Film Prop Thursday: Mrs. Voorhees' Head

One of the most talked about and iconic scenes in the Friday the 13th film series is that of the decapitation of Mrs. Voorhees. The effect of the decapitation was achieved by casting a fake head of actress Betsy Palmer and then attaching that fake head to a dummie via toothpicks. With one clean swipe, the machete would break the toothpics and the prop Pamela Voorhees head fell off.

Ler's not forget the generous amount of blood provided for the scene as well as the use of manly hands grasping at the air. Mrs. Voorhees' death solidified Friday the 13th 1980 as the benchmark slasher film of the 1980's. One question remains, after filming, where did that prop head of Mrs. Voorhees end up?

After production wrapped, it is believed that the prop head stayed in the possession of effects man Tom Savini for some time. In 2007, the prop head was offered for sale to private buyers, but there were no takers for the item at that time. A year or so later, the Pamela Voorhees head was placed up for bid on eBay for the price of $10,000. Someone did buy this piece from that eBay auction and then later that same person sold the prop at the Profiles In History auction house.

The exact owner is not known at this time, but whoever it is has in their possession a true historical artifact from an influential film in motion picture history.