The first thought that comes to mind when we hear the name Michael Myers is of an unstoppable force of evil. This horrific nemesis has been the lifeblood of the Halloween franchise, and horror fans have long questioned if there is more to him than meets the eye.
There have been slightly different incarnations of Michael Myers on show in all of the Halloween flicks we have seen so far. Almost all of them, however, hint at the fact that he is more than an awful deranged individual! His existence has an inherently superhuman and paranormal quality to it, and his behaviors suggest that he is a supernatural being!
While there has not been a definitive answer to this topic, horror fans have speculated on Michael Myers’ supposed supernatural abilities. After all, there are lots of situations when he does not succumb to something that would kill a normal human ten times over!
In 2016, when John Carpenter returned to the franchise, he suggested that Michael Myers is part supernatural and not an ordinary person. He even went so far as to say that Michael Myers was akin to an evil force of nature and that worldly explanations would be insufficient to comprehend the character.
In this video, we delve into Michael Myers’ precise anatomy and investigate his remarkable abilities. Stay with us to the finish because we will try to find a satisfying explanation for his ostensibly magical talents.
The Various Portrayals of Michael Myers – Supernatural or just a twisted maniac!
The Halloween movies have different timelines, and the original ones have subtle explanations for the supernatural powers of Michael Myers. For instance, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers throws some light to his background. We learn about the ancient Cult of Thorn that cursed Michael as an infant. This is actually a pagan ritual, where a family is sacrificed for the betterment of the community.
According to this curse, he would be possessed by the demonic force of Thorn that grows extremely violent on Halloween nights. This possession would also mean that he has some supernatural powers. Now, if this plotline is to be believed, it does explain how Michael survives numerous fatal injuries.
As per the curse, Michael is driven to kill his family members on Halloween, and in this movie, he is after his surviving sister Laurie Strode. It also adds up as to why he keeps coming back! However, this was seen by many fans as an over-explanation of the mysterious monster. Besides, the story seems hastily put together because he did not kill his whole family back in the day, and only killed one sister! It also doesn’t explain why he kills other people along the way.
It probably would have been a perfect fit if the cult somehow managed to curse him later in his life and not as an infant. Nevertheless, the following sequels conveniently avoided this storyline, and you won’t find it anywhere in the Halloween continuity.
Remember how the 1978 Halloween movie ended? Michael Myers was riddled with bullets, and we had some creepy shots that showed him breathing heavily as if he continued to exist somewhere around there.
This is in line with the qualities that the Michael Myers of the new Halloween continuity seems to have – the mysterious boogeyman with some special powers. It is further confirmed in Halloween Kills, and he comes out alive from a fire that would kill just about any living thing.
Again, going by the narrative of Halloween H20 and its sequel Halloween: Resurrection, Michael Myers comes back from the most definitive death. He is completely decapitated, but there is no paranormal resurrection. Instead, the twist in the tale suggests that someone else was dressed up as him, and framed to take the fall.
Rob Zombie possibly came up with the most scientific explanation for Michael Myers. He doesn’t seem to have anything supernatural about him in the Halloween reboot, and the closest we get is a hint of a psychic connection between Michael and Laurie Strode. He takes on a more Freudian and psychological approach to get into the mind of the maniac, but that doesn’t really explain some of his bizarre feats throughout the series!
Overall, it has to be said that most storylines lean towards the supernatural angle, and it does make sense, given that Michael Myers has done too many impossible things and survived impossible odds! Now that we have established where we are going with this, let’s get on with our theorization.
Michael Myers Can Control the Weather
People carry their own umbrella, but Michael Myers seems to carry a whole thunderstorm along with him. How many times have you noticed his arrivals being marked by a certain weather condition? It is windy, rainy, and there is usually thunder and lightning.
Yes, the whole point is to make it seem very atmospheric, but the regular association with such weather conditions raises a speck of doubt among the fans! Does Michael Myers control the weather to suit it according to his needs? While there is no telling for sure, it certainly does seem like he brings his own thunder, quite literally!
The Beastly Assassin is a Strategist
Did Michael Myers ever read The Art of War? We will never know the answer to that, but it is obvious that the psycho killer is skilled when it comes to strategizing. He abides by the basic rules of exploiting the weak links of the enemy and stalking them until the perfect opportunity arises.
We have often seen Michael stalking his prey for a long before killing them. He has been seen performing elaborate tricks to get out of sticky situations, and he surely uses a lot of thinking than what you would expect from a maniacal killer!
Michael Myers Has Telekinetic Powers
This might be a big statement, but a lot of his actions suggest the same thing. Michael Myers probably has telekinetic abilities – the power to control things without physical means. How else do you explain all the times, when the power supplies fail just as he arrives! The CCTV footage mysteriously malfunctions, and the cell phone signals are lost all of a sudden.
