- "Suddenly there were hopes, dreams and a path to make. A path together. Yesterday I woke up beside her. Today I woke up in hell."
- ―Ryan's inner thoughts about what he is going through[src]
Ryan Nichols is a main character in the comic series Halloween: Nightdance. He serves as the protagonist in the second issue and in the fourth and final issue.
Biography[]
Ryan Nichols grew up living in the town of Langdon, Illinois but he wasn't fond of the small town. As a young child, Ryan heard stories of the Mid-west Boogieman and even though he was told that Myers was dead, Ryan never thought that it was true. When he graduated high school, he moved to Chicago. As soon as he was finished with school, he worked at a supermarket where he met a co-worker named Marcie. The two started to date and both of them knew they were meant to be together and within three years they were married. Ryan's mother-in-law often worried about her daughter as she was far away from home and she would often call to check up on the two.
Around the last week of October, Marcie suddenly stopped receiving calls from her family and started to worry once she tried to call them but no one would answer. She convinced her husband to go back to her hometown, although even on the last day in Chicago, Ryan asked her if they really needed to go the small town as he was still recovering from the flu that he had for a whole week. Marcie told him that she at least wanted to visit them and make sure they were okay and so the two drove off towards Russellville. It was night by the time they reached the small town and Ryan was already tired. Marcie noticed this and thanked her husband for what he was doing and promised that she would make it up to him. As they drove on, Ryan said he needed some Tylenol as he was starting to feel sick again and he didn't want to be sick again. At this moment, a young woman ran out from the woods and into Ryan's car. The car slammed into a tree and Ryan hit his head on the wheel and received a cut on his head. Marcie was okay and went to check on the young woman and Marcie told him that the woman was still alive. What they didn't see was that a shape was appearing behind Marcie and before they realized what was going on, the man stabbed her through the chest. Ryan got out of the car to save his wife but the man took her away as Ryan couldn't move anymore and passed out. Ryan would soon come to the realization that the man was Michael Myers.
The next morning, Ryan awoke with the young woman still unconscious and he took her to Russellville Infirmary. He hoped that if she was able to wake up, then she would provide answers as to where Myers took his wife. Ryan was taken into a room where they put a bandage on him while sheriff Matthew Cooper discussed with the hospital staff about what happened to the two. Once the sheriff visits Ryan, he tells him everything that he remembers but he starts to get annoyed after the young sheriff continues to ask him questions instead of starting a search for his wife. Ryan then says a name that stops sheriff Cooper: Michael Myers. Sheriff Cooper tells him not to speak that name, tells him that Myers is dead, and then adds that, if Myers was alive, he wouldn't be in the town of Russellville. Sheriff Cooper then left the room. Knowing that the police were not going to help, Ryan escaped out the hospital window. Ryan searched around town but he wasn't even sure where to find the Cole home as to him, every house looked the same and his mind was in a confused state.
As he continued to look, he knew that police were looking for him but he knew that he couldn't let them get in his way to find his wife and her family. He eventually ran into a young teenage girl named Lisa Thomas who was running towards the Cole home. Lisa had a knife in her hand and Ryan stopped to question her about what she was doing there. Lisa explained that her friend Sean went after Michael Myers and that she thinks Myers is the same person who locked her and Daniel in a basement two years earlier. Lisa then shown Ryan a picture that "Daniel" had given her and Ryan knew right away that was a picture of Judith Myers, the sister of Michael. Once he realized what was going on, Ryan feared that Michael had already paid the Cole family a visit and tried to open the front door. He soon learned that Michael had left razor blades on the door.
Once they went managed to get inside, they discovered it was too late and Michael had already been there weeks ago. Ryan knew that this was the reason why they didn't hear from them. Lisa tried to run away but Ryan stopped her as he knew she was Michael's target and that she may lead him to his wife. He kidnapped her and asked her to explain where she and Daniel were locked up. She told him in the woods and he drove off with her but promised that he wasn't going to hurt her. Once they reached an area where they could no longer drive, he asked Lisa to show him where the house was on foot. He felt bad for treating Lisa the way he was but he knew that this was the only way to find his wife. Once he looked down, he found bags of candies that lead to the Bowles house. Lisa begged Ryan to not let her go back into the house but he promised that
nothing was going to harm her and continued following the bags. They lead them to Marcie's corpse which had been set up like a jack-o'-lantern. Lisa then announced that Michael was there as he dropped them in front of them. In rage, Ryan attacked Myers with the knife but Michael grabbed his hand and sliced him in the face with his own knife. Lisa tried to help but Michael stopped her as well and she ran off. As Michael went after her, Ryan looked at his wife's corpse and then looked back to see Michael holding a board and one of his masks. He pleaded for Michael not to harm him but Michael smacked him in the head with the board and as Ryan was on the ground, Michael got his knife and cut off Ryan's tongue. He then placed the extra mask on Ryan and left to deal with Lisa. As Ryan got back to his feet, he walked out the front door and was surrounded by the police who opened fire on whom they thought was Michael Myers. Ryan was shot in the cheek and died.