Pretty much everyone knows the Halloween franchise's connection to Star Trek connection: The mask Michael Myers, the infamous Halloween villain, wears throughout the series is William Shatner's face.

It had been rumored for decades that the mask the killer Michael Myers wore in the Halloween films was in fact based on Shatner's face. Not just his face, but specifically a Captain Kirk death mask created for Star Trek. As it turns out, the anecdote is very true.

Rick Sternbach, an illustrator/designer on Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Nemesis (and a DST 2019 guest!) posted the following on his Facebook page a few years back, writing:

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"There are a number of historical threads through various production people over the years that validate that; I've got one of those threads here (I've told this story once or twice before). I was hired as an illustrator on Halloween 2 in 1981, working for production designer J. Michael Riva. In a supply cabinet at Pumpkin Pie Productions, we had one mask left from the original Halloween, and no idea where to get any others for the sequel. It appeared that we'd need to go check out some of the toys stores and such, but I noticed that there was some wording molded into the neck area. There was a model number, and 'Don Post Studios.' I made a call, read off the model number, and the word came back 'It's our Captain Kirk mask.' I asked if we could buy a number of them, and was told 'We'll give you a box, just give us credit.' With that, I turned the official dealings over to the higher-ups. Brush with greatness."

As if that weren't enough to confirm that Shatner's mug indeed became that of the masked serial killer, here's an old video we found of Shatner himself discussing it — and even revealing that he went trick or treating with his daughters one Halloween wearing a Michael Myers mask.

Terrifying, right?