The biggest example of his telekinetic powers can be found in the Halloween: Resurrection movie. He enters a house that is rigged with cameras, like in a reality TV show, and yet, nobody notices the gigantic killer on the prowl. We have often wondered how a crime scene, where a literal massacre has taken place, is clean all of a sudden!
His telekinetic powers would also explain that and support his skills to make bodies and all the mess disappear miraculously. There have been instances when the victim couldn’t get away because of something freakish that was positioned at the right place at the right time! All these either mean that he has telekinetic skills, or there are just too many coincidences in the narratives – the choice is yours!
Michael Myers Has Psychic Abilities
The Halloween franchise started off as a regular serial killer slasher flick, but the series soon took a supernatural turn. Especially around Halloween 4 to Halloween 6, the supernatural angle is explored properly, and we get to witness some bizarre things about Michael Myers. One of the most evident skills that we spot is his psychic abilities. In Halloween 4, the final twist reveals something terrifying.
It turns out that Jamie Strode, being raised by her adoptive mother, is standing over her unconscious mother with a pair of bloody scissors. This scene is strikingly similar to Michael’s first murder as a child, and it seems like he passed on his evil streak to Jamie. The matter is further clarified in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.
We see Jamie recovering in a psychiatric hospital after her violent moments, but she is not inherently evil like Michael Myers. In fact, she has a strange psychic connection with the killer. She has unexplained visions about his whereabouts, and she even seems to have the power briefly to stall Michael Myers as he is about to kill her. The events of these two movies make it pretty obvious that Michael has certain psychic abilities even though the control isn’t always in his hands.
Michael Myers Can Teleport Himself
On a number of occasions, we have seen Michael Myers arrive and disappear in the blink of an eye. In order to make him seem invincible, the narrative often projects him as miraculously changing places.
Or does it simply imply his ability to teleport himself? We all know that the masked killer would do just about anything to hunt his victims down, but there are moments that make it look magical. You have to remember here that Michael doesn’t even run. He merely walks towards his victims, and still, he manages to catch up to them every single time! Does his teleportation powers substitute for his lack of agility?
Recall the scenes with Laurie for a moment. Michael Myers is seen chasing her to the Doyle house, but Michael suddenly appears behind her! In another sequence, Laurie is maintaining eye contact with Michael Myers, when he suddenly disappears.
Throughout the franchise, there are several moments like these. The crazed killer appears in a puff of smoke and disappears before you know it! It is either teleportation powers or a poor narration that lacks detailing, and we are going with the former!
Other Supernatural Powers of Michael Myers
One of the first things that you will notice about Michael Myers during his gruesome murder sprees is his unbelievable strength. Besides this superhuman strength, he is also a tough and durable man with a crazy tolerance for pain.
His incredible physical power allows him to crush the heads of people like crushing tomatoes, and he can smash through walls like they are made of air! We have seen him survive everything from explosions to falling from great heights. He has been shot and stabbed, and eventually, nothing could kill him. This does hint at his immortality, and clearly it would take something remarkably special to get rid of this monster permanently.
Michael Myers also seems to have a certain degree of regenerative abilities. After sustaining serious wounds, he heals miraculously, and this has happened time and again. He has healed from burn injuries, bullet wounds, etc. and it is possible that his healing abilities create new tissues and skin to repair the damage! That also explains the near-immortality of the masked killer because he keeps fixing himself!
How To Kill Michael Myers
We have come to the most important question after all this discussion! If Michael Myers is such an invincible entity who keeps coming back from certain deaths, is there a way to kill him permanently! Here are some of the supposed deaths that we have witnessed. He has been shot, burned alive, thrown from buildings, and even electrocuted among other things.
He just keeps coming back like nothing happened, and that makes you think – what if he was destroyed entirely? We are not talking about attacking a particular body part here, but we are suggesting destroying his very existence to the point, where his consciousness to utilize his healing skills is not present anymore.
Maybe, combining all of the above might prove to be sufficient. If we go by the Cult of Thorn theory, there might be a sinister way of getting rid of this monster. He keeps coming back for his surviving family members. What if there weren’t any left to come back for! You get the drift, don’t you!
All seriousness aside, we have seen some of the most powerful horror villains die when the plot comes to a perfect conclusion. Maybe, if someone found it worthy to end the franchise and deliver a satisfying death to Michael Myers that would be it!
Our Final Words
There might be a million debates surrounding the powers and extensive lore around Michael Myers. One thing that we can all agree upon is just how exciting and entertaining this horror antagonist has been! Maybe it is best to allow some mystery to remain, and maybe we should just enjoy the unexplained terror that comes with this masked maniac!