Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. Such evidence is expected to be empirical evidence and interpretable in accordance with the scientific method. Standards for scientific evidence vary according to the field of inquiry, but the strength of scientific evidence is generally based on the results of statistical analysis and the strength of scientific controls.

Principles of inference

A person's assumptions or beliefs about the relationship between observations and a hypothesis will affect whether that person takes the observations as evidence. These assumptions or beliefs will also affect how a person utilizes the observations as evidence. For example, the Earth's apparent lack of motion may be taken as evidence for a geocentric cosmology. However, after sufficient evidence is presented for heliocentric cosmology and the apparent lack of motion is explained, the initial observation is strongly discounted as evidence.

When rational observers have different background beliefs, they may draw different conclusions from the same scientific evidence. For example, Priestley, working with phlogiston theory, explained his observations about the decomposition of mercuric oxide using phlogiston. In contrast, Lavoisier, developing the theory of elements, explained the same observations with reference to oxygen. A causal relationship between the observations and hypothesis does not exist to cause the observation to be taken as evidence, but rather the causal relationship is provided by the person seeking to establish observations as evidence.

A more formal method to characterize the effect of background beliefs is Bayesian inference. In Bayesian inference, beliefs are expressed as percentages indicating one's confidence in them. One starts from an initial probability (a prior), and then updates that probability using Bayes' theorem after observing evidence. As a result, two independent observers of the same event will rationally arrive at different conclusions if their priors (previous observations that are also relevant to the conclusion) differ.

The importance of background beliefs in the determination of what observations are evidence can be illustrated using deductive reasoning, such as syllogisms. If either of the propositions is not accepted as true, the conclusion will not be accepted either.

Utility of scientific evidence

Philosophers, such as Karl R. Popper, have provided influential theories of the scientific method within which scientific evidence plays a central role. In summary, Popper provides that a scientist creatively develops a theory that may be falsified by testing the theory against evidence or known facts. Popper's theory presents an asymmetry in that evidence can prove a theory wrong, by establishing facts that are inconsistent with the theory. In contrast, evidence cannot prove a theory correct because other evidence, yet to be discovered, may exist that is inconsistent with the theory.

Philosophical versus scientific views

In the 20th century, many philosophers investigated the logical relationship between evidence statements and hypotheses, whereas scientists tended to focus on how the data used for statistical inference are generated. But according to philosopher Deborah Mayo, by the end of the 20th century philosophers had come to understand that "there are key features of scientific practice that are overlooked or misdescribed by all such logical accounts of evidence, whether hypothetico-deductive, Bayesian, or instantiationist".

There were a variety of 20th-century philosophical approaches to decide whether an observation may be considered evidence; many of these focused on the relationship between the evidence and the hypothesis. In the 1950s, Rudolf Carnap recommended distinguishing such approaches into three categories: classificatory (whether the evidence confirms the hypothesis), comparative (whether the evidence supports a first hypothesis more than an alternative hypothesis) or quantitative (the degree to which the evidence supports a hypothesis). A 1983 anthology edited by Peter Achinstein provided a concise presentation by prominent philosophers on scientific evidence, including Carl Hempel (on the logic of confirmation), R. B. Braithwaite (on the structure of a scientific system), Norwood Russell Hanson (on the logic of discovery), Nelson Goodman (of grue fame, on a theory of projection), Rudolf Carnap (on the concept of confirming evidence), Wesley C. Salmon (on confirmation and relevance), and Clark Glymour (on relevant evidence). In 1990, William Bechtel provided four factors (clarity of the data, replication by others, consistency with results arrived at by alternative methods, and consistency with plausible theories of mechanisms) that biologists used to settle controversies about procedures and reliability of evidence.

In 2001, Achinstein published his own book on the subject titled The Book of Evidence, in which, among other topics, he distinguished between four concepts of evidence: epistemic-situation evidence (evidence relative to a given epistemic situation), subjective evidence (considered to be evidence by a particular person at a particular time), veridical evidence (a good reason to believe that a hypothesis is true), and potential evidence (a good reason to believe that a hypothesis is highly probable). Achinstein defined all his concepts of evidence in terms of potential evidence, since any other kind of evidence must at least be potential evidence, and he argued that scientists mainly seek veridical evidence but they also use the other concepts of evidence, which rely on a distinctive concept of probability, and Achinstein contrasted this concept of probability with previous probabilistic theories of evidence such as Bayesian, Carnapian, and frequentist.

Simplicity is one common philosophical criterion for scientific theories. Based on the philosophical assumption of the strong Church-Turing thesis, a mathematical criterion for evaluation of evidence has been conjectured, with the criterion having a resemblance to the idea of Occam's razor that the simplest comprehensive description of the evidence is most likely correct. It states formally, "The ideal principle states that the prior probability associated with the hypothesis should be given by the algorithmic universal probability, and the sum of the log universal probability of the model plus the log of the probability of the data given the model should be minimized." However, some philosophers (including Richard Boyd, Mario Bunge, John D. Norton, and Elliott Sober) have adopted a skeptical or deflationary view of the role of simplicity in science, arguing in various ways that its importance has been overemphasized.

Emphasis on hypothesis testing as the essence of science is prevalent among both scientists and philosophers. However, philosophers have noted that testing hypotheses by confronting them with new evidence does not account for all the ways that scientists use evidence. For example, when Geiger and Marsden scattered alpha particles through thin gold foil, the resulting data enabled their experimental adviser, Ernest Rutherford, to very accurately calculate the mass and size of an atomic nucleus for the first time. Rutherford used the data to develop a new atomic model, not only to test an existing hypothesis; such use of evidence to produce new hypotheses is sometimes called abduction (following C. S. Peirce). Social-science methodologist Donald T. Campbell, who emphasized hypothesis testing throughout his career, later increasingly emphasized that the essence of science is "not experimentation per se" but instead the iterative competition of "plausible rival hypotheses", a process that at any given phase may start from evidence or may start from hypothesis. Other scientists and philosophers have emphasized the central role of questions and problems in the use of data and hypotheses.

Concept of scientific proof

While the phrase "scientific proof" is often used in the popular media, many scientists and philosophers have argued that there is really no such thing as infallible proof. For example, Karl Popper once wrote that "In the empirical sciences, which alone can furnish us with information about the world we live in, proofs do not occur, if we mean by 'proof' an argument which establishes once and for ever the truth of a theory." Albert Einstein said:

However, in contrast to the ideal of infallible proof, in practice theories may be said to be proved according to some standard of proof used in a given inquiry. In this limited sense, proof is the high degree of acceptance of a theory following a process of inquiry and critical evaluation according to the standards of a scientific community.

See also

References

Scientific method
Sources of knowledge
Evidence
Probabilistic arguments

Scientific evidence


The post-presidency of George Washington began on March 4, 1797. The first U.S. president under the U.S. Constitution, Washington had served two consecutive terms in office. He returned to his beloved home, Mount Vernon, on March 15. Immediately, he began months of repair because of neglect and mismanagement. In time, he was able to restore the Mount Vernon mansion house. The salvaging of his farms proved to be problematic. Throughout his retirement, Washington entertained local friends, former official associates, and strangers who wished to converse and see the first president, the Revolutionary War hero, and founder of the nation.

Washington followed closely affairs of state, including the growing tension between France and the United States, which, by the spring of 1798, had developed into the Quasi-War. Attacked politically by anti-Federalists, Washington was careful to preserve his personal legacy. He was appointed by his successor as president, John Adams, on July 2, 1798, as Lieutenant General and Commander of America's newly-augmented army. Washington insisted for active command to be vested in Alexander Hamilton, whom Adams appointed Major General and Inspector of the Armies. Washington performed his duties, but Adams was jealous of Hamilton and was a proponent of naval power. Adams, however, was able through diplomacy to end the Quasi-War.

In the summer of 1799, Washington drafted a new will that left most of his estate to his wife, Martha. Unexpectedly, he set free all of the slaves that he owned outright, a legal order to be fulfilled after his wife's death. Washington's will was meant to be an act of atonement for a lifetime spent in human exploitation, and he hoped it would serve as an example to other slaveholders and hasten the end of American slavery. His post-presidency lasted less than three years until his sudden illness and death, which were caused by a severe throat infection, in December 1799. Washington had planned a library to preserve his war and presidential papers, but he died before it could be built. In January 1801, Martha freed his slaves.

The Washington Monument was completed in 1885. Mount Rushmore, completed in 1941, has a gigantic Washington stone portrait sculpture to honor his presidency. In 2013, the Washington presidential library was completed and opened to the public.

Background
George Washington, the first president elected under the U.S. Constitution, was born on February 22, 1732, in the Colony of Virginia. Washington served in the Virginia militia, was appointed Lieutenant Colonel and was British General Edward Braddock's aide-de-camp during the French and Indian War. In 1759, he married the wealthy widow Martha Custis, and they established their home at Mount Vernon. From 1759 to 1774, Washington served in the Virginia House of Burgesses and was considered a "cautious and prudent Virginia aristocrat."

From 1775 to 1783, Washington was the commander of the Continental army during the American Revolutionary War. After the war, British King George III granted America independence from Britain under the Treaty of Paris. Washington retired from the military and took up farming again at Mount Vernon as a celebrated war hero. Washington was elected President of the United States in 1789 and served for two consecutive terms of office after being re-elected in 1792. John Adams was elected to office in 1796 and succeeded Washington in 1797.

When Washington left office in 1797, the nation was divided into a two-party system, the Republicans and the Federalists, the latter of which dominated the U.S. Congress. The dispute with France over Washington's alliance with Great Britain in the Jay Treaty had not been settled, and the country was on the verge of the Quasi-War. Except for strong political criticism from the Republicans, the public figure of Washington was a legend as a general and the first president. Washington attended Adams's presidential inauguration on March 4, 1797, in Philadelphia and read aloud his final brief "farewell address." He was eager to return to his beloved home of Mount Vernon after he had served two consecutive terms of office. Before his departure, Washington sold and gave away his belongings, including a writing desk that contained love letters from his wife, Martha.

