Somewhere along the way, Adaru chose him as one of his Heralds. 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. Years later, the Carnival was sold by Dr. Oddfellow had Jack murdered and hid the bodies of him and his victims within the traveling carnival's House of Horrors as part of an exhibit. Jack revealed the bodies of thirteen children hidden in the confines of three small trunks that were kept in his traveling coach.įearing the worst, Dr. He asked Jack to show him what he had done with the bodies of the children. He quickly admonished him for potentially bringing the police down upon the entire band of miscreants. The doctor, himself wanted by the police for the accidental death of several patrons in a freak circus accident years earlier under a different name, was not sympathetic to Jack’s cause. Oddfellow in the hopes of possible concealment. Fearing capture, Jack revealed his sinister secret to Dr. On Halloween of 1920, the police were closing in on the clown killer. soon caught on that the missing children followed a pattern that led them closer and closer to the traveling freak show. He was wanted for the abduction and disappearance of several small children throughout the Southern United States. But underneath the greasepaint and clown nose, he was a twisted murderer. He had escaped a poor and highly abusive family years earlier to "run away and join the circus", leaving behind his younger brother, Eddie. Jack the Clown was the first original icon with a detailed backstory, and his success prompted the creation of more icons for future events.Ĭlowns Are Always Laughing on the Outside.īorn 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. “There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight.”
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.
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 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 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 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 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.Īside from the fact that he is a killer clown, Jack is also a vain glory hound with a huge ego. 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. In the Carnival of Carnage onwards, his signature polka dot costume was replaced with a red leather coat. 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. His fingernails are long and dirty, and his polka-dotted costume is stained with blood. 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 hair is wild and bright-orange red, and his face is smeared with green and white makeup. Jack's appearance is a twisted variation on the traditional garish clown getup, most resembling a Grotesque Whiteface Clown.