Halloween 1978: Terrifying facts about the horror classic

When Halloween stalked into cinemas in 1978, it redefined horror for generations to come.

With a haunting score, a faceless killer, and a scream queen debut from Jamie Lee Curtis, John Carpenter’s low-budget masterpiece became a cornerstone of modern cinema.

So, with Halloween just around the corner, here are five eerie facts you might not know about the making of this terrifying slasher …

Jamie Lee Curtis auditioned three times for the role of Laurie Strode and landed it after nailing the scene of Laurie spotting Michael Myers outside her window.

Carpenter had first considered Battlestar Galactica’s Anne Lockhart for the role, but Curtis’s audition - and her enthusiasm for Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 - convinced him she was perfect for the part.

Because the film was shot out of order, Carpenter created a “fear meter” to help Jamie Lee Curtis gauge Laurie Strode’s terror from scene to scene.

The scale ran from one to 10 - one for calm, 10 for sheer panic - helping her maintain consistency in her first major movie role.

Michael Myers’ mask is a horror icon, but it wasn’t something Carpenter had given too much thought to initially.

In fact, the mask was only described as having “the pale, neutral features of a man” in Halloween’s script.

Production designer Tommy Lee Wallace went to a local story and bought a couple of $2 masks of Captain Kirk from Star Trek, painted them white, widened the eye holes, and reshaped the hairline.

Carpenter was happy with Wallace’s work, calling it “the perfect face of evil”.

Carpenter filled his script with inside references.

Michael Myers was named after a British distributor who helped release Assault on Precinct 13, while Laurie Strode came from one of Carpenter’s ex-girlfriends.

Dr. Sam Loomis was named after a character from Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary 1960 horror Psycho, which famously starred Curtis’s real-life mother, Janet Leigh.

Working with around $300,000, Carpenter shot Halloween in just 20 days.

He also composed the now-legendary theme himself in just three days.

Carpenter was paid $10,000 to write, direct, and score Halloween - but wisely negotiated 10 percent of the profits, earning him a major payday once it became a phenomenon.

Halloween grossed more than $70 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable independent films ever made.