Jack the Clown || HHN Icon

Notes: Jack Schmidt (Jack the Clown) is a character created by the Universal Studios design team as an icon for Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights. He was introduced as the first original icon (but certainly not the first icon in general, as the Classic Monsters, the Cryptkeeper, and Imhotep came before him) for the event during its tenth year, and became so popular that he has been used several more times over the years. He has appeared in Orlando, Hollywood, and Singapore, making him and The Director the only two icons to have appeared in three of the four Universal Studios parks to feature Halloween Horror Nights events.

Personality: Aside from the fact that he is a killer clown, Jack is also a vain glory hound with a huge ego. He considers himself a star performer, and is quick to throw out a few puns and one-liners to get as many laughs as he does screams. He loves to be the center of attention and is jealous of anyone who steals the spotlight: it drives him to homicide when he thinks someone is trying to upstage him. He does show some restraint, such as during performances (or at least until he can improvise the death of the upstart into the act later). He does, however, show some admiration for the work of others - notably his little brother Eddie Schmidt (his first audience), to whom he sent funds to help restart his murder-for-profit business, RUN - and other killers who have a flair for the theatrical. He seems to have little to no respect for "Bio-Exorcist" Beetlejuice, as he says, "I wipe my ass with his striped suit!" or "His ass is on the other side of the park!" He has a romantic side when it comes to Chance, his female clown partner whose appearance and personality was inspired by Batman villain, Harley Quinn.

Appearance: Jack's appearance is a twisted variation on the traditional garish clown getup, most resembling a Grotesque Whiteface Clown. His hair is wild and bright-orange red, and his face is smeared with green and white makeup. Evil, yellow eyes glare out of dark sockets, and he grins with a green-rimmed mouth of yellowed, protruding teeth under a big red nose. His fingernails are long and dirty, and his polka-dotted costume is stained with blood. In PsychoScareapy: Maximum Madness, he was in a straitjacket, with most of his make-up washed off, a beard, and several cuts on his face. In the Carnival of Carnage onwards, his signature polka dot costume was replaced with a red leather coat. With his reappearance at Halloween Horror Nights 25, he retains the leather red coat look, but has traded the classic ringmaster coat for something more akin to a sort of straitjacket. He also seems to have aged, gaining a more weathered look, possibly a side effect of his transformation into the Herald of Chaos during Halloween Horror Nights: Twenty Years of Fear.

Backstory: Halloween Horror Nights Orlando; Jack the Clown was the first original icon with a detailed backstory, and his success prompted the creation of more icons for future events.

Clowns Are Always Laughing on the Outside...; Born in Shady Brook Rest Home and Sanitarium along with his brother Eddie in the late 1800's, John "Jack" Schmidt was a carnival performer who loved to entertain children with his practical pranks and prat-falls during his stint with Dr. Oddfellow’s Carnival Of Thrills. He had escaped a poor and highly abusive family years earlier to "run away and join the circus", leaving behind his younger brother, Eddie. But underneath the greasepaint and clown nose, he was a twisted murderer. He was wanted for the abduction and disappearance of several small children throughout the Southern United States. Police officials and the F.B.I. soon caught on that the missing children followed a pattern that led them closer and closer to the traveling freak show. On Halloween of 1920 (later retconned to 1939 during Halloween Horror Nights 32), the police were closing in on the clown killer. Fearing capture, Jack revealed his sinister secret to Dr. Oddfellow in the hopes of possible concealment. The doctor, himself wanted by the police for the supposedly “accidental” deaths of several patrons in a freak circus accident years earlier under a different name (in truth, actually sacrifices made by Oddfellow to the Zodiac to strengthen his mystical power and extend his life), was not sympathetic to Jack’s cause. He quickly admonished him for potentially bringing the police down upon the entire band of miscreants. He asked Jack to show him what he had done with the bodies of the children. Jack revealed the bodies of thirteen children hidden in the confines of three small trunks that were kept in his traveling coach. Fearing the worst, Dr. Oddfellow had Jack murdered, though not before Jack had managed to wound his betrayer, leaving a deep wound upon Oddfellow’s face and spilling his blood onto Jack’s. With the clown dead, Oddfellow hid the bodies of him and his victims away within the traveling carnival's House of Horrors as part of an exhibit, Jack’s corpse being fittingly and ironically stuffed inside an old Jack-In-The-Box prop and sealed away. Years later, the Carnival was sold by Dr. Oddfellow, and the various dark rides and exhibits were split and sent to various owners around the states, including the House of Horrors and its grisly secret. For decades, no one would know what became of Jack Schmidt after that night, and he was eventually all but forgotten. However, unbeknownst to either the ringmaster or the clown at the time, the blood Oddfellow shed onto Jack during their struggle would trigger a mystical transformation in the clown’s dead body, bestowing the dark magic and immortality Oddfellow had infused into himself upon Jack as well, twisting his broken body and already corrupt soul into an eternal, maniacal terror. Somewhere along the way, during Jack’s initial “hibernation” within the box, the Sumerian demon lord Adaru chose him as one of his new Heralds.

