If you don’t know the movie Friday the 13th by now… You probably should just go climb back under the rock you’ve been living.
But if you do remember, then you know the franchise is comprised of twelve slasher films, and in time it spawned, a TV series, novels, comic books, clothing, and video games. The story focuses on the character Jason Voorhees, a boy who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake, completely due to the staff’s negligence. The lake is then rumored to be cursed and Jason comes back every summer to exact his revenge.
But one fan took the movies very seriously…
Mark Branch, a 19-year-old from Greenfield, Massachusetts, worked in a grocery store as a clerk. Seemingly, he was just like any other 1980s teen, but he was really the furthest thing from normal.
He would often rent horror movies, the gorier the better and over time, he just preferred straight gore films.
Throughout his teen years, he had terrified many female students, in some cases, writing obscene notes to them and even pulling a knife on one of them.
His obsession with horror films increased and at one point he was completely obsessed with Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th movie chain.
And sooner than later he would make his horror movie obsession become a reality.
Friends would often speak their concerns as Mark was completely engrossed in horror and would often say he wondered what it would be like to kill someone.
There isn’t much information about his victim 18-year-old old Sharon Gregory. However, it is said that she was attending Greenfield Community College during this time. Sharon for some reason had begun writing an evaluation of Mark Branch and his extreme obsession with horror movies. The paper created a full-on psychological profile of Mark Branch. It is said that Mark was quite upset by this.
On October 24, 1988, Mark Branch entered Sharon Gregory’s home in the early morning hours, fully dressed as Jason Voorhees including the mask, he chased her to an upstairs bathroom. This is where Mark Branch brutally stabbed Sharon Gregory to death. Sharon had severe injuries to her head, chest, and abdomen.
Sharon’s body was found sometime later, mutilated in the bathtub of her home by her twin sister, Cheryl.
The crime shocked the town. Halloween was canceled. Residents were hunkered down in fear.
Within days, tips come in and lead authorities directly to Mark Branch. In his apartment, they find a shrine of gory horror and Jason Voorhees. Not long after this, another tip is received… Giving the location of Mark’s car, 13 miles outside of Greenfield.
When authorities arrived at the vehicle all that was found was blood on the front seat and console, but Mark Branch was nowhere to be found.
Authorities lean to psychic profiler John Monte to assist them in locating Mark Branch. The psychic John, would view a photo of Sharon and could hear the name “Jason, Jason, Jason” repeatedly over and over. Authorities did not tell him of Mark’s obsession with the character, Jason.
John Monte was able to lead authorities to an old abandoned slaughterhouse. Authorities find drawings on the walls of stick figures. A male stick figure with a knife chasing a female stick figure up some stairs, which is exactly how Sharon was murdered.
While it seemed Mark may have drawn these drawings, he was not here.
Luckily Halloween comes and goes without any more murders, but the psychic John Monte insists Mark is still in the area, but in the woods. He also indicates that Mark has hung himself from a pine tree. He described Mark as wearing blue jeans and combat boots.
One month after Sharon’s death, November 29th a hunter finds Mark’s body hanging from a pine tree. He was hanging by his bootlaces and belt.
According to the coroner, Mark had hung himself almost immediately after the murder.