Edward Marshall Mooney

**Edward Marshall Mooney**, also known as **The Whistling Man**, was a serial killer active in Gallows Creek during the 1950's.

## History

Mooney was, in both life and death, an enigma, with there being no information on his life before he began his killing spree in Gallows Creek. Mooney, donning a wooden white mask with tinselled blood splattered on the jaw, murdered around a dozen townsfolk, doing so while whistling a distinct tune, leading to him being dubbed "The Whistling Man". No motive was ever determined.

On the night of September 3rd, 1958, law enforcement had caught up to him. Mooney led police on a chase up to Ellis Point by the river and upon being trapped by responding officers, with no other means of escape, he leapt from the cliff, falling several feet before hitting the water. A search was unable to locate his remains and Ellis Point has since been named after the killer, being now known as Whistling Point.

Since then, Mooney, now almost exclusively known by his given moniker, "The Whistling Man", has become a subject of urban myth and entered local legend as a boogeyman-like figure of questionable humanity, due to the lack of reason behind his murders. The character's infamy is only strengthened by rumors that Mooney somehow survived, on account of his body never being found and range from stories about Mooney haunting citizens and visitors of Gallows Creek from beyond the grave, to wild theories of an eventual comeback of the Whistling Man in order to have his revenge on Gallows Creek by decimating the whole town. One way or the other, the Whistling Man has left a legacy that has not subsided even decades after his apparent death.

A decade after his death, Gallows Creek High School student have seen fit to declare the date of Edward Marshall Mooney's death an informal holiday, called "Whistling Night", loved by aspiring practical jokers and loathed by everyone else. After dark, teenage troublemakers get their thrills by using the Whistling Man's calling cards to be public nuisances, ranging from basic prank calls, to outright dressing up as the Whistling Man and committing acts of vandalism, breaching the peace and trespassing.

On the night from September 2nd to September 3rd, 1987, the Whistling Man regains townwide relevance when the murder of Sheriff Matthews is attributed to a killer in the same outfit, with the same tune on heard from behind the mask, beginning a reign of terror lasting many excruciating hours, as more and more people are attacked. Due to temporary personnel shortage, the role of 911 is relegated to 189.16 - The Scream radio host Forrest Nash and his producer Peggy Weaver. Forrest, being a newcomer to Gallows Creek, is brought up to speed by the usual operator and first caller of the night Leslie Harper. Peggy later extends on the brief summary, which includes the original killer's suspicious disappearance, though original killer, copycat or otherwise, the pair aim to prevent any more deaths at the hands of the returned Whistling Man.

In the third call, Maurice Russell initially brushes off Forrest's explanation of Mooney's inexplicable return off as inconveicable and talks at great length how he covered his murders and apparent death back in the day, remaining steadfast with his assumption that the killer is nothing but a rowdy teenager. If Maurice is helped in trapping the Whistling Man in a room, in a potential follow-up call, Maurice will voice great distress over the killer's sudden disappearance from his make-shift prison, seriously beginning to hinge on the possibility that Mooney has somehow come back, though he quickly shuts down in this brief moment of weakness and hangs up to find safety for the night. In the same call, Peggy entertains the notion that Mooney might have returned from the dead as a supernatural being, like a vengeful ghost or demon, hence how the killer was able to escape a locked room. Forrest dismisses this as he thinks that there's a more rational explanation than an immaterial serial killer from Hell, but Peggy remains carefully open-minded on the matter.

For a brief time, Clive Elforth, the janitor of the KFAM radio station, is considered a possible identity for the new Whistling Man, though this is definitively disproven after a search of the basement storage. A few calls later, it is revealed that an occasional non-emergency caller named Dawn was using the Whistling Man persona to kill certain residents of Gallows Creek. In the Whistling Man's interview, it is further shown that there was in fact a second Whistling Man at work, and upon unmasking herself, Marie will comment how it's "[n]o wonder Mooney went crazy", noting just how uncomfortable the mask has been to wear.

## Trivia

* The Whistling Man's mask is based primarily on that of Michael Myers from the *Halloween* franchise and Ghostface from the *Scream* franchise, with some more minor details being taken, such as the belt straps and the prominent display of hair, from Jason Voorhees' hockey mask from the later *Friday the 13th* parts, and Leatherface's skin mask from the *Texas Chainsaw Massacre* franchise respectively.
* Concept arts depict some appearances of the Whistling Man as more inhuman, rotting and overall monstrous, indicating that it was actually considered at one point to make the killer an undead Edward Marshall Mooney.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lDD1EY