- "Put that gun down, your in my house, Laurie!"
- —Ray to Laurie Strode.[src]
Ray Nelson (1973 – October 31, 2018) was the husband of the late Karen Nelson, the father of Allyson Nelson and the son-in-law of Laurie Strode. Holding a grudge against Strode for the trauma she caused Karen, Ray was adamant about her claims of Michael Myers and agreed with his wife about distancing themselves from her. He ultimately became a victim of Myers' massacre on Halloween night, 2018.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Ray Nelson was born in 1973, presumably, in the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois and was born and raised there. Growing up, he formed a close friendship with Lonnie Elam and the two would regularly sell each other peyote during their high school years. At some point, Ray met and fell in love with Karen Strode and the two would later go on to get married, however, throughout their marriage, Ray would have just as much of a rocky relationship with Karen's mother, Laurie Strode, as Karen had herself. In 2001, Karen gave birth to a daughter, who they would name Allyson, choosing to raise her within Haddonfield. However, the two made sure that Allyson also remained distant from her grandmother.[1]
2018 Massacre[]
Family Issues[]
Ray plants a mouse trap.
On the morning of October 30, 2018, Ray was set on ridding his kitchen of a family of mice that had taken up residence, placing several mousetraps under the sink and in other areas, explaining to Karen his various new ideas to get rid of them. Just then, Allyson entered the kitchen and the two expressed how excited they were to attend her celebratory dinner that evening, and meet Allyson's boyfriend, Cameron. The mention of him caused Ray to reflect on Cameron's father, Lonnie, and his troubled past, making Allyson clearly irritated before hurting himself and mouse trap, later making a joke about all guys being nice before getting a girl pregnant before finally leaving the kitchen to clean up.
Later that night, at Allyson celebratory dinner for making the honor society, Ray and Karen were finally able to meet Cameron, with Ray reflecting on the various shenanigans that he and Cameron's father got up to during their teenage years, including taking peyote together. They were then able to learn about the young couple's plans for the Haddonfield High School Halloween dance and their costumes, with Allyson not wishing to give too much away. Once Allyson began to ask about Laurie attending the dinner, the older woman suddenly turned up, excited to hear about Allyson's achievements but quickly drowning her sorrows in a glass of wine. It was not long before Laurie began to break down and Ray urged her to stop, eventually leading to Laurie exclaiming to Allyson about "The Shape" before abruptly running out of the resturaunt. Afterwards, Ray and Cameron helped a distraught Laurie into her truck before she drove off, with Ray making sure Karen was alright after the ordeal and assuring her that her mother's problems were not hers.
Town Wide Panic[]
The next day, after Michael Myers' reported escape from Smith's Grove Sanitarium, Ray was in his backyard before entering the house upon hearing Karen do the same, however, he was quickly vigilant after noticing his wife hear something from upstairs. The two slowly approached the staircase before Laurie suddenly appeared and pointed a gun at the pair, frightening Karen. The older woman began ranting about the pair failing to lock their doors before warning them of a bus crash and Myers being loose. However, Ray quickly noticed the gun and ordered Laurie to lower it in their house. Despite her warnings, Ray and Karen pushed Laurie out of the house, exclaiming that her claims were false and it was simply her paranoia, shutting the door in her face.
Later that night, after Myers had already started his killing spree, Ray and Karen were visited by Laurie once again, this time with police officers by her side. Before they could even speak, Laurie frantically began asking where Allyson was, worried for her safety. With her being at the Halloween dance, Karen attempted calling her before her and Ray were put into police cars and escorted to Laurie's house, where they were believed to have been safer. Outside the house, Karen began arguing with the officers, desperate to find out where Allyson was, with Ray attempting to hold her back, before Laurie desperately screamed at the pair to get inside the house. Once inside, Ray began looking around before the pair were escorted to Laurie's basement armory, showcasing her various weapons and instructing them to grab whatever they wished to use to protect themselves.
Death and Post-Mortem[]
Ray is choked by Michael.
After sometime, the three emerged from the basement and Ray remained in the kitchen whilst Laurie and Karen sat upstairs. While playing with a stray yo-yo, Ray noticed the cop car that was guarding the house pull up to the front of the house and left to see what happened and if they had finally found Allyson. Receiving no response to his questions, Ray approached and opened the car door, seeing Officers Francis and Richards both dead inside, with one being decapitated and having his head turned into a jack-o-lantern. Before he could even fully react to the sight, Michael suddenly emerged from behind Ray and began choking him with the chain of the wind chimes. During the struggle, Ray managed to shoot one shot from his gun, alerting Laurie and Karen inside, before finally having his neck snapped by Michael, who dropped his corpse to the ground.
Shortly after his death, Michael began stalking Laurie and Karen around the house, grabbing Ray's corpse from outside and stuffing it into a nearby wardrobe, shocking Laurie who happened to discover it whilst searching for Michael.[1]
Legacy[]
Karen's Revenge[]
Later that night, Karen and Allyson both learned of Ray's death, presumably from Laurie, causing the two to grieve immensely whilst recovering in Haddonfield Memorial Hospital. Upon learning that Michael survived their attempt on his life, it was majorly Ray's death that fuelled both Karen's and Allyson's anger against the murderer, and what ultimately drove them to confront the boogeyman themselves. However, this would eventually lead to Karen's own death at Michael's hands later that same night.[2]
Personality[]
Ray was an extremely laid back man, opting to see the bright side of situations and being able to panic whilst others stressed. This was clear during the waiting game for Michael, with Karen panicking about Allyson and Ray being the one to try and calm everyone down. Furthermore, his past with Lonnie Elam and drug use greatly revealed plenty about his laid back attitude. However, when it came to protecting his family and friends, Ray always stood up and became passionate, as shown when talking Laurie down from pointing a gun in his house and stepping away during her breakdown at dinner.
Appearances[]
| Films | ||||||||
| Halloween (1978) | Halloween (2018) | Halloween Kills | Halloween Ends | |||||
| Absent | Appears | Mentioned | Mentioned | |||||