GALVESTON, Texas — Halloween isn't for another month-and-a-half, but one Galveston resident decided to start the festivities this week ahead of Hurricane Nicholas' landfall in the dead of night Monday night.
ABC13 reporter Mycah Hatfield caught a video of a man holding a knife walking along the beach in Galveston Monday evening dressed like Michael Myers from the "Halloween" films.
Other people also took photos and videos of the man, later identified as Galveston lawyer Mark Metzger III, walking along the coast.
Galveston police said they responded to reports of a man walking on the beach holding a knife covered in blood.
ABC13 reports Galveston police detained Metzger and cited him for disorderly conduct before releasing him after learning the knife and blood was fake.
While some people didn't like the prank, other Galveston folks enjoyed it; some people came up to Myers Metzger for photos, and the beach patrol even played John Carpenter's iconic "Halloween" theme over the loudspeaker once they spotted him.
Metzger told ABC13 he dressed like Myers as a way to find some levity ahead of the impending storm. In the original movie, Myers is sent to a mental hospital after murdering his older sister at 6 years old.
"I guess there's some people out there that don't have a sense of humor or, you know, can't please them all," Metzger told the station.
He said he complied with the officers' demands, but thought the whole thing was pretty funny:
"It felt like a scene out of 'Scooby-Doo' after they handcuffed me and pulled the mask off, like, 'I would have gotten away with it if wasn't for those meddling Karens,' you know?" he told ABC13.
Later, in a Facebook post, Metzger said he was just trying to "bring some positive vibes" and said the prank even led him to meet Slayer vocalist and bassist Tom Araya.
"Bringing positive vibes to the gloom and doom out there, generating some laughter, helping people crack a smile, and restoring our faith in humanity through humor is 100% what I’m about. It’s all I’ve been about my entire life. My methods might not work for everyone, but I guarantee I’ll please more than I’ll piss off. #byekaren," he wrote.
His urge to prank people is hard to kill, just like Michael Myers.
"So if taking a silly walk down the beach during a storm in a costume, and subsequently being arrested for disorderly conduct accomplished any of that (just released with a class c citation and still fuzzy on what exactly was illegal about my actions) - then I’d do it again all day every day. Plus…it’s not every day you get to meet and chat with SLAYER’S TOM ARAYA in the middle of a prank! #noregrets #theislandattorney #irreverentwarriors."
