John Wayne Gacy
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| Name | John Wayne Gacy |
| Actor | Shaun Magee (14.13) Sean Tyson (14.20 & 15.01) |
| Dates | March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994 (killed by lethal injection) May 10, 1994 – February 7, 2019 (spirit laid to rest by Sam Winchester) 2019 (raised by God / banished by Rowena) |
| Location | Hell |
| Occupation | Clown Serial killer Ghost |
| Episode(s) | 14.13 Lebanon 14.20 Moriah 15.01 Back and to the Future |
History
John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer who was executed in 1994. After his death, Gacy's spirit became tethered to a cigar box he had once owned, allowing him to manifest as his clown alter ego -- Pogo the Clown.
Episodes
14.13 Lebanon
After their attempt to retrieve the skull of Sarah Good from a pawn shop owner who had killed and stolen it from a hunter leads to the owner's death, Sam and Dean collect all his mystical items to bring back to the Men of Letters Bunker. Among the items is a cigar box that was once owned by John Wayne Gacy, which was tethering his ghost.
When a teenage girl, Max, steals the Impala to impress another girl, Stacy, she brings all the items in the backseat to a party where Gacy's spirit is awakened. After manifesting out of the cigar box, Gacy frightens a teen boy named Ethan, attacking him in the bathroom, which sends Ethan quickly running out the house. When a girl, Bea, chases after Ethan, she alerts Sam and Dean as to what happened. When Sam and Dean go inside the house, Sam quickly notices Gacy's cigar box and gets to work trying to burn it. Just as Gacy manifests before Dean, Sam is able to set the box aflame as Eliot, Max, and Stacy rush into the house to witness Gacy's spirit burn away.
14.20 Moriah
After God releases the souls of Hell upon the Earth, Gacy's ghost arrives at a children's birthday party.
15.01 Back and to the Future
Gacy has massacred the birthday party, and begins stalking the remaining mother and daughter, who hide from him in the garage. When Sam arrives to evacuate the people, he finds them. Before he can get them to safety, Gacy materializes behind Sam and slashes him with a knife. He goes in for a killing blow while singing "Happy Birthday", but before he can connect, Castiel is able to shoot him with rock salt, temporarily banishing him.
As the four make their way down the street, Gacy appears once more along with two other ghosts, as well as Mary Worthington. They attempt to fight off the spirits, but Gacy uses his speed and teleportation abilities to tackle Sam to the ground, where he proceeds to beat him, but is once again shot by Castiel before he can kill Sam.
Gacy and the other ghosts materialize, forcing Castiel to get the mother and daughter to safety past Belphegor's barrier while Sam attempts to hold them off. When Sam realizes he is out of rock salt shells, the ghosts give chase to the four, but are unable to catch them before they cross the barrier. Realizing he can't kill them, Gacy lets out a scream, only to have Sam tell him to "shut up."
15.03 The Rupture
Rowena cast a spell on herself that absorbed all the Hell Ghosts into her body as she falls into the closing crevice leading to Hell, sacrificing herself to imprison every ghost in Belphegor's barrier, including Gacy.
Trivia
- Sean Tyson, who played Gacy in 15.01 Back and to the Future, previously played Trucker in 1.20 Dead Man's Blood and 9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here and Marty in 13.12 Various & Sundry Villains.
- Gacy is the second real-life serial killer Sam and Dean have come up against, after H.H. Holmes in 2.06 No Exit.
- Gacy's body was cremated after his execution, however during the autopsy, his brain was removed and given to Dr. Helen Morrison, a forensic psychiatrist and witness for the defense at Gacy's trial, which makes it questionable as to how his spirit could have been dispatched when Sam burned his cigar box.
- In 2.05 Simon Said, after seeing Andy's van, Dean makes a reference to Gacy, telling Sam "not exactly a serial killer's lair, though. There's no... clown paintings on the walls, or scissors stuck in victims' photos. I like the tiger." Gacy was known to paint portraits of his alter ego "Pogo the Clown" while incarcerated.
- In 5.11 Sam, Interrupted, Dean asks if Martin Creaser's creepy clown paintings are "original Gacy's."
- The reason for Gacy appearing as a more grotesque-looking Pogo the Clown, despite not having died dressed as a clown, can be explained by the fact that ghosts have shown the ability to alter their appearance in the past. (For example, Constance Welch was able to change her appearance between human and inhuman.)
The Real John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer from Cook County, Illinois. He ran a construction business, and was prominent in his community, appearing at charity events and children's parties as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown", characters that he had created. He was executed on May 10, 1994, for the rape, torture, and murder of 33 teenage boys from 1972 to 1978. While under investigation, he told a pair of surveillance detectives, "You know... clowns can get away with murder."