Although no one dared to challenge Washington for the presidency, his reputation, during the second half of this second term in office was under scrutiny of the Republican Party, which had been founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Although Washington was neutral politically, his core beliefs sided mainly with the Federalist Party. On July 30, 1796, the Aurora, an anti-Federalist newspaper, published Thomas Paine's open letter to Washington. Paine, who had been imprisoned in France, said of Washington that "the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any." Pro-French Republican editorials accused Washington of being a "tyrannical monster," and his lauded Farewell Address was castigated "the loathings of a sick mind." Washington, however, was determined to defend his reputation.

Return to Mount Vernon

Washington departed Philadelphia for Mount Vernon on March 9, 1797, and he traveled with Martha, his granddaughter Nelly, and George Washington Lafayette. The party arrived at Mount Vernon "six days" later, having made a few stops along the way, as Washington was a celebrated hero. In April, he opined in a letter that he was "once more seated under my own vine and fig tree" and hoped "to spend the remainder of my days."
Washington was so intent on staying within 25 miles of Mount Vernon that he declined to attend the wedding of his nephew Lawrence Augustine Washington.

Washington's sister, Betty Lewis, died, and Washington was survived only by his younger brother Charles, the last of their generation of the Washington family. The death of Betty caused Washington "inexpressible concern."

Washington sent much of his vast collection of paper archives on the Revolutionary War and his presidency to Mount Vernon. He had a letterpress delivered to make copies of his papers. The archives originally contained "30 to 40 cases" of military expeditions, journals, and Congressional correspondence. Washington originally planned to build a library house at Mount Vernon and had ordered bookcases for his collections. However, his death prevented the building of the library. Washington's collections and the planned library would be a precursor for the modern presidential library system adopted in the 20th century by Congress.

Renovations
Upon his return, Washington found his five farms and buildings at Mount Vernon were in ruins. He diligently put to work carpenters, masons, and painters to fix the buildings and the mansion house while he made efforts to rehabilitate his farmlands. Washington enjoyed what he called "the Music of hammers, or the odiferous smell of Paint." The army of workers under Washington's command created large dust clouds over his lands. Washington believed the enormous cost of the renovations was the equivalent of "an entire new establishment."

Possible daily schedule
Washington would wake promptly at 5 a.m., wake his hirelings, and give them their assignments for the day. Washington chastised those of "their indisposition" who did not show up for work. At 7:00, Washington ate a meal of cornbread, butter, and honey that was easy to eat and reduced the pain that he suffered from ill-fitting dentures and swollen gums. Afterward, Washington mounted his horse and supervised his farms for six hours. He tended to his new distillery and ordered ditches to be widened.

In one instance, he monitored the health of a slave who had been bitten by a crazed dog. Washington forbade the poaching of deer on his lands. At 2:00 p.m., Washington returned to the mansion house and dined with guests at 3:00. After the meal, Washington showed his medals; prints of war battles by John Trumbull; and a key of the Bastille, a relic of the French Revolution that had been given to him by Lafayette. At the time, Washington was considered a "living legend," and many strangers visited Mount Vernon to see Washington in person.

Republican and Federalist feud

After Washington's presidency, the feud between Republicans and Federalists became toxic and inadvertently drew the former president into the foray.  In March 1798, James Monroe, a Republican and former Minister to France who had been appointed by Washington, published an address that was critical of Washington's recall of him from office in an attempt to cover up his own insubordination. Monroe's denouncement of the Jay Treaty was a direct attack on Washington, who was furious after he read Monroe's pamphlet. He went to his study and responded by writing a line-by-line sarcastic and bitter critique of Monroe's tirade.

Washington had also been informed of a bizarre plot invented by Thomas Jefferson's nephew, Peter Carr, a Republican agitator. On September 25, 1797, Carr sent a letter to Washington, under the pseudonym John Langhorne, to entice him to attack Republicans, which would be circulated in the Republican press. Washington did not respond, and the plot was thwarted. Washington, however, took things further and blamed the plot on Jefferson. His relationship with the fellow Virginian Jefferson disintegrated. In March 1798, Washington agreed with a negative assessment that Jefferson was "one of the most artful, intriguing, industrious and double-faced politicians in America."

Washington went on the offensive. While visiting the Federal City, Washington publicly denounced the French Revolution. Washington through his letters described an overall conspiracy, beyond the pro-French Republicans, that was designed to overthrow the government. He wrote to Lafayette that "a party exists in the United States, formed by a combination of causes, who oppose the government in all its measures, and are determined (as all their conduct evinces) by clogging its wheels, indirectly to change the nature of it, and to subvert the Constitution." Washington also foolhardily endorsed John Adams's Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts, which were passed by Congress to quell the incendiary Republicans.  Washington was also vindicated in the aftermath of a French bribery scandal, the XYZ Affair. The result was a public backlash against the Republicans' support of the French government.

Quasi-War

When Washington began his presidency in April 1789, France had been a strong ally with the United States, and Louis XVI had strongly supported financially and militarily American independence from Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Six days into his first term, the French Revolution plunged Europe into war, between France and Britain, and President Washington and his administration chose to remain neutral. On January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was executed by guillotine.  Matters became more complicated when Washington signed the Jay Treaty in 1794 during his second term, which formalised commercial and diplomatic reproachment with Britain. In 1795, the French started to respond by capturing over 2,000 American merchant ships, and the American navy retaliated, attacked, and captured French naval ships. The French revolutionary wars continued after Washington's presidency.

Upon assuming office, President Adams had to repair the damage caused by Washington's "shattered neutrality policy."  Preparation for war between the United States and France took place in 1798 after the XYZ Affair. Unable to remain neutral, Adams had to respond to French belligerency on the high seas that culminated in what was called the Quasi-War. On July 2, 1798, Adams appointed Washington to Lieutenant General and Commander of the Provisional American Army, but controversy ensued in choosing Washington's subordinate generals. On July 11, 1798, Secretary of State James McHenry, who personally traveled to Mount Vernon, presented Washington with a letter and commission from Adams, which had been approved by Congress.   Washington accepted the commission but demanded not to actively serve unless the French invaded the United States. A terrible controversy ensued over Washington's suggested appointments for his subordinate generals. Adams, who both respected and was jealous of Washington's military prowess, reluctantly agreed.

Washington chose his former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who was recommended to Adams by Washington to be appointed  Major General and Inspector General of the Army, and Henry Knox and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney were to serve as major generals.  Knox, who desired Hamilton's position, protested to Adams, who contemplated the change.  When McHenry and Adams's Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott Jr. protested Knox as second in command, Adams demurred to Washington and appointed Hamilton, instead of Knox, who refused to take his commission as a major general. Washington remained at Mount Vernon while Adams started negotiations with France. Although Washington would not live to the war's end, the crisis was resolved in 1800 through Adams's diplomacy.

Emancipation

Since the Revolutionary War, Washington was troubled by slavery and had for some time been contemplating freeing his slaves and reducing the size of his plantation. Washington knew that posterity or future generations would judge him harshly for his ownership of slaves. He initially planned to sell lands, free his slaves, and use the money from the sale of lands to support his slaves, but he could not find any buyers.

During the summer of 1799, Washington made a new will, that stipulated all of the 124 slaves he owned outright would be freed after the death of his wife, Martha. Washington was concerned over the effects of splitting slave families and on Martha's financial status and so he delayed his slaves' freedom. Both the young and old would be cared for. The young freedmen would be brought up in a trade, and the elder freedmen would live off an annuity provided by Washington's estate.

Washington was well aware of how divisive abolition would be in slaveholding Virginia and so he demanded that his slaves would not be sold or forced to leave Virginia after their freedom. In that sense, Washington's intention may have been for blacks and whites to live together in Virginia as equal citizens, rather than be deported to Africa or recolonized. Washington's elderly valet-shoemaker slave William Lee was freed outright for his  "faithful services during the Revolutionary War." Washington gave Lee a $30 annuity.

The historian John Ferling believed that Washington's will was an act of atonement for the life he spent in human exploitation.  Additionally, Washington hoped that his example would lead other slaveowners to take a similar step. After Washington's death, Martha feared that his slaves were planning to kill her to obtain their freedom since his will stipulated their freedom was contingent upon her death. To prevent that, although it was unlikely that his slaves would have killed her, Martha manumitted all of Washington's slaves on January 1, 1801.  Washington and Martha could not free any of the Custis slaves by law. They would be reverted to the Custis estate upon Martha's death, and divided among her grandchildren.  Washington's will and the manumission (freedom) of his slaves had a reverse effect on Virginia society, which in 1806 passed more restrictive measures for slaveowners to free their slaves.

Sudden sickness and death

On December 12, 1799, a severe storm passed over Mount Vernon and the surrounding region that deposited heavy snow, sleet, and hail. Washington was not dismayed and continued his rigorous routine of riding for five hours and making rounds at Mount Vernon. When he returned to the mansion, he refused to change his wet clothes out of courtesy so that he could dine with his guests. On December 13, Washington had a hoarse throat but continued to work outside in the cold weather to mark trees for pruning. Although he knew that he had a cold, he refused to get treatment. He told himself, "Let it go as it came."

The following day, at 3:00 a.m. on December 14, Washington woke up and was acutely ill, with his speaking voice barely audible, and he had extreme difficulty breathing. Dr. James Craik, Washington's personal physician, and two other doctors, Dr. Gustavus Richard Brown and Dr. Elisha C. Dick, were called to Mount Vernon. Washington's condition rapidly worsened while his doctors purged or bled him and administered various standard medical procedures of the time, all of which had no positive effect to help their dying patient. Dick was strongly against Washington's fourth and final purge because it would seriously weaken Washington, whose skin color had turned blue, a condition of oxygen deprivation. Seeing the gravity of the situation, Dick, the youngest of the three consulting doctors, recommended a tracheotomy to allow air into Washington's lungs and save the patient's life, but the two senior physicians refused to have the fairly-new surgical procedure performed.  Towards midnight, unable to breathe, Washington died. Both senior physicians diagnosed Washington's fatal illness as quinsey or cynanche tracheal, but Dick thought that the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the throat." More recent scholarship has concluded that Washington most probably died of acute bacterial epiglottitis.

