirectly (Billy was Sidney's boyfriend and Stu was a close friend, Nancy was Billy's mother, Roman was Sidney's illegitimate older half-brother, as well as the person who's responsible for instigating Billy and Stu to kill Maureen Prescott, initiating Ghostface's first wave of murders, Jill was Sidney's cousin, Richie was the boyfriend of Samantha, Billy's illegitimate daughter, and Wayne, Ethan and Quinn were Richie's father and two younger siblings. Jessica was Sidney's obsessive fan and her neighbor). A high level of knowledge about horror films (Billy, Stu and Mickey were big fans of the horror genre, Roman was the director responsible for directing the film, Stab 3, and the rest were fanatics of Stab's film franchise).
Scream 7 marks the first time none of the Ghostface killers use a gun.
↑Indirectly, since his affair with Maureen led to her murder that unknowingly started the first Ghostface massacre started by his son and the second done by his ex-wife to avenge their son. Neither son or ex-wife had killed him for his involvement in the affair that led to their murder sprees.
