Sam: The Spirit of Halloween

Sam: The Spirit of Halloween

Sam, or "Samhain", is the brainchild of film director/writer Michael Dougherty, appearing first in Dougherty's 1996 short film, Season's Greetings, and then in the horror film Trick 'r Treat. He was played by child actor Quinn Lord in the film. Appearing as a seemingly innocent masked trick-or-treater, Sam is revealed to be a demonic pumpkin-like creature who acts as the enforcer for the rules and traditions of Halloween, and is willing to do anything to make sure these rules are honored. Sam is essentially the Spirit of Halloween and has even been said by some to be a personification of the holiday itself. Since the film's release, Sam has become the mascot of Halloween.

Overview

Sam's name originates from Samhain, the origins of Halloween itself. He is depicted as a child dressed in a Halloween costume, which consists of an orange set of pajamas, and a mask made of a burlap sack with buttons for eyes. Sam drags a dirty sack around with him throughout the film, but its contents are unknown, presumably candy; Although the blood stains on the sack and the cat screeching when he drags it down the stairs would strongly suggest otherwise. Despite his childlike appearance, it is established that Sam is more demonic than he appears, hiding a pumpkin-shaped head resembling a skull. Dougherty described Sam's head as a cross "between an embryo and a pumpkin". Quinn Lord, who plays Sam in the film, described his character as being a demon who was born in a pumpkin patch.

File:Animatronic sam.jpg

Sam unmasked

Behavior and Purpose

File:Trick-r-treat.jpg

Sam is quite mischievous

Sam acts very much like a child, being mischievous and appearing to love chocolate. In a deleted scene of the film, Sam is shown flipping the bird to a young child. Sam is the personified being of Halloween itself as well as the enforcer of its traditions and rules. He visits a different town every year on Halloween and appears in Trick 'r Treat to enforce the rules of the holiday and punish those who ignore and defy them. There are many Halloween traditions. The ones demonstrated in the film are: Hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, wear a costume, and never blow out a jack o'lantern before midnight. As enforcer of the rules and rituals of Halloween, Sam takes it upon himself to punish those who break tradition in the most brutal and mischievous way possible. Interestingly enough, Sam's killings seem to suggest a cruel sense of irony. For example, his attempted killing of Mr. Kreeg involved Kreeg falling down a flight of stairs covered with candy, razor blades, and broken glass. This was of course after Kreeg angered Sam by not handing out trick-or-treating candy.

Sam utilizes his weapons: Creating a sharp blade from a half-bitten lollipop, using a razor blade hidden inside a chocolate bar that he trick-or-treated from the local principal, the list goes on.

Abilities

File:Trick-r-treat (1).jpg

He always knows...

Sam naturally possesses dark supernatural powers:

1. Immortality and re-animation (He is shot by Mr. Kreeg which temporarily subdues him, Kreeg then proceeds to blow off Sam's right hand. Sam awakens moments later and reattaches his hand.) He has lived since the ancient Irish pagans holiday where Halloween originated from

2. Scale walls and ceilings much like a spider.

3. Summon the dead to do his bidding.

4. Disappear and reappear when he wants to: When he went trick or treating at Wilkins' house, only to reappear in the pit he was digging, then appear on Mr.Kreeg's property seconds later. (He really knows how to toy with his victims)

5. Telekinesis (Opens the door to make his exit after attacking Mr. Kreeg)

6. Manipulation of Fear. (Sam has mastered the ability to play with his victims' minds)

7. Regeneration: He was shot in the head and had visible damage, but when he came to, the damage was gone. Sam's regeneration power is strong enough to reattach severed parts, i.e. his hand.

8. Superhuman Strength: While fighting Mr. Kreeg, Sam is able to knock him down just by jumping at him. He is also able to break Mr. Kreeg's arm during their fight just by twisting it.

9. Many more...(yet to be defined)

Sam may leave a rule-breaker alone if they decide to follow the rules set by Sam's example. For instance, Sam leaves Mr. Kreeg alone after Kreeg unintentionally offers him some chocolate.

Legend

File:2009-09-11-trick r treat.jpg

Sam

To the untrained eye,

Sam looks like a little boy out for a night of gathering candy,

but what's hidden under the orange footy-pajamas is anything but sweet.

The burlap sack with button eyes and a stitched-on smile shrouds something sinister,

If Sam appears on your doorstep this Halloween,

you better be wearing a costume and you better have a bowl full of treats,

or you'll be in for one hell of a trick.

Established Back-Story

Sam watches the Werewolves feast

Sam was born in a pumpkin patch somewhere in the heart of Ireland, where Halloween first originated. The more the ancient Celts celebrated the holiday, which was then called Samhain (Sow-en), the more Sam came into being. The annual celebration breathed life into it's soon-to-be protector.

Sam's first appearance was in Season's Greetings, looking for candy on Halloween. After failing to get any , Sam wanders into a dark alley and is attacked by a man in a black hooded cloak. (Possibly a serial killer or child molester) However, the fight ends with Sam emerging from the alley with a full sack.

In Trick 'r Treat, Sam visits the fictional Warren Valley, Ohio. He traverses throughout the town to observe other people as they either celebrate or ignore Halloween, punishing those who ignore the rules. Sam deals with several different groups of characters throughout the film's non-linear storyline.

During the film, Sam watches as a group of werewolves feast on a gathering unsuspecting men and punishes several children by raising the corpses of the school bus massacre victims after they kick over a Jack O' Lantern. Chronologically prior to these events, Sam invades Mr. Kreeg's house in order to teach him the rules of Halloween. Kreeg fights for his life until he unintentionally gives Sam some chocolate. Sam's last appearance in the film is him going to punish a woman named Emma after she puts out the candle in jack o'lantern, Sam slits her throat with the sharp lollipop that he was going to use on Mr. Kreeg, and then strings up her various disembodied parts like Halloween decorations.

Creation

From the darkness....he sees all

Michael Dougherty created Sam when he was at New York University taking animation classes, originally creating him as an alter ego for himself. Another reason behind Sam's creation was to give Halloween an iconic figure, other seasonal holidays having such iconic figures (e.g. Christmas has Santa Claus). He later used Sam as the main character or influential presence in Trick 'r Treat. Sam's pumpkin-like head was originally sketched by Dougherty in 2002, and he showed it to the film's concept artist to adapt into the film. Quinn Lord was picked to play Sam. Dougherty explained he wanted an actual child to play the character to make the performance look realistic. A stunt woman was used during the fight sequence with Brian Cox's character.

Trivia

Sam's full name, Samhain, is pronounced as it is spelled as opposed to the Celtic holiday's pronunciation "Sow-en".