Funeral and entombment
Following the instructions in his will, Washington's military funeral took place on December 18, 1799, at Mount Vernon. It was restricted to family, friends, and associates, rather than a grandiose state funeral. The funeral started at 3:00 p.m., when a schooner moored in the Potomac began firing its guns every minute. Inscriptions on the silver plate of Washington's coffin included "Surge Ad Judicium", meaning "Rise to Judgment", and "Gloria Deo," meaning "Glory to God". Military officers and fellow masons served as pallbearers. A musical band from Alexandria played a funeral dirge. A Masonic apron and Washington's sword adorned his coffin, and his trusted horse was led by two slaves in black attire as it passed in front of his body.

Dick attended the funeral and was in charge of directing all of the Masonic rituals. Mount Vernon has since become a patriotic destination for the American public to pay tribute to George Washington, for his contributions as the first President under the Constitution, and for his leadership as Commanding General during the American Revolutionary War.  Washington's body was interred inside his communal family vault in an overgrown hillside, under a knoll of trees, mixed in with other coffins, and Washington had left instructions for a new brick vault.  Early visitors of his vault complained of the poor conditions and neglect.

Philadelphia memorial service
On December 19, 1799, U.S. Representative John Marshall formally announced to the House of Representatives that Washington had died at Mount Vernon. On December 23, Marshall spoke before Congress and initiated a process that would become the groundworks for an organized federal-state funeral. Congress proposed a marble memorial for Washington in the Federal City, and organized a funeral procession in honor of Washington in Philadelphia. A week later, the procession was led by a trumpeter and started from Congressional Hall, leading through the streets of Philadelphia and ending at a German Lutheran Church. At the church, General Henry Lee gave a memorial speech. Lee famously said that Washington was "[f]irst in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Congress, however, later dominated by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans, failed to go through on its pledge to fund and create the marble memorial. To honor Washington, the Federal City would soon bear his name, Washington, D.C.

Aftermath

After his death, Washington was mourned by the nation and eulogized as the "man who unites all hearts." Washington was viewed as a general and statesman who united Patriots during the Revolutionary War and held the nation together during his presidency. He was considered above all an "American", rather than a southerner or northerner.

According to historian T.H. Breen, Washington "enhanced the legitimacy" of the U.S. Constitution. Breen said Washington "brought immense political capital to the presidency. He may have been the most charismatic person ever to hold the office. Everything about the man --- his behavior, dress, and pronouncements, even his coach --- became emblematic of the new constitutional order. In a profound symbolic sense, he was the new nation."

On December 6, 1884, the Washington Monument to honor George Washington was completed and was dedicated on February 21, 1885. In October 1941 the Mount Rushmore monument was completed that honored Washington first among three other presidents.

Presidential library

During the post-World War II patriotic-era of the 20th Century, Congress became concerned over the preservation of Presidential history and documents. The Presidential Libraries Act (1955) established presidential libraries for Presidents to be privately constructed and federally maintained. The Presidential Records Act (1978) established that document records of Presidents are the property of the United States. The Presidential Libraries Act (1986) required that private endowments be linked to the Presidential Libraries and to help pay the maintenance costs.

In 1986, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association (MVLA), sought to educate the world of Washington's importance and life history. In 2010, MVLA planned the building of Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, to further the appreciation of Washington. The groundbreaking for the Library was in April 2011. The Library was completed and opened on September 27, 2013, to the public. The Library facility is 45,000 square feet and contains Washington's books, manuscripts, newspapers, and documents and also is a scholarly retreat and place of education.

Notes

References

Sources

 , Pulitzer Prize

Links
 Mount Rushmore from the Air Viewed 07-01-2019
 The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington Virtual Tour Viewed 07-01-2019
 Washington Monument, Washington [HD] Viewed 07-01-2019

George Washington
1797 beginnings
1799 endings
1790s in American politics
1790s in Virginia
Post-presidencies of presidents of the United States

Post-presidency of George Washington


Ghostface (alternatively stylized as Ghost Face or GhostFace) is a fictional identity that is adopted by the primary antagonists of the Scream franchise. The figure was originally created by Kevin Williamson, and is primarily mute in person but voiced over the phone by Roger L. Jackson, regardless of who is behind the mask (as all killers use a voice changer utilizing that exact voice, starting in person with Scream 2). The disguise has been adopted by various characters in the movies and in the third season of the television series.

Ghostface first appeared in Scream (1996) as a disguise used by teenagers Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), during their killing spree in the fictional town of Woodsboro. The mask was a popular Halloween costume created and designed by Fun World costume company before being chosen by Marianne Maddalena and Craven for the film. The identity is used primarily as a disguise for the antagonists of each film to conceal their identities while conducting serial murders, and as such has been portrayed by several actors.

In the Scream universe, the costume is not unique and is easily obtainable, allowing others to wear a similar outfit. Ghostface often calls their targets to taunt or threaten them while using a voice changer that hides their true identity. In Scream 3, this is taken further when Ghostface uses a device that enables him to sound like several other characters, in order to manipulate targets. The changing identity of the person beneath the mask means that Ghostface has no definite motivation, ranging from revenge and seeking fame to peer pressure. In the first three movies, each killer shares the common goal of killing Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) due to a chain of events that started when Sidney's estranged half-brother, Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), told Billy his father had had an affair with Sidney's mother Maureen (Lynn McRee). In the fourth movie, the killers are jealous of Sidney's notoriety and plan to kill her so they too can become famous. From the fifth film onwards, the focus shifts to Billy's daughter, Samantha "Sam" Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her half-sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega), who are targeted due to their connection to Billy. In these later installments, the new Ghostface killers have motives that may sometimes be connected to the in-universe Stab film series, loose adaptations of the tell-all books about previous Ghostface killings by Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), with Sam also assuming the Ghostface mantle herself in order to kill other Ghostfaces.

The Ghostface persona remains the same throughout the Scream series, featuring a black hood and cloak with a jagged base and a white rubber mask resembling a ghost with an anguish expression. Though each iteration of Ghostface is human, they often exhibit extreme durability against physical harm, high levels of physical strength, and an almost supernatural stealth ability, able to appear and disappear in seemingly impossible situations. The character has become a popular culture icon since its inception, referenced in film and television as well as spawning a series of action figures and merchandise, as well as parodies and titular spoofs.

In the 2015–2016 television series Scream, Ghostface is adapted as the Lakewood Slasher, who appeared in the series for the first two seasons, and the Shallow Grove Slasher, who appeared in the Halloween special episodes of the second season; both are voiced by Mike Vaughn, with a different mask due to copyright issues. The original Ghostface persona returned in Scream: Resurrection, once again voiced by Roger L. Jackson, replacing Vaughn. In the movies, Ghostface has appeared in all entries to date, returning most recently in Scream VI, with Jackson reprising his role, now credited as "The Voice".

Appearances

Films

Ghostface first appears in the opening scene of Scream (1996). The character, voiced by Roger L. Jackson, calls and taunts teenager Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) with horror clichés and trivia questions, eventually murdering her boyfriend Steve Orth (Kevin Patrick Walls) and then her. The identity has been adopted by the primary antagonists of each successive film to conceal their identities, prior to being revealed in each film's final act.

In the original Scream, the identity is used by a killer stalking the fictional town of Woodsboro, California. After the murder spree begins, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) begins receiving taunting and threatening phone calls from Ghostface, who claims knowledge of her mother Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee)'s brutal rape and murder, one year prior to the events of the film, a murder that was blamed on Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber). The Ghostface disguise allows suspicion to fall on many people, including Sidney's boyfriend, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich); her father, Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht); her friend, Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy); and her schoolmate, Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). Ghostface is revealed in the finale as both Billy and Stu, who reveal that they murdered Sidney's mother and framed Cotton. Billy cites his motivation as abandonment by his mother, brought about by his father's affair with Maureen, while Stu cites "peer pressure". As the two killers reveal their plan to frame Sidney's father for their killing spree, reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) suddenly appears and attempts to shoot them with their gun, only for Billy to knock her out and prepare to kill her, only to suddenly realize that while Gale was confronting them, Sidney managed to escape. Sidney ultimately turns the tables against Billy and Stu, temporarily adopting the Ghostface persona herself to taunt them with a phone call, revealing that she called the police on them and thus foiled their plan to get away with their killing spree, leaving the two killers shocked, horrified, and enraged. Briefly dressing up as Ghostface, Sidney attacks and knocks out Billy with an umbrella and then engages in a fight with Stu, ultimately killing him by dropping a television on his head. Gale shoots Billy to stop him from killing Sidney, who then finishes Billy off with a bullet to the head, citing the fact that "They ALWAYS come back," a common horror cliché, and now her catchphrase. This is most likely one of the many tropes taught to her by Randy Meeks, who is obsessed with horror and openly lists these clichés earlier in the film during a party.

Ghostface's second appearance was in Scream 2 (1997) where it was again used as a disguise by the main antagonists. A series of murders occur at Windsor College, Sidney's current location, with the initial victims sharing names with Billy and Stu's victims from Scream. The killers again taunt Sidney and attempt to kill her, and later kill Randy. The Ghostface disguise allows suspicion to fall on several characters, including Cotton again, and Sidney's boyfriend Derek Feldman (Jerry O'Connell). However, Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant), a friend of Derek, reveals himself as the killer, seeking fame for his prolific exploits. Mickey's accomplice is revealed to be Billy's mother (Laurie Metcalf), under the alias Debbie Salt, who is seeking revenge against Sidney for her son's death, while showing unwillingness to accept her own faults as a mother which included abandoning Billy, which Sidney points out during their confrontation. Mrs. Loomis shoots Mickey, claiming to have indulged his desire for fame only to enlist his help in enacting her revenge, and tries to kill Sidney, only for Sidney to fight back. Just as Mrs. Loomis ultimately prepares to kill Sidney, Cotton suddenly arrives, and Mrs. Loomis tries to manipulate him into letting her kill Sidney, but to her shock, she fails to do so and Cotton instead shoots Mrs. Loomis in the neck. Seconds later, Mickey springs to his feet screaming but is quickly shot to death by Gale and Sidney. Sidney then shoots Mrs. Loomis in the head, saying "just in case".

