Conflicting descriptions of who or what the killer was before the infamous reshoots have persisted for years with some versions saying the killer was an escaped, autistic adult who had been abused since childhood. However, in the novelization of the film based on the original screenplay, the killer is a zombie-like being, most likely the resurrected cannibal madman Harmon Quade who was captured and lynched exactly 100 years ago to the day of the first killing in the film. Some of these descriptions made it into the theatrical cut of the film such as the dead skin under the fingernails of the victims and the newspaper headlines stating "The mangler is a zombie." The appearance of the creature in the film matches exactly the description of zombie Harmon Quade (Grey, rotted face with red sores and matted hair) in the novel. How and why Harmon Quade was resurrected is never explained.

Film

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