Have you ever wondered what Michael Myers does between Halloween movies? Well, wonder no more, because we have the most enlightening theory about what the Haddonfield bogeyman might get up to when he’s not slaughtering teenage babysitters on October 31.
In every Halloween movie (except for the anthology flick Season of the Witch), Michael Myers “comes home” to Haddonfield with murder on his mind. But while his arrival is often teased with a few appearances ahead of Halloween night, and though he sometimes outstays his welcome well into the early hours of November 1 to wrap up his kills (1981’s Halloween II, 2021’s Halloween Kills), Michael’s rampage is mostly confined to that one night.
So, what does he do between films, or between one Halloween and the next? There are many answers throughout the franchise—let’s get them out of the way before we dig a bit deeper.
The Gaps Between Every Halloween Movie Explained
Let’s quickly explore the gaps between each Halloween movie.
The first one is nice and easy as there’s simply no gap between the original Halloween (1978) and its sequel Halloween II (1981)—both films take place on the same night.
Between Halloween II (1981) and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Michael is in a coma for 10 years after being set ablaze at the end of the 1981 sequel.
He’s also in a coma for one year between Halloween 4 and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) after being shot by the police and winding up almost drowning in a river, where he’s recovered by a hermit who nurses him back to health.
Halloween 5 and Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) are separated by several years, during which time Michael has been living underground with the Cult of Thorn, whose leader broke him out of jail at the end of Halloween 5.
In Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009), Michael Myers has been drifting through the country for one year after the events of Halloween (2007), hiding from police and biding his time before returning to Haddonfield to try and kill Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton).
Related: Does Michael Myers Actually Talk In ‘Halloween Kills’?!
Michael’s Post-Halloween Kills Whereabouts Make Sense
Halloween (2018), the first film in David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy, ignores every film since John Carpenter’s original 1978 classic. In this timeline, Michael Myers has been incarcerated for 40 years following his killing spree on Halloween night 40 years ago.
Like the first two films, Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981), Halloween (2018) and its sequel Halloween Kills (2021), take place on the same night.
However, in Halloween Ends (2022), which is set four years after Kills, we learn that Michael, who has suffered significant injuries after his encounter with the mob in the 2021 sequel, has been living in a sewer beneath an overpass in Haddonfield’s industrial area.
So, there are some ideas about what Michael does when he’s not terrorizing Haddonfield—and it’s usually because he’s injured in some way. But you might be wondering why we’ve seemingly breezed over Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and Halloween: Resurrection (2002).
Michael’s Whereabouts Between Halloween II (1981) and H20 Remain a Mystery
Halloween H20 is a sequel to Halloween II (1981), and, as such, removes the Thorn trilogy (Halloween 4 through 6) from canon.
The 1998 film finds Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) now living under the alias of Keri Tate, the principal of a prestigious private school in Northern California, a new life she’s forged after faking her own death to escape her evil brother.
But, of course, in true Halloween fashion, Michael Myers returns. After 20 long years.
And herein lies one of the biggest mysteries in the franchise: what has Michael been doing for the past two decades? The last time we saw him in this timeline, he was burning in Haddonfield Memorial Hospital after being blown up by Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence). And don’t forget that H20 ignores Halloween 4, so we know he wasn’t comatose.
Though perhaps unintentionally, Resurrection — which takes place three years after H20 — seemingly answers this question by revealing that Michael Myers has been living beneath his old house in Haddonfield.
But for many fans, the 2002 film isn’t canon because of how it completely retcons its predecessor, claiming that Laurie didn’t kill her brother at the end of H20—that it was an injured paramedic with whom Michael switched clothes before disappearing into the night.
Resurrection Suggests He’s Been Living at Home the Entire Time
If we are going by Resurrection’s revelation, though, then Michael has been living off rats in a makeshift bedroom beneath his old house. Presumably, he spent this time tracking down Laurie, eventually finding out her whereabouts as revealed at the beginning of H20.
But what fans have been dying to know for 27 years is what Michael was doing between Halloween II (1981) and H20. While our theory might seem a bit silly, hear us out, because we might be onto something concrete.
Despite being horribly burned at the end of Halloween II (1981), Michael Myers appears completely scar-free in H20 (yes, he’s wearing a mask, but it’s the most revealing version he’s ever worn, and his eyes are also completely intact despite being shot in each one by Laurie 20 years before)—we know that he likely possesses some supernatural abilities.
Halloween 4, which also follows the 1981 sequel, at least commits to Michael’s burns. So why does he look like he was never caught in an explosion in H20?
But Where Are Michael’s Burns From Halloween II (1981)?
It’s possible that he may have undergone some form of plastic surgery following the incident at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital in 1978. Where, how, and by whom are also a total mystery, but if we’re following a “logical” route, this is the most logical answer.
Even more bizarrely, Michael Myers may have gone on to live a “normal life” after terrorizing Haddonfield that night. Again, we don’t know how he would have forged such an existence for himself, but if Michael’s good at anything else besides escaping maximum-security facilities and killing people, it’s disappearing and becoming elusive for many years at a time.
So, as truly bizarre and wild as it sounds, Michael may have lived the life of a “normal” human being in the 17 years that separate Halloween II (1981) and Halloween H20. Perhaps he has a secret family somewhere, who’ve absolutely no idea that, around October 31 each year, their father/husband becomes a deranged, voiceless, psychopathic killer.
His sister Laurie is certainly skilled at faking an identity and building a new life. Perhaps these siblings are more alike than we thought.
It’s certainly food for thought, and who knows—maybe the upcoming Halloween television series, which will wipe the slate clean for the franchise once again (although plot details are being kept under wraps), will explore this uncharted territory for the bogeyman.
What’s your take? What do you think Michael Myers gets up to between Halloween movies? Let us know in the comments down below!
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