Goodwill Ghost: $5 Scream Mask Sells for $700
A vintage Halloween mask was no trick, all treat for a Goodwill shopper who bought it for $5 and resold it for $700.
California resident Brittany Carey went to her local Goodwill store to look for a Halloween costume for her daughter. One mask caught her eye for a different reason. Carey told Newsweek the mask she found “was dirty, had several holes, ad was smushed as if it had been sitting under a heavy box for months.” She bought it for $5, but not for her daughter. Instead, she listed it on eBay, where it sold for over $700.
Fans of horror films will immediately recognize the design as the Ghostface mask from the Scream franchise. While many manufacturers now have their own versions of this mask, one detail told Carey that this one was special. The mask was marked “Fun World,” a sign that it came before the movie.
During the production of Scream, producer Marianne Maddalena found an inexpensive Halloween mask by Fun World. At the time, the company gave the mask generically descriptive names like “Weeping Ghost” or “Peanut-Eyed Ghost.” Maddalena and director Wes Craven used this eerie mask, with a long, thin white face, hollow eyes, and a wide open mouth, surrounded by a shroud, as the costume for the movie’s mysterious killer, known as Ghostface.
Released in 1996, Scream was a hit, spawning multiple sequels, including a 2022 reboot, a television series, and plenty of imitators and parodies. The mask Ghostface wore quickly became a horror icon. Fun World rebranded their mask as Ghost Face and now sells several versions matching the movie masks.
Ghostface masks and decorations haunt Halloween store displays and parties every year since Scream’s release, but the original Fun World mask is much harder to find. When Carey learned how much it could be worth to a collector, she decided to list it on eBay so it could “go to someone who would treasure it.”
For Carey, the mask’s shock value came from what buyers were willing to pay. She set the starting price to just 99 cents, but bids soon shot past $500. The mask ultimately sold for $700.
Carey posted her story to her Instagram account. “It brought me immense joy to know that I was able to bring this mask to someone who valued it,” she says. There was also a practical value to the sale: “The earnings paid for baby diapers, groceries, and medical bills.”
Let’s hope that she sets a little aside for some well-deserved Halloween treats for herself and her family, too.
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