In Scream 3 (2000), a new Ghostface killer murders Cotton and his girlfriend Christine Hamilton (Kelly Rutherford) in an attempt to discover the now-hidden Sidney's location. The killer murders the cast of "Stab 3", the film within a film based on Sidney and her experiences with Ghostface, while leaving images of Maureen at the crime scenes to draw Sidney out of seclusion. Ghostface is revealed as Sidney's half-brother, film director Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), born to their mother Maureen during a two-year period when she moved to Hollywood to become an actress under the name Rina Reynolds. After being gang-raped and impregnated at a party, she gave Roman up for adoption; Roman sought her out years later, only to be rejected, telling him that he's Rina's child. Roman began stalking Maureen and filming her relationships with other men, including Hank Loomis. He used this footage to reveal to Billy why his mother had abandoned him before convincing him to kill Maureen, sparking the chain of events in Scream and Scream 2. As Roman rants on his motive and desire to frame and kill Sidney for "stealing the life she took from him", Sidney shuts him up, saying that she's heard those rants before from other killers and that he simply kills people because he chose to, provoking an enraged Roman into fighting Sidney, which she eventually wins by outsmarting Roman and stabbing him in the back and chest, while Gale and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) arrive shortly after and discover his identity, ruining Roman's plans of framing Sidney for his crimes. A defeated Roman briefly connects with Sidney by holding her hand, but then attempts to attack once more. Dewey manages to ultimately kill Roman with Sidney's help, ending the series of murders based on his revenge against Maureen.

In the director's commentary, the Stab 3 "Sidney Prescott" actress Angelina Tyler (Emily Mortimer) is revealed to have been a second killer and Roman's lover, with the scenes revealing her survival and true allegiances after apparently being killed by Ghostface having been cut; Wes Craven elaborated that an earlier scene in the film where Sidney came across Angelina wearing Ghostface gear in her dressing room, which Angelina had passed off as still wearing due to just having come off of set, was Sidney unknowingly actually having caught Angelina in the act of changing into her Ghostface gear, furthermore leaving it ambiguous as to whether or not Angelina was actually dead or could return; in the subsequent Scream Trilogy box set booklet, Angelina is not listed among the deceased characters after the events of Scream 3. However, this is contradicted in a scene in Scream VI, listing Roman Bridger as the only Ghostface in the Hollywood killings. Ghostface is also voiced by Foley, Schreiber, Lynn McRee, Campbell, Cox, David Arquette, Beth Toussaint, and Ulrich via a voice changer used to impersonate them.

In Scream 4 (2011), another Ghostface killer emerges in Woodsboro on the 15th anniversary of the massacre conducted by Billy and Stu; the new killer recreates events from the incident but also films the murders to create a snuff film. Ghostface kills several teenagers and police officers before being unmasked as Sidney's cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) and her friend Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin), who intend to kill Sidney, frame Jill's ex-boyfriend Trevor Sheldon (Nico Tortorella), and become the current generation's "Sidney Prescott" and "Randy Meeks" with the accompanying fame of being the "survivors" of the massacre, as Jill was jealous of Sidney's experiences with Ghostface. Jill betrays Charlie and stabs him through the heart, wishing to become the sole survivor, and after admitting to Sidney that she really is a sick, evil woman who was willing to kill her own mother Kate (Mary McDonnell) to get what she wants, declaring that "sick is the new sane", she then seemingly kills Sidney before purposely injuring and stabbing herself to make herself appear a victim of Ghostface. After being taken to the hospital, Jill's plans end up backfiring when Dewey informs her that Sidney has survived. An enraged Jill makes a desperate attempt to kill Sidney, but is stalled by Dewey, Gale, and Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) long enough for Sidney to electrocute her on the head with a defibrillator, saying that Jill forgot the first rule of remakes, "Don't fuck with the original". An injured Jill attempts to stab Sidney with a piece of broken glass in a last-ditch attempt to finish her off, but Sidney anticipates this and shoots Jill through the heart, finally killing her, while Jill's status as the "sole surviving hero" ultimately becomes short-lived.

In Scream (2022), 25 years after the original Woodsboro massacre, a new Ghostface killer strikes by attacking a young girl named Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) at her house, leaving her hospitalized, while Tara's estranged sister, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), who is revealed to be the illegitimate daughter of the original Ghostface killer Billy Loomis, arrives at Woodsboro to protect Tara. Immediately after Sam's arrival, Ghostface continues to attack and kill more people, with the initial victims being people related to Billy and Stu's original killing spree, and manages to ultimately kill Dewey, causing Sidney and Gale to join Sam and Tara as they attempt to put an end to the killings to avenge Dewey. Ghostface is later revealed to be both Sam's boyfriend Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) and Tara's friend Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison), who are revealed to be two obsessive and toxic fans of the in-universe horror film series Stab. Having been disappointed with recent installments (including one directed by Rian Johnson), they chose to commit a killing spree in the hopes of inspiring a real-life "requel" (half reboot, half sequel) of the franchise, believing they're "real fans" that can save the Stab franchise by "restoring" it to its normal formula, while intending to frame Sam for their crimes. In the ensuing confrontation, Amber fights against Sidney and Gale, who ultimately gain the upper hand, and Gale shoots Amber as she pleads for mercy, causing her to fall straight into a burning kitchen stove and be set on fire. As Richie pursues Sam while gloating that "villains like Sam die at the end", Sam introduces a new rule to Richie, "Never fuck with the daughter of a serial killer", and violently stabs Richie in the exact same manner of Ghostface stabbing a victim. As a wounded and frightened Richie pleads for his life and asks about "his ending", Sam fatally slashes his throat, and then shoots Richie in the head to make sure he doesn't "come back". A horribly-burnt Amber resurfaces to attack the group once more, but is ultimately shot in the head by Tara. It is later revealed in the next movie that in spite of Gale writing a book about the recent events despite her promise not to, a film adaptation of the book is not set to be made, officially destroying Richie and Amber's plan.

In Scream VI (2023), one year later, a new Ghostface killer arrives in New York City, killing two film students, Jason Carvey (Tony Revolori) and his best friend Greg Bruckner (Thom Newell), just as they attempted to start a Ghostface spree of their own to finish "Richie's film". Ghostface then begins to specifically target Sam, who has moved to New York with Tara and their surviving friends and is currently ostracized in public due to an online rumor claiming that Sam was the mastermind of the recent Woodsboro killing spree, and also targets anyone else close to Sam and kills innocent people that stand in Ghostface's way, while leaving other Ghostface masks at the crime scenes. Eventually, Sam and the group, including a survivor of the 2011 killing spree, Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), lure Ghostface to an abandoned cinema containing various pieces of evidence in lockup from past Ghostface killings to make a Ghostface shrine, and in the ensuing confrontation, Ghostface is revealed to be three people, police detective Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) and two of the group's roommates, Ethan (Jack Champion) and Quinn (Liana Liberato). The three reveal themselves to be Richie's family, who desire to get revenge on the one who killed him, spreading rumors of Sam being the mastermind of the previous murders to assassinate her character, and then killing Sam after framing her for their crimes, while also having killed Jason and Greg to prevent their plans from interfering with their own. As the Bailey family corners Sam and Tara, Bailey angrily declares that anyone who was responsible for his son's death and "messed with the Bailey family" must suffer and die, and tries to force Sam into putting on her father's mask so she can die as a killer like her father Billy. However, Sam and Tara ultimately gain the upper hand after Sam taunts them with the fact that Richie never managed to kill a lot of victims himself (Amber committed the majority of the murders), before having died cowardly and pleading for his life. In the ensuing fight, Tara seriously wounds Ethan by stabbing him in the mouth and Sam kills Quinn by shooting her in the head, while Bailey is knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, Bailey finds himself receiving a phone call from Ghostface, who taunts him over his motives and soon emerges to attack, causing Bailey to immediately become frightened and plead for his life (like Richie) just as Ghostface stabs a screaming Bailey multiple times, before unmasking herself as Sam. Sam considers letting Wayne live, declaring to him that she's better than her father Billy as he was nothing but a selfish murderer, but ultimately throws Bailey's motive onto him by reminding him that he "messed with her family", and ultimately kills Bailey by stabbing him in the eye. Soon after, a wounded Ethan attempts to attack once more, only for Kirby to push a damaged TV (the same one that killed Stu Macher years ago) onto Ethan's head, killing him.

Television series
Ghostface made an appearance in the third season of the anthology television slasher series Scream. The season, titled Scream: Resurrection, premiered on VH1 on July 8, 2019. In this season, the killers are revealed in the episode "Endgame": Beth (Giorgia Whigham) and Jamal "Jay" Elliot (Tyga).

Video games
Ghostface is featured as a killer in the asymmetrical multiplayer survival horror game, Dead by Daylight, voiced by Filip Ivanovic. He was added in the Ghost Face DLC released on June 18, 2019, under the alias "The Ghost Face." In the game, Ghostface's real identity is Danny Johnson, known by the pseudonym Jed Olsen, a narcissistic freelancer newspaper journalist in the fictional town of Roseville, Florida, who covers the Ghostface murders by day and commits them by night. This version of Ghostface is an original character who was created exclusively for the game and has no relation to the Scream franchise. This is because the developers were only able to acquire the license for the Scream mask, which is separate from the one for the character, as the films used a pre-existing mask. Players can access different styles of the mask for Ghostface in Dead by Daylight.

Ghostface appears as a playable operator in Season Six of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone. Roger L. Jackson reprises his role as the voice of Ghostface.

