Forums Horror Collectibles
Darren Jones aka Strangerathome

A BIG thanks to Darren for tting down with us to talk about his collection. If your interested in seeing your collection spotlighted please send an e-mail to horrorbid@yahoo.com with the subject title Collectors Spotlight. Alright lets start this off...

Tell us a bit about yourself and your love for horror. What are your earliest and fondest memories regarding the genre?

Hey guys! My name is Darren Jones, and I’ve been a horror fan for almost 25 years! (Wow, has it really been THAT long?) I started out kinda young, growing up in Ontario, Canada. My first memories of hankering down and watching a scary movie was when my mom bought a Betamax in 1982, and my ster rented An American Werewolf in London….A few years later, my mom told me about the Exorcist coming on TV and if I wanted to, I could watch it with her, as long as I promised NOT to have nightmares. I was 9, and it was 1984. I also saw the Terminator the same year. I was floored by the Exorcist, and soon, I saw Carrie, JAWS, Psycho and Halloween II on TV the following year in ’85. It was Halloween II’s “network premiere”, and my ster and I caught it playing on a Buffalo channel late one night at my Grandmother’s house. I never forgot the muc, and the image of Michael Myers burning, but STILL coming after us! A year had passed, and I began to watch more and more movies and I became very aware of the horror genre. The only problem was, my mother only let me watch movies that were Restricted if they played on TV edited for content. I had to wait until 1987 to see Halloween II again, and when I did, I made sure my Betamax was poised to record! I fell in love with it, watching it over and over again, and REALLY wanted to see the original, but again, my mom wouldn’t let me rent it because it was restricted. HALLOWEEN came on TV a few months later, and suddenly my life changed. This small, lo-budget movie scared me, but struck a chord in me I’d never experienced in a movie before. Then and there I knew I wanted to be involved in making movies some how.

I started making movies with my best friend when we were 14 years old. At the time, of course, I wanted to make a Halloween type of movie, but we were too goofy to do anything serious, and couldn’t afford a real Michael Myers mask. I found a cheap knock-off that only covered my face, and had an elastic band with no hair. I bought it, and we made our movie… The next year, I started high school, and a friend of mine offered to sell me the Don Post “The Mask”, which I thought, at the time, was the closest thing EVER to a real Myers Mask. I had that mask until 1995 when I was so bummed out by Halloween 6, I decided to make a “real movie” – a sequel – to the Halloween series, where Michael finally dies. (it’s on youtube!)

It was my last year of high school, and the summer right after. I bought another Don Post “The Mask” so I would have two for the movie. It ended up being pretty good, my friends were the actors, and it’s almost feature length. I wrote it, did the camera work, editing and muc compotion. It was a labor of love, but ended up destroying my oldest mask because I didn’t keep the best care of it.

What has your experience been like so far within the horror collecting community?

In 1999, Don Post released the “Shatner” mask again, and I needed one badly. I think I found one on eBay, and it was my first foray into collecting as I know it now. Over the years I had amassed a few posters here and there (Halloween 5 and 6, Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness etc…) but this was truly the dawn of collecting for me, because I found eBay! (sorry Justin and Horrorbid! You all know Horrorbid rocks more than anything!) Now I had a dirty “The Mask” and a now converted Don Post “Shatner Mask” that I proudly displayed in my girlfriend’s parents’ basement in Vancouver, BC, where I now lived. I soon started looking for original posters of the first two movies, and found TWO for Halloween II, which I quickly snagged, and sent one to my buddy for his birthday. I found a great re-print of Halloween, and slightly messy original Halloween 4 poster, along with a cheap H20 poster, and several others I managed to snag from local theaters. In the early 2000’s I hit my first bad experience in my new “collecting hobby” – My wife ordered a “Samhain” mask from some people, and it never arrived. After months and months of poor communication and lies, I figured it best to drop it. But boy, did that leave a sour taste in my mouth for this whole thing…Artists were just starting to create decent Myers masks, and I was definitely on the look out for some great replicas. Over the years I’ve had a few and sold/traded a few. I managed to have several Project 75 masks, and a Justin Mabry “H2” mask that I sold in the last few years. I ordered a Resurrection mask from Cinema Secrets online, and that arrived safely. As of 2002, I owned 6 Myers masks. I started collecting figures, and a few more masks over the years, and once I found Michael-Myers.net and of course Horrorbid.com , things changed. I now own 13 Myers’ masks, with 2 (TWO!) on the way (A “Sequel” from Bryan at Masket Case Studios, and a “TORN” from Jack In The Box masks) that I hope to get real soon!

What sort of items pique your interest as a collector? Is there anything that you’ve had your eye on but have yet to get?

I love masks, and I have a few others than Myers masks. Costumes as well, posters, action figures – you name it. If it has to with Halloween, I want it!! I’m also a big fan of the first Robocop movie, and if I had the money, I would LOVE to get a full body ROBOCOP costume. That would be KILLER!

What is your favorite piece in your collection? Which one means the most to you?

Well, I’m not sure if I have a favorite, but my H78 from NAG studios stands out as a fave. And I would not trade it – along with my Warlock. I love the HALLOWEEN II mask, and it seems that’s what I’m getting most of.

Have you ever condered giving up on the hobby? Ever think about selling all your horror stuff and doing something else?

I don’t think I’ll give up the hobby, unless it becomes a huge problem…Space is a problem right now, and I don’t have any other posters displayed ade from H1 and 2. If my wife and I ever move into a larger home, there will be a “shrine” for all my stuff!! I haven’t really thought about selling my stuff, but it may happen in the future. One can never tell!

What particular genre of horror do you like to collect, Slasher, Clascs, etc.?

Obviously, the Halloween series is my favorite, and that’s what I collect most. I also like a few other “slasher”-type collectibles.

Why do you like to collect?

I like to collect because it’s different than the same old “Star Wars” stuff. I’ve also been searching for the perfect Halloween/Halloween II mask ever nce I saw the movies when I was younger. Plus, I just plain ol’ like to SCARE people!

Do you ever see a day where you give it up? Will you ever sell your collection?

I will eventually stop collecting, I’m sure. But who knows when that would be? If there was ever a need for lots of money, I would conder selling my collection, but I would certainly NOT like it. Is there another area of horror collecting that you would like to get into? Masks, Figures, Comics, Posters, Autographs, etc.?

I wouldn’t mind getting some more autographs and figures. I’d love to get my hands on screen-used props, but they are so expenve and hard to come by. I’m not that big on the comic books, although I have a few Halloween ones, and I love soundtracks as well. I do have a few posters, and I need to get my hands on a decent Halloween III poster, and Halloween III masks!

Thanks Justin!

Darren Jones Now lets see some pictures from Darren's collection....

Cool stuff man.

nice collection!

Sweet collection! A lot of Myers!

i love his collection, i've actually got the only Don Post "The Mask" left from his movie nce he got rid of the first one. never gunna give it up, never gunna let it down, never gunna turn around and desert it!... you catch my drift :)

Love the collection. You have a great variety in there.

Good read! and killer collection! thanks for sharing

AWESOME COLLECTIONS!!!!

Congrats Darren

Great interview and awesome collection

WOW....fantastic collection man, that my friends is how a Michael Myers collection should be done!!

Great interview and collection...the pic with the mirrors is my favorite

Thanks everyone for the kind words! The collection is still growing, and here is shot of all of my masks before they went into STORAGE ( )

AND I've nce scored this blank, and painted/haired it myself! MadMad '78 from JITB:

CHEERS EVERYONE!

Amazing pics and collection there. Very nice job on the 78 blank also.

great read and an excellent Myers collection!

-Jared