*UPDATE: THESE ARE NOW AVAILABLE!*
You’ll probably never own the prop, but this is the next best thing.
I’ve always been fascinated with movie props and what happens to them after productions wrap. Some of them get lost or destroyed, while others fall into the hands of fans who make sure to preserve those pieces of their favorite movies. Fortunately, the latter is precisely what happened with Mrs. Voorhees’ severed head from Friday the 13th Part 2.
The Carl Fullerton-created prop, a centerpiece of the entire franchise, is owned by the fan who runs Jasonlivessince1980’s Friday the 13th Blog. He relayed the story of his acquisition of the prop in a blog entry last year, writing that he got it from the man who owned the camp the movie was shot at. After filming wrapped, the crew left Mrs. Voorhees’ head hanging from a tree on his property, and the man kept it in his possession for 30+ years – humorously, he’d bust it out every so often to scare campers!
Eventually, the camp-owner listed the iconic prop on eBay, where it was purchased by the Friday the 13th fan and subsequently restored by Tom Spina.
“The head was in rough shape and Tom did a great job restoring it,” the blogger wrote last year. “Even in person, you can hardly tell where the damage was… and it was extensive. I can’t describe how exciting it is to own a piece of film history. In a way, this head is more central to the Friday the 13th story than the hockey mask: this desiccated head was the object of Jason’s cultish devotion, the only thing that mattered in the world to him, and the reason he committed all his murders. The fact that the prop still exists is remarkable considering the poor treatment B movie film props got back then.”
“Honestly, she doesn’t look like much in daylight,” he added. “But once you get her properly lit, it’s like being onset back in 1980.”
In addition to sharing photos of the restored prop, the fan also noted last year that he was working on a limited edition re-sculpt for fellow fans. All had been quiet on that front until this week, when he updated that “3D prints of the original Mrs. Voorhees prop are coming.” The piece is way too fragile to directly cast, but the 3D printing technology will allow him to create detailed replicas of the prop so that other fans can bring it into their own collections. How cool is that?!
Keep your eyes locked on Jasonlivessince1980’s Friday the 13th Blog for updates!
