Author’s Note: I’m a self professed obsessed true crime fan. Not for the viscera and horror of the crime scene, but for the investigations themselves. They are a bit by bit, footprint by footprint, fiber by fiber detailed breakdown of the who, what, when, where, and why of a horrific or mysterious act, with science used to shed light on a shadowed truth intended to be hidden by the perpetrator. Using the evidence left behind, the forensic pathologists employ technology, chemistry, and investigative skill to solve the mystery, and provide logic to what is a seemingly illogical crime and motive, like modern day Sherlock Holmes’ in white lab coats.
One of my favorite cases to obsess over is The Babysitter Murders of Haddonfield, IL from the late 1970s. It happened when I was still a baby, but was constantly in the media as I grew up. It was my first introduction of what a “boogeyman” was, and I’ve been terrified and mystified ever since.
More times than I can count, I’ve seen John Carpenter’s film adaptation HALLOWEEN, based on his and Debra Hill’s true crime best seller by the same name, about the murders. I’ve watched countless professional and fan-made YouTube documentaries that seem to get updated with new details (and conspiracy theories) every other year or so, read multiple true crime books about the killings, and collected the occasional news article.
With the anniversary of the murders approaching, and the killers’ violent escape from prison almost a year ago, Haddonfield has been back in the news almost daily. I wanted to see for myself, this now near mythic town that’s been causing so much noise lately, and the locations of some of the most horrific crimes of our time. So I hopped in my car, put on some B.O.C. as my soundtrack, and took a road trip to the home of The Boogeyman; Haddonfield, IL.
Below is a small write up and photo essay of that adventure.
-Chops ’19
“Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts.
Covens of witches with all of their hopes.
You may think they scare me. You’re probably right.
Black cats and goblins on Halloween night.
Trick or treat!” – childs halloween poem; title and author unknown
It was 1978 on Halloween that terror was unleashed on the small, quiet town of Haddonfield, IL. Completely unexpected and seemingly out of nowhere, a psychotic killer was on the loose, having broken out of a mental institution, and wreaked bloody havoc on middle American teenagers. As costumed children were trick-or-treating, getting their bags filled with candy, murders were taking place in the homes they passed by. The killer? Michael Myers…who became Haddonfield’s very own “Boogeyman”.
Fifteen years prior, then 6 year old Myers, for reasons unknown, murdered his older sister Judith while she was babysitting him on Halloween night 1963. He was then institutionalized at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, a mental health facility for the criminally insane 150 miles north of Haddonfield.
For the entirety of Myer’s stay in the hospital, his state awarded doctor, Dr. Samuel Loomis, tried in vain to figure out why he murdered, especially at such a young age. But Michael never uttered a word. Not to Loomis. Not to anyone.
Dr. Loomis had this to say about Myers as a patient when being interviewed at the time of the murders, “I met him, 15 years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding in even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this… six-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and… the blackest eyes – the Devil’s eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realized that what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply…evil.”
Then on October 30th, 1978, several inmates, including Myers, escaped the mental facility. He stole Dr. Loomis’ car, disappeared into the torrential rainstorm, and made his way back home to Haddonfield. There, he would embody the persona of “Boogeyman”. A masked mystery, hiding in the shadows, stalking his innocent and unaware prey, high school student Laurie Strode, while playing a game of cat and mouse with her throughout the day, ultimately killing several of her friends, and attempting to kill her. This series of murders became famously known as The Babysitter Murders.
No one knows why he chose Strode. For years there was a rumor going around that Laurie was somehow related, possibly his sister, but with reporters’ research through government records, this proved to be false. It seems, he had by chance seen her in public after his escape, and developed a fixation with her. A deadly fixation.
The next night, on Halloween, 1978, he killed 3 of her friends at the Wallace residence while she babysat little Tommy Doyle at his home across the street. Then the Boogeyman came for her.
Fortunately, Dr. Loomis had been on Myer’s trail since his escape 24 hours prior, and rescued Laurie before she too was murdered.
Within the Doyle house, in a bedroom on the 2nd floor, just feet from an injured, bruised, and terrified Laurie, Dr. Loomis unloaded his revolver into Michael’s body, sending him through the open balcony doors and over the ledge, landing in the front yard. Somehow, Myers survived the wounds and fall, and was able to flee the scene. But the blood loss proved to be too much for him to get far. He was captured just a few houses down from where he was shot, and was taken back to Smith’s Grove where he sat incarcerated for 40 years…until his escape on Halloween last year.
Ever on a mission of obsession, Haddonfield’s Boogeyman once again returned to his hometown, terrorizing its residents in his pursuit of his target Laurie Strode. This time leaving behind a large body count that included his current doctor, police, reporters, and even a 12 year old boy.
Laurie, much wiser and somewhat of a reclusive survivalist, attempted to kill him herself this time, trapping him in her home and setting it on fire, but his body was not found in the ashes and embers of the house’s remains once the flames were extinguished.
Serial killer and real life Boogeyman, Michael Myers remains at large to this day.
Director John Carpenter used as many of the real Babysitter Murders crime scene locations as possible in his film HALLOWEEN (78). Being the “location junky” that I am, especially for the macabre, I decided to visit a few of the famous sites, including the “murder houses”, to see what the small-Anywhere USA-town of Haddonfield, IL is like now.
The photo essay below includes still shots from the film as the locations were on that fateful Halloween night, accompanied by photos taken recently of the same sites.
Halloween is just a few days away, so lock your doors, bolt your windows, and don’t ignore that tingling sensation crawling up your spine, alerting you that you’re being watched. As you turn around…slowly…internally asking yourself “Is someone there?”, focus your eyes, and look deep, deep into those shadows you’re facing, for the slightest twitch of movement, or the faint silhouette of human shape. Is…someone there?
The Boogeyman is still at large. He’s wearing darkness as part of his disguise, skulking, watching, waiting for the right moment to emerge from darkened corners to complete his murderous mission, and will let nothing, no one, not even you, stand in his way.