Not Afraid of the Dark?; Sixty years later, in the fall of 1980, a television crew from the BBC was documenting the great Dark Rides of America. They journeyed throughout the eastern seaboard looking for forgotten carnival rides and attractions and stumbled upon the House of Horrors as it sat abandoned in a Louisiana junkyard. The crew asked permission to film the interior, and pried open the doors of the forgotten relic to step inside. The smell of decay was overpowering as the bright camera light illuminated the darkened corridors. Moving past the faded walls and hanging fabric, the smell began to increase. The cameraman retched as he panned his camera towards a series of trunks. Behind the trunks was a large wooden box stenciled like a children's toy. One letter filled each side of the box, J-A-C-K. The cameraman steadied his camera as the host of the show investigated the box. He found a large crank on the side of the box and turned it. It started to move with some resistance, but after a few twists, it freely moved in a clockwise rotation. A clunky musical melody played out as the host turned it. Suddenly, however, the music stopped and wouldn't start again when he continued to rotate it. The camera light suddenly died, and the crank rotated a few spins on its own. The top of the box flew open and a form sprung out. Affixed to a giant spring was the decomposing body of Jack Schmidt. After a thorough police investigation, the bodies of the thirteen children as well as the body of Jack were shipped to the local Louisiana coroner's office for further examination. Around midnight on Halloween, the van carrying the body and box of Jack disappeared into the Louisiana swamp in a freak accident. Later that week, the bodies of the BBC cameraman and host were found as the victims of a grisly and unsolved murder. Throughout the following years, urban legend retellings of the tale started, with a corresponding story about the decomposing body of Jack killing again. The legend states that Jack is searching for Dr. Oddfellow in a thirst for vengeance. The legend also states that Jack will reward anyone who releases him from his toy tomb by turning the crank with a very special reward. In 2000, Universal Studios bought the old props from the old House of Horrors, including the box that Jack was supposedly trapped in for so many years. An unsuspecting Universal employee went to test the validity of the legend, and Jack was unleashed on the unsuspecting Halloween Horror Nights guests for the first (but certainly not the last) time.

Taking over Again; Jack would return to helm the following year during Halloween Horror Nights XI. He would have less of a connection to the haunted houses and scarezones, but he was still present at the event and on much of the merchandise and marketing. Horror Nights Nightmares In 2004, Universal decided to make a movie featuring all of the Halloween Horror Nights icons called Horror Nights Nightmares. However, the set and production started to go awry when the icons (including Jack) went loose and started killing all of the crew. The slaughter would also officially allow the Schmidt brothers to reunite at last, though Eddie still held some reserved animosity towards his sibling (for both abandoning him years prior and stealing his spotlight in 2001).

Beyond Maldaken; In the land of Terra Cruentus, there was a portal that was filled with relics called Maldaken Pass that would transport guests into the theme park where Jack sprung loose before. Jack would host a chain link maze called the Rat Run where he would heckle guests as they tried to make their way through.

The Loony Bin; The Lord of Darkness resurrected Jack and his icons to take place in the birthday celebration. The now mortal Jack was soon caught by the authorities and committed to the place of his birth, Shady Brook Asylum, an institution that had suffered an inmate escape a few years earlier. Though typically isolated in the Maximum Security Ward, Jack's mere presence seemed to have an adverse affect on the unstable population, who started emulating the crazed clown, much to the staff's dismay. Eventually, the inmates started a mass riot, gruesomely tortured the hospital staff, and put Jack in charge of the facility. During the chaos, Jack found records that his former boss and murderer, Dr Oddfellow, was still alive (but presumably now a very old man since he had been on the job since the 1920s) and running a small traveling carnival.