In April 2022, Ghostface was added in an update as a free playable skin for a limited time in the online multiplayer social deduction game Among Us.

Concept and creation

The Ghostface costume is the outfit worn by the main antagonists of the Scream franchise, consisting of a rubber white mask with black eyes, nose, and mouth and black, cloth-like material; a hooded robe, with faux-tatters draping from the arms; and a spiked trim to the base of the outfit. In the movie, the costume is considered common and easily purchasable, making identifying the buyers difficult and creating the possibility for anyone to be the killer.

The Ghostface mask was first developed for novelty stores during the Halloween season between 1991 and 1992 by Fun World, as part of a series entitled "Fantastic Faces", the mask itself known as "The Peanut-Eyed Ghost", with the final design approved by Fun World vice-President Allan Geller; the design was adapted from a "wailer" ghost mask created by Alterian, Inc. artist Loren Gitthens in 1990 and 1991. Craven claimed to have originally found the mask but later clarified that he had misremembered the event and that it was producer Marianne Maddalena who discovered it. She found it while inside a house during location scouting for the film and brought it to the attention of Craven, who set about trying to obtain the rights to use it. Fun World licensing director R.J. Torbert joined Fun World in 1996 and was given the task of naming the mask prior to its film debut, deciding on "GhostFace" with the blessing of Fun World owners Stanley and Allan Geller. Torbert felt it looked like a "ghost in pain", believing it to be a unique design. The Ghostface design and title are owned by Fun World.

The design of the mask bears reference to Edvard Munch's painting The Scream, the film poster to Pink Floyd's The Wall, the ghostly characters that appeared in the 1930s Betty Boop cartoons, and Season 1 Scooby Doo Where Are You ghosts in the episode "A Night Of Fright Is No Delight". The mask is stark white and depicts a caricature of someone screaming and crying at the same time. Designer Sleiertin stated that the mask displayed different emotions, "It's a horrible look, it's a sorry look, it's a frantic look". Since the appearance of Ghostface in Scream, the costume has become the most worn and sold costume for Halloween in the United States.

The initial script labeled the main antagonist as "masked killer" with no specifications to its appearance, forcing Craven and his staff to produce the costume eventually worn by Ghostface as they were shooting. Craven asked Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger of design company KNB Effects to produce a mask specifically for the film based on the Fun World design, but did not like the final result. After Fun World and Dimension Films were able to complete an agreement for the use of the Ghostface mask, Craven was able to use the original design as he wanted. The custom mask made by KNB Effects still appears in the scenes involving the murders of Casey Becker and Principal Himbry, as filming of these scenes completed prior to the finalization of the deal between Fun World and Dimension Films.

The 1991–92 "Fantastic Faces" edition of the mask used in Scream is made of thin, white rubber with blackened eyes, nose, and mouth. Despite being fictionally a character in the movie cast, in the first, second, and fourth films, the costume was most often worn by stunt performer Dane Farwell, who gave the character specific characteristics such as cleaning the knife after killing, also giving the stature and a unique movement to the character. In the first film, Craven wore the costume during the opening murder scene, where the character is struck by a phone, and by Ulrich only once during a finale scene, where the character prepares to murder Randy. Despite Stu wearing the costume in the film, actor Lillard never actually wore the outfit. Scream 2 features a slightly redesigned version of the mask from the "Fearsome Faces" line, possessing slightly-altered eyes and an indented chin. Following Scream 2, the Ghostface mask became part of the "Ghostface" line of masks featuring several variations of the design including glow-in-the-dark models. The plain, white version of the Ghostface line mask is used in Scream 3 by Bridger. Another edition of the mask was developed for use by Ghostface in Scream 4, dubbed "The Deluxe Edition Mask"; again, similar to the original Ghostface design, but constructed of thicker rubber with a pearlescent finish.

Following the description in Williamson's script of a "ghost mask", Craven and designers had originally intended to use a white motif, creating a white cloak and hood for the killer's costume. It was the intervention of Maddalena, who felt that the cloak would be scarier if it was black, that resulted in the dark costume shown on screen. The cloak itself had to be custom-made for the film, as the "Father Death" outfit identified in Scream as that of the killers did not really exist; the Fun World mask was sold only as a stand-alone item. The cloak entered into retail markets only following the release of Scream. Each cloak was estimated to cost $700 to hand-produce by a seamstress and was made of a heavy, thick, black material, with reflective threads woven throughout, creating a subtle glimmer. The cloak was created to help conceal the identity of the killers by covering most of their visible bodies, as it was believed that otherwise audiences would be able to guess which character was involved by his or her clothing and body-shape.

The knife used by Ghostface in the films is a custom prop knife based on the Buck 120 Hunting Knife. The knife blades are made of aluminum or chrome-paint-coated plastic with a rubber handle, depending on the scenario for which they are needed. The handle is black with a silver metallic appearance for the tip. The Buck 120 knife was chosen as the model for the Ghostface weapon because of the large blade it features.

Characterization
Ghostface is rarely depicted as speaking while physically on screen in order to aid in concealing the identity of the character behind the mask. Exceptions to this are grunts and groans when injured, which are dubbed into the film during the editing phase by Jackson. Ghostface only speaks physically on-screen on four occasions in the series; on the first two occasions, it is just before his true identity is revealed; the third occasion is the hospital scene in Scream (2022); the fourth occasion is the opening sequence in Scream VI. The voice given to the character, provided by Jackson, is used when talking to another character over the phone or to display the use of the voice changer when the killer reveals himself. Despite being portrayed by different characters in each film, Ghostface displays similar personality and physical attributes regardless of who is wearing the costume or speaking to a target, such as taunting his victims over the telephone, the ritualistic cleaning of his knife after a kill, slashing the throat of his victims before killing them by stabbing, almost superhuman strength and durability, and grunts and groans when injured.

Ghostface is first referred to by that name in the first movie, when character Tatum Riley, played by Rose McGowan, calls the masked killer "Mr. Ghostface", prior to her death.

Ghostface is often shown to taunt his targets, initially representing himself as charming and even flirtatious when speaking. His conversations turn confrontational and intimidating, using his knowledge of other characters or graphically describing his intentions before appearing to the target physically. Craven considers Jackson's voice performance as Ghostface to have "evil sophistication". When confronting his intended victim, Ghostface is portrayed in varying ways, sometimes quick and efficient and other times clumsy, falling, or colliding with objects that hinder his pursuit, a characteristic that varies based upon who is wearing the costume. Whoever inhabits the costume, Ghostface taunts its victims and prolongs a kill when it appears to have an advantage. The Billy/Stu Ghostface would gut its victims after killing them; this was not performed on Tatum Riley who was killed in a mechanical garage door. This Ghostface, in particular, would ask its victim questions about horror films and employ the tropes of the genre in its attacks, displaying a detachment from reality and aligned with the same self-awareness of the film itself which toys with the expectations of the horror genre. The second Ghostface, created by Mickey and Mrs. Loomis, would repeatedly stab its victim to death but often in a public place or with witnesses. The third Ghostface, created by Roman, preferred more clean kills with precise stabbings, and used theatricality and movie props to attack his victims, using a voice changer that allowed him to sound like many other people, casting suspicion and doubt on other characters. In addition, he would use images and the synthesized voice of Maureen to specifically taunt Sidney, even shrouding himself in a bloodied, crime scene cover, alluding to the murder of Maureen, to fool Sidney into believing that she was losing her sanity. The fourth Ghostface, created by Jill and Charlie, filmed each murder on web cameras hidden around the environment and spy cameras in its mask. Charlie mostly repeatedly stabbed his victims to death in a more vicious and brutal fashion and would go further and gut them if he wanted, while Jill mostly stabbed only once. The two killers also made some of the murders public to gain the attention of the world press. The fifth Ghostface, created by Richie and Amber, mainly focused on brutally attacking and injuring victims, while killing most of them in a swift manner. The sixth Ghostface, created by Richie's family, committed violent murders and attacks on either the ones close to Sam Carpenter or anyone standing in the way, while leaving the masks of previous Ghostface killers at the scene of the crime afterwards.

The motivations for Ghostface's killing vary in each film and are respective to each killer wearing the costume. Billy claimed to have been driven to insanity by his mother's abandonment, an incident he blamed on Maureen, and after taking his revenge on her chose to continue his spree, leading towards her daughter Sidney, while Stu lists peer pressure as his motivation. In Scream 2, Mrs. Loomis cites her motivation as simple revenge against the person she holds responsible for her son's death, while Mickey desires the fame that his involvement in the killings will garner when he is caught. In Scream 3, Roman seeks revenge for what he sees as his mother's rejection and abandonment by engineering Maureen's death and trying to kill Sidney, seeing her as having the family-life he was denied. In Scream 4, Jill, jealous of Sidney, wished to obtain similar fame as the sole survivor of a new massacre, while Charlie aided her both for those reasons and his love for Jill. In Scream (2022), Richie and Amber, who are shown to be extremely toxic fans of the Stab franchise, start a huge killing spree in an effort to inspire a ninth Stab film that goes back to the franchise's old formula, having hated the eighth film (which was written and directed by Rian Johnson) for its new storytelling elements that stepped away from the old formula. In Scream VI, Detective Wayne Bailey and his son and daughter, Ethan and Quinn, who are revealed to be Richie's family, desire to get revenge on the one who killed Richie by assassinating her character and framing her for a new killing spree.

In costume, the Ghostfaces share a ritualistic mannerism of gripping the blade of its knife between thumb and forefinger and wiping it clean of any blood following a murder by drawing its hand from handle to the tip of the knife. This characteristic was given to the character by stuntman Dane Farwell who wore the costume for many of its scenes in Scream. Each killer is depicted as possessing effective physical abilities, such as the capabilities of nearly flawless stealth, prowling without being detected, moving silently, and efficiently vanishing from its targets' defense. Additionally, the killer tends to display sufficient strength that allows them to overpower victims, such as in Scream 2, in regards to defeating two trained detectives single-handedly. Ghostface is shown to be able to sustain and even ignore severe levels of physical damage, surviving blunt trauma, stabbing wounds and gunshots. While Stu, Mrs. Loomis, Charlie, Richie, Quinn, and Wayne were all killed instantly in one blow, Billy, Mickey, Roman, Jill, Amber, and Ethan, despite having sustained severe injuries prior, all survived to make one final, desperate attack before finally being killed by the heroes.

