Thorn

Thorn refers to an ancient, dark and supernatural demon or force that bestows great power upon someone who was possessed by it, dating back to the time of the druids.

Cult of Thorn[]

The Cult of Thorn was a cult of druids whose activity spans over several millennia. The nature of the cult is different, depending on which version of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is seen. In both versions, the cult aids Thorn as it forces its host to kill their family members, and provide care for the host during their resting periods. The Man in Black, Dr. Terence Wynn, leads the cult members.

Producer's Cut[]

The cult is comprised of several Haddonfield residents who believe in an ancient Druid demon that spreads sickness and death. To save themselves, they place a curse on a child from their tribe (currently Michael Myers). The child is then possessed by Thorn, driving them to kill their entire family on the night of Samhain (Halloween), whenever the Thorn constellation appears. They planned to pass the curse on to Danny Strode after Michael made his final sacrifice, which would have ended the Myers family bloodline. However, Tommy Doyle intervened on their ceremony and used the power of ancient runes of light and protection to defeat Michael.

Theatrical version[]

The cult is comprised of the staff of Smith's Grove Sanitarium, who use scientific experiments to study the power of pure evil in order to harness and attempt to control it. Steven is implied to be the result of in-vitro fertilization, using Jamie Lloyd as a surrogate mother, to clone Michael's cursed DNA. The cult presumably abducted Kara Strode in order to be their new surrogate, and had planned to use Danny for their experiments. However, this exploitation of Thorn led to the cult losing control over Michael, who ultimately turned on the doctors and killed them all.

Known members[]

Terence Wynn (Leader; deceased)
Michael Myers (Unknown)
Nurse Mary (Deceased)
Doctor Bonham (Deceased)
Mrs. Blankenship (Unknown)
Dawn (Unknown)
Brian the Bus Depot guy (Unknown; Producer's Cut)
Sheriff Holdt (Unknown; Producer's Cut)
7 Doctors (Deceased; theatrical version)
Injured doctor (Deceased; theatrical version)

Curse of Thorn[]

The Curse of Thorn is often associated with a constellation of stars that would appear from time to time during Halloween. In the time of the Druids, in order to prevent mass death among the tribes, one child from each tribe was chosen to be possessed by Thorn. It would then sacrificially murder its host's entire family on the night of Samhain (All Hallow's Eve), which in turn it would promise to spare their community from disastrous events, such as plague and drought. This possession also appears to give the cursed subject inhuman strength and durability, as well as rapid healing and immunity from death (immortality).

"Among the ancient druids, Thorn represented a demon that spread sickness and destroyed crops, brought death to hundreds of thousands of people. According to Celtic legend, one child from each tribe was chosen to be inflicted with the curse of Thorn to offer the blood sacrifices of its next of kin on the night of Samhain. The sacrifice of one family meant sparing the lives of an entire tribe."

―Tommy Doyle explaining to Kara Strode^[src]

Mark of Thorn[]

The Mark of Thorn was a symbol that appeared on the wrists of those involved with the cult, or cursed by one of its members. It could be seen on Michael's wrist and hand, and, in the Producer's Cut, it could be seen on Dr. Wynn and later on Dr. Loomis.

Notes and trivia[]

According to Tommy Doyle in the Producer's Cut, out of all the ancient runes, Thorn had the most negative influence.
- This could imply that, assuming that there are other negative runes, Thorn is the most evil of them.
In Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, it seemed that any relative touching the hand of someone afflicted with the Curse of Thorn and the mark temporarily causes a relative of the afflicted to behave in a manner similar to them for a short time.
- Jamie behaved similarly to Michael when she attacked her foster mother.
For some reason, despite the Curse of Thorn being the reason behind Michael killing his family, it seems to drive Michael to kill other people that are not related to him or even live in the Myers house.
- In the Producer's Cut, Tommy explained that half of this reasoning was likely because, in Michael's mind, anyone living in his house is viewed by him as a member of his family. However, this does not explain why he kills other people that have never stepped foot into his family home.
Also, in the Producer’s Cut, it is revealed that the Thorn constellation, according to Tommy, has appeared a total of five times in the entire Halloween franchise up to that time; he traced it back to the night Michael murdered Judith and the night he escaped from Smith’s Grove (Halloween and Halloween II), ten years after that night (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers) and the following year (Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers), then six years later in The Curse of Michael Myers.
While it is believed in the Producer's Cut that if Michael succeeded in killing his entire family, the curse over him would pass to a new child and the cycle would continue anew, this is uncertain because Kara, Danny and Steven were still alive at the end of the film.
- It is unknown what would happen to Michael if members of his family were to die by means other than himself killing them.