Vengeance at Long Last; Jack left Shady Brook, traveling to the depravity of Dr. Oddfellow's Dark Carnival and Emporium. In the dark of night, Jack stalked into the tents and took his long-overdue vengeance. When he emerged, he was changed. During incarceration, Jack got a taste of what it was like to run the show, and he desired to be the ringmaster of his own carnival. He dressed himself in the bright red coat and boots of a proper Ringmaster, also adorning himself with a crude top hat and terrible trinkets of his liking. He completed the transformation with Dr. Oddfellow's prized possession (which also presumably what kept Oddfellow alive and in motion for 80 years): a silver-headed cane of souls, topped with a mystical skull. Putting the Carnival on hiatus, Jack spent the next few months traveling the world to find the right sideshow acts for his deadly Carnival of Carnage. He gathered a plethora of monsters, mutants, madmen and maniacs, many with egos nearly as large as his own, luring them with promises of fame, fortune, and plenty of fresh victims. After nearly a year of preparation, Ringmaster Jack opened his Carnival of Carnage in Orlando, Florida.

Chaos; In 2010, Jack, along with the other past icons, revealed himself as one of the five minions of Fearhimself. His desire to wreak havoc earned him the title of "Chaos".

The Return; On Halloween of 2014, the last day of Halloween Horror Nights 24, a package was sent out by Universal to various media outlets, which contained a bloodspotted letter closed with a wax seal marked with an "S". Inside the letter was a small flashdrive, marked with a white thumbprint and sealed over a strand of orange hair. On the flashdrive was a short clip thanking fans for attending that year's event while showing various terrifying moments from the houses and scarezones from that year. Near the end of the clip, the screen begins to flash with images of Jack laughing while a broken down music box plays Pop Goes The Weasel. On May 19th, 2015, a video was released by Universal on YouTube showing a darkened corridor, with a dark figure walking toward the camera. As the figure gets closer, an eerie music box tune begins to play Pop Goes The Weasel, and Jack enters into the light, looking much older and wearing a new Ringmaster's outfit. After a few short moments of a black screen, Jack pops up in front of the camera and snarls, "Did you miss me?" before smiling at the viewer and showing the official logo for the 25th year, revealing that Jack was making his grand return for the anniversary. Seemingly drunk with power after his transformation into a Herald, Jack decided he wanted his spotlight back from his former master, Fear, and successfully created a sort of cult around himself, which he called "Jack's Maniacs". With his ego in full swing, he committed himself to proving he was better than Fear, believing himself to be Horror Nights incarnate. He decided to prove his supremacy to everyone by expanding and improving on his Carnival of Carnage, making it more terrifying than ever. Escaping from the lantern through his box, Jack was at last free to put his plan into affect, coercing his fellow Icons to join him in celebrating “The Kill” and restoring Horror Nights to glory. At the conclusion of the event, it was revealed Jack and his partner Chance were detained by authorities, with Jack sealed back inside his box and Chance being committed to Shady Brook Asylum.

Singapore Storyline; During Halloween Horror Nights 4 (Singapore), he was one of the many characters in Jonah Goodwill’sdemocracy. At Halloween Horror Nights 6 (Singapore), he was a part of Lady Death’s Festival where he once again brought his circus.

30th Anniversary; To celebrate the 30th Anniversary, all three of Jack's previous incarnations (2000, 2007, and 2015) would return to celebrate the occasion. It’s unknown how he had escaped from his box, however HHN Icons: Captured would reveal his own realm in the Lantern, modelled after his Carnival of Carnage and containing Chance and the spirits of his Maniacs. It also showed he had managed to establish a sort of “security room”, allowing him to watch over all of Universal to find and capture victims for his own twisted games.

Halloween Horror Nights 32; Jack's origin story is revisited in Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins haunted house during Halloween Horror Nights 32. The house revealed that Jack slashed Dr. Oddfellow's face before he was murdered, spilling the ringmaster's immortal blood on Jack, it would be revealed that both men would be immortal on that very same night.