Cultural impact

McFarlane Toys produced a 6-inch figurine of Ghostface in 1999 for the "Movie Maniacs II" series of horror and science fiction inspired line of character models. A series of figures were produced by NECA for Scream 4 featuring the standard mask and black cowl plus variations such as "Zombie Ghostface" with a decayed appearance on the mask and "Scarecrow Ghostface" with brown, burlap material used for the mask and clothing.

Ghostface has been parodied and referenced numerous times in media following his appearance in the Scream franchise, most prominently in the parody film Scary Movie (2000) where a killer dressed as Ghostface commits a series of murders. However, unlike the original film, the killer is revealed to be a single person; this parodic version of Ghostface later appears in the June 1, 2016 Erma comic strip, named "Prank Call", wherein the character is making prank calls whilst quoting Scream, alongside the series' titular character. In the parody film Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (2000), a killer wearing a Jason Voorhees-style hockey mask is set on fire, his mask melting to resemble that of Ghostface. The film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) features Ghostface, as Shannen Doherty and Craven provide cameos as themselves making the then non-existent Scream 4, but Doherty objects when Ghostface turns out to be played by the orangutan, Suzann.

As in film, Ghostface has been referenced repeatedly in various television programs and commercials. In the same year as the release of Scream 3, the mask made an appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 and the Nickelodeon series Cousin Skeeter. It was also used as an ornament in the bedroom of Dawson Leery in Dawson's Creek, a show created by Scream writer, Williamson. The character appears in a 1999 episode of Celebrity Deathmatch entitled "The Unknown Murderer", where he threatens to kill a scream queen every round, murdering Barrymore, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jennifer Love Hewitt before planting his cell phone on a platypus to frame him, causing Campbell and Sarah Michelle Gellar to fight it. The mask was later used in The Sopranos episode "Fortunate Son" (2001) where it is worn by the character Christopher to commit a robbery.

The costume is referenced in an episode of the television series Boomtown entitled "All Hallow's Eve" (2002) where a police officer uses the costume to frighten a bully who has been terrorizing other kids. In the Japanese anime FLCL episode "Marquis de Cabras" (2003), protagonist Naota's face changes to resemble that of Ghostface frequently during a scene where he and his family are eating spicy curry. The character makes a cameo appearance in Tripping the Rift in the episode "The Devil and a Guy Named Webster" (2004) as the judge when Chode sells his soul to the devil and finds a way to sue him. He also appears in a 2004 advert for Trivial Pursuit: '90s edition; representing iconic characters of the 1990s alongside Dennis Rodman and the character Rose from the 1997 film Titanic. A parody of Ghostface appears in the television series All Grown Up! episode "Interview with a Campfire" (2004) where Lil DeVille is taunted by phone and stalked by a character wearing an Easter Bunny mask.

The character appears briefly in The Simpsons episode "Home Away from Homer" (2005) where Homer Simpson suggests him as a babysitter for his daughter Maggie Simpson. Roger L. Jackson lends his voice to Ghostface in the Robot Chicken episode "That Hurts Me" (2005) alongside other famous film killers in a show that parodies Big Brother, launching a prank war against Pinhead and Freddy Krueger before giving a speech to save himself from elimination from the show. He is referenced by Kenny Powers, the main character of Eastbound & Down who requests to wear the mask while having sex. In Scream XXX: A porn parody, a new Ghostface (wearing a clown variant of the Father Death mask) begins murdering the cast and crew of an in-production pornographic parody of the Stab series. In another porn parody, the gay movie Moan, the version of Ghostface seen in the film does not wear a mask. Instead, he has a hood and facepaint that resembles the mask (presembly, this change was made to help make the movie more erotic).

In his book Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, Adam Rockoff opined that Ghostface's mask was a "striking, surreal and downright terrifying presence". Calling the mask a "hyperbolic rendering" of Edvard Munch's The Scream, Rockoff wrote that the face is "twisted in an exaggerated, almost mocking grin, as if reflecting the look of terror and surprise on his victims' faces." Tony Magistrale also discussed the similarities between Ghostface's mask and The Scream in his book Abject Terrors: Surveying the Modern and Postmodern Horror Film, stating that the painting, "an apt representation of the degree of alienation from other people, inspires the killers' murderous agenda".

Notes

References

External links

 Ghostface.co.uk
 HelloSidney

Fictional blackmailers
Fictional murderers of children
Fictional code names
Fictional costumes
Fictional knife-fighters
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional serial killers
Film characters introduced in 1996
Halloween costume
Masks in the Americas
Mortal Kombat guest characters
Scream (franchise) characters
Slasher film antagonists

Ghostface (identity)


Funda Vanroy (born 24 January 1977) is a German television presenter and actress.

Life and career
Born in Gaildorf, West Germany, Vanroy is of Turkish and Azerbaijani descent. She spent most of her life in Munich, where she grew up shortly after birth. After Mittlere Reife, she worked at the Deutsche Bank and later at the Süddeutscher Verlag.

In 2002, she made her first experience on camera in CityHeat!-TV at the Munich local broadcaster CityInfo (now München 2) and was a reporter for the programme until 2004. From 2005 to 2007 she worked as a quiz channel moderator, from 2005 mainly on the programme Night-Loft on ProSieben and incidentally also for call-in broadcasts on 9Live, later only on Night-Loft on ProSieben.

In 2007 she finished the aforementioned activity. Since 2008 she became known as a reporter on the ProSieben show Galileo. In 2011, Vanroy hosted the reportage series on ProSieben Wild Wedding – JA ich will, aber schrill. In November 2011, she participated in Das perfekte Promi-Dinner. In the same month she joined VOX as a presenter in the documentary soap Wohnen nach Wunsch – Das Haus, taking over six out of ten cases.

In June 2012, she also took over a post as presenter at Galileo. Vanroy moderates Galileo Wissensreise in the studio every Saturday and is also the successor of Eva Mähl's representation of Airman Abdallah and Stefan Gödde. On the occasion of the Tolerance Day campaign broadcast on ProSieben, she was in front of the camera together with Simon Gosejohann in February 2013 and reported on how Germans think about foreigners and immigrants.

Since September 2013, and thus since the launch of ProSieben Maxx, where she also reported live on all six ProSiebenSat.1 Media channels from the red carpet, and hosts the knowledge magazine Galileo 360° on Thursdays at 8.15 pm.

In addition to her first appearances on television, Vanroy also learned to act. In addition to her work on TV she moderated events, she stood for the Nicolaidis Stiftung, which she also supports herself, as well as for various Audi events, at CeBIT and also at the Marchon Crystal Sky Award 2011 on the stage. Among other things, she moderated the IDIZEM Dialog-Preis and was a surprise speaker in the Bavarian State Parliament at the Bavarian Integration Prize.

In addition to her moderation work, she was also seen in smaller roles in some ZDF television series, such as 2009 in Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst or 2010 in Ein Fall für zwei, Der Kriminalist and Der Landarzt.

In July 2009, she also posed for the men's magazine FHM.

Vanroy lives with her husband Sanjiv Singh, the former managing director of Lacoste and now a member of the board of Liebeskind Berlin GmbH, and her daughter on a property in the Munich area.

Television broadcasting activities
2002–04: CityHeat!-TV (as reporter)
2005–07: Night-Loft (as moderator)
2005: Various call-in programmes at 9Live (as moderator)
Since 2008: Galileo (as reporter and studio presenter)
2009: Solitary (as participant)
2011: Wild Wedding – JA ich will, aber schrill (as moderator)
2011: Perfekten Promi-Dinner (as participant)
2011–12: Wohnen nach Wunsch – Das Haus (as moderator)
2012: Destination Kanada on Sport1 (as moderator)
Since 2012: Galileo Wissensreise (as studio presenter)
2013: Tolerance Day (as moderator)
2013: Transmission start of ProSieben Maxx (as moderator)
Since 2013: Galileo 360° (as studio presenter)
2013–14: TV Total Stock Car Crash Challenge

Filmography
2004–08: Various advertising records and short films for dffb and Berlin 36
2009: Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst – Wrong Fifties – The Methods of Counterfeiters (as Susanne)
2010: Ein Fall für zwei – Offenders and Victims (as Mrs. Siebert)
2010: Der Kriminalist – The Shadow (as Jogger)
2010: Der Landarzt – Thick Air (as Mrs. Ocker)
2016: Jack the Ripper – Eine Frau jagt einen Mörder (as Prostitute Mary Jane Kelly)

References

External links

German actresses
German television presenters
1977 births
People from Schwäbisch Hall
Living people
German women television presenters
ProSieben people
Actresses from Munich

Funda Vanroy


The udukkai, udukai or udukku (Tamil: உடுக்கை) is a member of the family of membranophone percussion instruments of India and Nepal used in folk music and prayers in Tamil Nadu. The drums are an ancient design of  hourglass drums similar to the northern damaru and southern idakka. Its shape is similar to other Indian hourglass drums, having a small snare stretched over one side. They are played with the bare hand, and the pitch may be tered by squeezing the lacing in the middle. It is made of wood or brass and is very portable. It originated in Tamil Nadu as well. Other members in the family include thehuruk, hurkî, hurko, hudko or hudka, utukkai.

Another non-hourglass drum that is also referred to as udukkai is the damru (while in the hands of Shiva).

Hudukkâ

Known from xiii th  century, this is a drum barrel converted hourglass by adding membranes wide overhanging ends. The kuddukâ is similar but does not grelotet is played with the stick. It is still used in ritual Kerala music by the Marârs caste and forms of folk dances. Given its small size, it also accompanies traveling musicians. These drums are characterized by a modifiable tension of the pitch of the sound during the play and thus have a melodic vocation as much as rhythmic.

Characteristics

48 cm long and 18 cm in diameter, the body of the instrument is carved from wood. The cow or goat skin membranes are glued to a thick (2 cm) ring (22 cm in diameter) in vegetable fiber pierced with six holes through which a cotton tension cord passes, also allowing the membrane to be held in place by lacing in W. Bells are attached to the lacing.

Playing

This armpit drum is suspended by means of a strap from the percussionist's left shoulder. The right hand strikes the skin while the left hand ensures the variations in tension by tightening the central part of the rope covered with a wide cotton strip.

Huruk
Known since the xvi th  century in northern India. It receives various names: hurki (Uttar Pradesh), dâk or deru (Rajasthan), daklû (Gujarat) and guruki (Maharashtra).

Characteristics

It is 25 cm long with 15 cm diameter goat membranes attached to a bamboo or fig tree ring protruding from the body of the instrument. They are held in place by a Y-shaped cotton lacing passing through six holes. At the junction of the inverted cones, a shoulder strap is attached.

Playing

The left hand grasps the lacing and holds the instrument while only the right strikes it on the only front face. The instrument accompanies the karkâ (martial ballad of Rajasthan and Punjab) and folk dances.

Hudko
It is found as much in northern India as in Nepal. Played at festivals by Damai musicians from the far western Nepali Seti Zone, Mahakali Zone and Kamali Zone to accompany recitation of the Mahabharata and folk songs and ceremonies, such as worship, marriage and fasting. Festivals include Nwaran and Bratabandha (व्रतबन्ध).

Characteristics
The two headed drum made from wood and copper is 30 cm long body x 20 cm diameter at drumheads, with a narrow waist. It is hollowed out on the lathe; metal sometimes replaces wood. The tightened part houses a small hole allowing the "breathing" of the instrument. The goatskin membranes are attached to rings laced with a cord providing variable tension.

Playing
It is worn over the shoulder and played by the untouchables. It is again the left hand which holds the instrument by grasping it at the central part while varying the tension and therefore the pitch of the sound, while the right strikes the only playing side. It accompanies folk dances but also jâgar shamanic rituals.

Udukku
The udukku (Kerala) and utukkai (Tamil Nadu) resemble Huruk . They also receive other names: studied, idaisurangu decked and davandai (larger and thicker, played to the stick).

Characteristics

The body is sometimes made of copper or terracotta. They also have a metal or plant or animal fiber stamp under the left membrane ensuring a specific buzz .

Playing

It is performed in the temples during rituals where it sometimes replaces the idakka . It also accompanies the songs of viladichanpate harvests .

References

South Asia : The Indian Subcontinent. (Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 5). Routledge; Har/Com edition (November 1999).

External links
 Video

Hand drums
Indian musical instruments
Membranophones
Asian percussion instruments
Pitched percussion instruments

Udukai


Super Ninja Boy  is an action role-playing game released for the Super NES. It features random encounters with side-scrolling battles, although some boss battles are fought with a traditional menu-based system. There are also a few platforming sections.

In single-player mode, the main character is Jack. The game can be switched between single player and multiplayer at will, with the second player controlling Ryu. Jack and Ryu share statistics, so one character never overpowers the other.

Super Ninja Boy features a password system to record progress.

It is a sequel to Culture Brain's previous title, Little Ninja Brothers for the NES and contains a few cameos from other Culture Brain's games.

Gameplay
Super Ninja Boy combines classic role-playing video game elements with action game elements. The player controls the main character Jack (or two players can control both Jack and Ryu) and randomly encounters enemies on the world map and in dungeons. In side-scrolling battles, the player can jump, punch, throw enemies, use items like shurikens or techniques such as the super jump or fireball. Battles take place in a beat'em up style and end after a specific number of enemies are killed (no matter how many are still remaining on screen). Boss battles are fought in a turn-based RPG style, using the same items and skills as normally.

There are also some 2D platform areas, which play the same as the normal battles without depth (the player can only go right or left).

External links

 Composer information for Super Ninja Boy at SMS Power

Notes

 Known in Japan as .

Role-playing video games
Satellaview games
Super Chinese
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Video games about ninja
Video games developed in Japan
Virtual Console games
Virtual Console games for Wii U
Action role-playing video games
1991 video games

Super Ninja Boy


Edgar Maurice Cortright (July 29, 1923 – May 4, 2014) was a scientist and engineer, and senior official at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. His most prominent positions during his career were Director of NASA's Langley Research Center, and Chairman of the Apollo 13 Review Board which investigated the explosion that occurred during the Apollo 13 spaceflight in 1970.

Education
Cortright was born on July 29, 1923, in Hastings, Pennsylvania, a coal mining district in the west of the state. His family moved to the Philadelphia area where he attended high school. He earned a B.S. followed by an M.S. in aeronautical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1947 and 1949.  At RPI, he was roommates with George Low (who would go on to become NASA Administrator, and later President of RPI). He attended the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Nuclear Engineering School in 1957.  Much later, in 1975, he got a Doctor of Engineering degree from Rensselaer (this was during the time while he was Director at NASA Langley).  Cortright gained membership to the Stephen Van Rensselaer Society of Patroons, people who have donate $1 million or more to Rensselaer.

Family
His parents were Janet Pearsall Cortright and Edgar Maurice Cortright Sr. He had a sister, Janet, who died before him, and a brother, David. He married Beverly Jane Hotaling in 1945 and she died in 2012. Their children were Susan and David, and Cortright had three grandsons at the time of his death.

Career

Cortright enlisted in the United States Navy in September 1941 where he was a Lieutenant. He went on to work at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory (now the Glenn Research Center) at NACA, in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he held the positions of Aeronautical Research Scientist (1948); Head of Small Supersonic Tunnels Section (1949–1954); and Chief, Eight-by-Six-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel Branch (1954–1958).

NASA
He joined the newly formed NASA agency (successor to the NACA) as a founding member in 1958 and worked at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he was Chief of Advanced Technology (1958–1959); Assistant Director for Lunar and Planetary Programs, Office of Space Flight Programs, (1960–61); Deputy Director for Space Science and Applications (1961–1963); Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications (1963–1968); and Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Manned Space Flight, (1968).

He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in October 1967.

He was Director of the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, from 1968 to 1975. Following the spacecraft explosion during the Apollo 13 spaceflight in April 1970, Cortright was appointed chairman of the Apollo 13 Review Board which was established to investigate the cause of the accident. The Board reported its findings to NASA in June 1970.

After NASA

Cortright left NASA to become Corporate Vice President and Technical Director at Owens Illinois Corporation from 1975–1979. He also held the positions of Senior Vice President for Science and Engineering (1978) and President (1979–1983) at Lockheed-California Company in Los Angeles, California.

He died from a stroke in Palm City, Florida, on May 4, 2014, aged 90.

References

External links
 NASA Biographical Data Sheet: Edgar Maurice Cortright
 Oral History Transcript: Edgar M. Cortright Lengthy interview of Cortright.
 Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo See Chapter 12: The Cortright Synthesis.
 Exploring Space With A Camera. Compiled and Edited by Edgar M. Cortright, 1968.
 Apollo Expeditions to the Moon Edited by Edgar M. Cortright, 1975.

People from Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
Center Directors of NASA
Langley Research Center
1923 births
2014 deaths
People from Palm City, Florida

Edgar Cortright


Dwight Edward Clark (January 8, 1957 – June 4, 2018) was a former American football wide receiver and executive. He played for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 to 1987.

With the 49ers, Clark played on two Super Bowl championship teams.  He caught the winning touchdown pass thrown by quarterback Joe Montana in the NFC Championship Game in January 1982 against the Dallas Cowboys. Clark played college football at Clemson University before being drafted by the 49ers in the 10th round of the 1979 NFL Draft.  He served as the general manager of the 49ers in 1998 and in the same capacity with the Cleveland Browns from 1998 to 2002.

Clark was born in Kinston, North Carolina. He studied at Clemson University. Clark lived in Santa Cruz, California with his wife Kelly for a long time until moving to Whitefish, Montana.

On March 19, 2017, Clark announced that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Clark died on June 4, 2018 from the disease in Whitefish, aged 61.

References

1957 births
2018 deaths
Deaths from motor neurone disease
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from North Carolina

Dwight Clark


Zaiger's Genetics is an American company that breeds fruit trees. They are in Modesto, California. They have created fruits such as the Aprium (apricot and plum), the Nectarcot (nectarine and apricot), Peacotum (peach, apricot and plum) and the pluot (plum and apricot).

They are dedicated to improving fruit worldwide.

In 2009 Floyd Zaiger was named one of the "top ten most creative people in food" by Fast Company.

Zaiger's Genetics gives fruit tours to commercial growers every Wednesday. An article in Western Fruit Grower titled "Wednesdays With Floyd" described a typical Wednesday with the Zaiger family.

References

Other websites
Family story

Companies based in California
Agricultural organizations
Fruits

Zaiger's Genetics


William Henry Mounsey (1808 – 3 December 1877) was a British army officer and antiquarian with an interest in Persia and Jewish culture. He visited Egypt, the Middle East and other regions.

Early life
William Mounsey was christened on 25 January 1808 at St Cuthbert's Church in Carlisle, Cumberland. His father Robert Mounsey was a solicitor. The family home, Rockcliffe Manor, was at Rockcliffe, north-west of Carlisle.

Army career
Mounsey was intended to be a solicitor, like his father, but first had a military career. He purchased a commission as an ensign in the 15th Foot on 28 May 1829. He was promoted to lieutenant on 4 January 1833 and to captain on 14 April 1837. In 1838 he transferred to the 4th Foot and retired from the army in 1844. He sold his captaincy, returned to England and took over the family business as solicitor, possibly after his father's death.

Antiquarian

Circa 1850 he became an amateur archaeologist. In his civilian life he was a solicitor. He spoke fluently Greek, Latin, Persian, Welsh and of course English. According to the 1851 census, he was living in Castle Street, Carlisle with his sisters Margaret, Mary and Ann, and was the holder of property chiefly vested in landed security. After his retirement he wandered in the UK dressed in a Jewish outfit and was known as the "Jew of Carlisle". During military service in the Middle East he had become fascinated by Jewish culture. Mounsey himself designed his priestly costume and had a long beard. It has been claimed that he worked as a spy in Persia and Afghanistan and this is how he mastered the Persian language.

He is known for a carved inscription he left on the Dwarfie Stane, a Neolithic rock-cut tomb in an erratic block on the island of Hoy in Orkney. Mounsey camped here in 1850 and inscribed in Persian script in the sandstone: "I have sat two nights and so learnt patience", this is taken to be a reference to the Highland midge. Above the Persian is his own name written backwards in Latin script as 'YESNUOM SUMLEILUG'. There is an information sign with remarks about the Persian inscription and Mounsey; his surname is wrongly spelled 'Mouncey'. To the right of the Persian text is another one, possibly with the same quotation, but largely obliterated. The combination of the Persian text (right to left) and his own name written in the same way is striking.

He also left his mark on ancient sites in Cumberland. In 1850 he traced the course of the River Eden from the Solway Firth to its source in Mallerstang and set up a monument to mark the source of the river. It was an inscribed Dent Marble pillar with Hebrew, Greek and Latin elements. The Star of David was depicted. The pillar was smashed in 1870 by railway workers. In Outhgill (Cumbria) there is a replica made of limestone, called the "Jew Stone", placed in 1989 after the visit of a Jewish traveller, named Shalom Hermon, who saw the broken original in 1984. The Latin inscription translated reads: "William Mounsey, a lone traveller, commenced his journey at the mouth and finished at the source, fulfilled his vow to the genius and nymphs of the Eden on 15 March 1850".

He carved a 9th-century Welsh verse on the walls of a pre-Roman archaeological site in 1852 and left other inscriptions near the river Eden. Letters carved in reverse are typical for Mounsey.

Probably, he was the sculptor of a series of five enigmatic faces cut into the sandstone cliffs of Eden gorge near Armathwaite. Possibly the faces were a kind of self-portrait. There is a similarity between the faces, especially between the nicely worked out ones with moustache. The heads are middle-aged, like Mounsey at that time. Supposing that inscription and faces are contemporary and both done by Mounsey in 1855. This is certainly a possibility or more, considering the already mentioned arguments, pointing to his eccentricity with his urge to leave his mark during his wanderings. The inscriptions on Hoy (with his name and 1850) and near the river Eden (with 1855) are in the same bold style, have curious texts and are from the same period. The inscription near the river Eden consists of a quotation from Isaac Walton's Compleat Angler. So the nearby carved salmon could be done by Mounsey too. The carving of the heads by him is at least plausible. There are five heads, between them is a carved salmon and above them are some lines of poetry. All in soft sandstone and presumably done by Mounsey. In the book The Eden Way (Charlie Emett; 1990) two of the carved heads are depicted with the text: "Rock carvings by William Mounsey" but this is contrary to text elsewhere in the book; for instance: "The faces do not appear to carry the Mounsey stamp". There is a Stuart fireplace overmantel with similar faces, in the possession of Peter Ecroyd, who owns the part of the river near the faces (1990). He believes that the carved heads are older and not carved by Mounsey. But an older fireplace overmantel does not mean that the carving is earlier, because it could be done later. A carved head close to the end of Mounsey's inscription near the date is a striking fact.

He was fascinated by a maze or labyrinth near the boathouse in Rockcliffe marsh. It was one of a number that have been cut on the marsh in the peat at different times. He believed these to represent Caerdroia, or the Walls of Troy, and to be restricted to land occupied by Celtic people. In 1858 Mounsey drew attention to the description in a Welsh book Drych y Prif Oesoedd (Mirror of the Early Centuries) by Theophilus Evans (1716) of a custom formerly prevalent among Welsh shepherds of cutting in the turf a figure in the form of a labyrinth, a turf maze, which they called Caerdroia.

His study Tales – The Children of Lir and Cath Cluana Tairbh, (1859), and his Welsh version of Purgatorium S. Patricii, c.1860, are held in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. These are examples of his fascination for the Celts, but he was also interested in other cultures. Three books, one about Spinoza (Exposition des sentiments de Spinosa) and another about Persia (Curiositez inovyes) and one about ancient grammar (Institutiones grammaticae Anglo-Saxonicae et Moeso-Gothicae), are now in the Dutch Royal Library and Open Library and State Library of New South Wales with 'W. H. Mounsey' stamped in them.

He lived for some time with his brother George Gill Mounsey at Castletown House near Carlisle. Their father, Robert Mounsey, had bought the Castletown estate at Rockcliffe in 1802. William Mounsey died on 3 December 1877 at Rockcliffe Hall, near Carlisle. He did not marry.

Bibliography

Tales – The Children of Lir and Cath Cluana Tairbh (1859)
Welsh version of Purgatorium S. Patricii (c.1860)

Editions with work of Mounsey (National Library of Wales)

Papers of Evan Davies ('Ieuan Myfyr') (1829)
Gwaith Ieuan Brydydd Hir-I (1853)
Barddoniaeth (1859)
Testunau Cymraeg,etc. (1859)
Testunau Cymraeg yn llaw (1860)
Gwaith Ieuan Brydydd Hir-II (1861)
Letters from members of the Mounsey family (1862-1891)
Gwaith William Llŷn (1867)
Testunau Cymraeg yn llaw (1867)
Gweithiau Iolo Goch gyda nodiadau hanesyddol a beirniadol (1896) [Wiliam Henry Mounsey, 1859]

Castletown House
The Grade II* listed Castletown House, where Mounsey lived around 1870, is still owned by the Mounsey-Heysham family. William Mounsey's father bought Rockcliffe manor and built a large villa, Castletown (completed in 1811) by Peter Nicholson and William Reid. According to Historic Houses, Castles and Gardens, it was built in 1809 by architect Peter Nicholson.

Notes

References

1808 births
1877 deaths
British antiquarians
People associated with Orkney
People from Carlisle, Cumbria
East Yorkshire Regiment officers
King's Own Royal Regiment officers

William H. Mounsey


Penmere Manor Hotel near Falmouth, Cornwall, is a house of historical significance and is Grade II listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in about 1825 by a wealthy sea captain and was the home of numerous notable people over the next 150 years. It is now a hotel which provides accommodation and restaurant facilities and has a leisure club.

The early residents

Captain John Bullock (1778-1828) built Penmere Manor in about 1825. He was born in Falmouth in 1778. His father was Peter Bullock (1749-1830) who lived in Falmouth and his mother was Eleanor Johns. He married three times. His first two wives died before 1815 and by them he had two sons John James Adolphus Bullock and Henry Bawden Bullock who became a clergyman. His third wife was Betsy Lovell Bullock (maiden name not known). His Will reveals that he owned a considerable amount of property. He had two houses in Falmouth and was the proprietor of the Navy Tavern now the Navy Hotel.

He was a Captain in His Majesty's Packet Service which was responsible for transporting the mail between Britain and other countries. For many years he was the commander of a boat called Walsingham. A watercolour was painted of this ship which is in the Falmouth Maritime Museum. In 1825 Captain Bullock was transferred to the ship Redpole but in 1828 it was attacked by pirates and he was killed. An account of this incident is given here

After his death Penmere Manor was advertised for rent. The rental notice is shown which gives a good description of the whole property in 1829.

The Passingham family were the next residents of the house and they moved there in the 1830s. Augustus Robert Lloyd Passingham (1795-1844) was born in 1795, in Truro. He was educated at the Royal Naval College in Plymouth and rose rapidly through the ranks of the military. He joined the Packet Service and served on several ships. From 1832 until 1841 he was Captain of the ship Sheldrake. A painting by Matthew Condy of this ship entering Falmouth Harbour in 1834 with Commander Passingham at the helm is in the National Maritime Museum and is shown here.

In 1822 he married his cousin Augusta Passingham (1800-1867) who was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Passingham. The couple had nine children, three boys and six girls. He died in 1844 and was buried at the Church of England in Falmouth.

The next resident was Richard Taylor (1810-1883)
who lived there with his wife Caroline and children from 1845 until 1851. He was a mining engineer and is listed in Graces Guide to British Industrial History. He was one of the founders of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, of which he was honorary secretary for thirty-seven years, and president in 1877 and 1878.

Mrs Molesworth rented the house from about 1852 until 1863 She was Frances Susannah Buller the widow of Reverend William Molesworth (1792-1851) who died in 1851. When she left in 1863 the house was placed on the market for sale. It was bought by the Fox family.

Residents after 1860
Alfred Lloyd Fox (1829-1885) bought Penmere Manor in 1863 shortly before his marriage and remained here with his family until his death in 1885. Alfred was born in 1829. His father was Alfred Fox who was a member of the influential Fox family of Falmouth. He joined the family firm of G. C. and R. W. Fox & Co., merchants and shipping agents at Falmouth after he left school. In 1864 he married Mary Jane Fox who was a distant relative and the couple had three sons. His cousin was the diarist Caroline Fox who mentions that she visited Penmere and met the famous astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy while she was there. Alfred died in 1885 and his wife Mary Jane continued to own Penmere until 1901. when it was bought by the Bolitho family.

Horton Bolitho (full name John Williams Horton Bolitho) lived at Penmere Manor with his family for about forty years. He was born in 1873 in Madron,  Cornwall. He was a member of the well-known Cornish Bolitho family and worked as a Manager in their tin mining business. In 1901 he married Charlotte Harriet Hope Hodge and the couple had three children.

During the Second World War the Bolitho family, vacated the house and it became a home for injured officers. It then became a teaching convent for girls. In the late 1950s it was converted to a hotel and retains this function today.

References

External links
 Penmere Manor Hotel website

Falmouth, Cornwall
Hotels in Cornwall

Penmere Manor Hotel, Cornwall