Jake Tenners (Skullface)

Jake Tenners is a fictitious character in the Dreams to Reality continuity, known among the cast of the Dreams to Reality continuity as the masked serial killer nicknamed "Skullface," has appeared as the primary antagonist of the novellas and web series, and as a primary antagonist during the first 17 to 20 installments of the novel series. In the novellas, his identity was never conclusively identified, though his identity would have been revealed eventually had the novellas not transitioned into the web series. Skullface's identity was revealed to be a not-yet introduced character when it was revealed in the web series, but rather than counting on the shock value of revealing that the masked serial killer was a known character, it was counting on readers watching what the character was doing when interacting with the cast as a doctor and knowing that they were unwittingly opening themselves up for danger. In the novel series, it will be revealed that Jake Tenners was involved in a terrifying accident that left his face completely burned and scarred, explaining his affinity for concealing his face behind a mask, even though in the web series, the character's face was not scarred in such a fashion. He is the husband of Margo Hawk in the web series and novel series. In the web series, it is revealed that he is actually the son of Alfred Bennett, which therefore links the character to the Bennett family through the banished Alfred, who was disowned by the family after he murdered his little sister Samantha Bennett in 1947. He is the father of a number of characters in the continuity: James Hawk, Devon Hawk, Melinda Flint, Tobias Bennett, and Ashley Chamberlain, though only raised James and Devon into their teenage years, with Tobias having been taken away from him and Margo when he was three years old and given up for adoption. Melinda and Ashley were both raised by their mothers in Eagle Creek, while Jake and Margo lived in either Long Beach, California (in the web series) or Coral Beach, Florida (in the novel series) before relocating to Eagle Creek, Ohio, where he is known to have spent time prior to moving away after a confrontation with Elaine Flint, Melinda's mother. He has an extensive list of crimes other that multiple violent murders throughout the web series, and will have even more added to them in the novel series, as the novel series will spend extensive amounts of time dealing with the character's development and schemes.

Character History

In the Web Series (2000-2004)

On a late spring day at Eagle Creek Junior High School, a man wearing a mask made to resemble a human skull (and would later be nicknamed "Skullface" once his presence is made public knowledge) stood alongside the Eagle Creek Junior High School building wearing a black trenchcoat and black pants. He was shown to be armed with a long, metallic, sharpened hook as he watched an ambulance taking Nicole Halloway away from the school to the hospital after she was pushed down the stairs earlier in the day by Melinda Flint. He would lurk around the outside of the school building for some time after Nicole's ambulance left, apparently having watched a conversation take place between Josh Poncek, Brandon Danber, Ashley Chamberlain, and Danielle Grayson before all four students walked back into the building without noticing Skullface. Once they all went back inside, Skullface would take a photograph of Nicole out of one of the pockets of his trenchcoat and hold his hook up to the photograph in a threatening manner. (DtRW #1)

Later on, at the end of the school day, Skullface continued to lurk around the school building, keeping out of sight of the departing students by hiding behind some bushes. He watched Jarrid Harlen, Jack Brock, Dustin Finley, and Rachel McCarey as they talked to each other near Karen Harlen's Pontiac Grand Am. Armed with a crossbow, Skullface aimed an arrow with a note attached to it at the teens and fired the arrow at them. The arrow landed in the side of the car, frightening the teens. Following the arrival of Michael Bennett, Dustin traced an estimated trajectory of the arrow back to the bushes where Skullface had been hiding, but Skullface had since left the scene. The teens would soon dislodge the arrow from the side of the car and read the note attached to it, which Skullface had seemingly wrote in blood, "Jarrid, your girlfriend Nicole is dead. Get in my way, and you'll be next." (DtRW #2)

At 2:34 PM, Skullface would call the home of Elaine and Melinda Flint for Melinda. When no one answered, he left a message on the answering machine, speaking in an electronically-altered voice, telling Melinda that he was  her father, and that he was coming for her, and they could "get rid of that pest Nicole forever." Skullface would laugh evilly as he ended the call. (DtRW #2)

Later, in the backyard of a home in Eagle Creek, Skullface approached a wood pile and lit a match. He dropped the lit match on the wood pile, which engulfed the pile in a large blaze immediately upon contact. Skullface then pulled out the photograph of Nicole he was seen with earlier in the day and tossed it onto the fire, burning the photograph. (DtRW #2)

Background & Trivia

• The character of Skullface is based visually off of what the serial killer wore in the "Terror Island" story arc of the short-lived NBC soap opera, Sunset Beach, from with the long fish hook used to murder people to the all-black outfit to the skull mask. The one main difference is that Skullface eventually began to speak to his victims (and family) in an electronically-distorted voice, suggesting that the skull mask Skullface wears also contains a voice distortion device of some kind in or near the mouth part of the mask.
• It should be made clear that while Jake Tenners is the main person to be known as Skullface, there are numerous other accounts of people donning the same outfit and committing similar crimes as Jake Tenners throughout the series in both the web series and novel series. In the web series, his sons Devon and James both dressed as Skullface and assisted their father in some attacks against various people. Mark and Holly were brainwashed into becoming Skullface's "replacements," and in at least one instance donned the Skullface costume prior to their escape to Eagle Creek prior to the beginning of the web series. Skullface's costume was planted in Victor Bennett's car at one point at the same time that the real Skullface was attacking a group of characters at a convenience store across town, as well. In the novel series, the concept of multiple Skullfaces being in the same place at the same time (or in different places at the same time) will also be implemented on numerous occasions Therefore, there are a number of different Skullface costumes which are sometimes worn by someone other that Jake Tenners, though he is generally regarded to be who people are referring to when they mention the character of Skullface.
  • In light of the fact that it is nearly impossible to tell one "Skullface" from another, unless it is specifically revealed that a different character other than Jake Tenners wore the Skullface costume in an episode of the series, Jake Tenners will be the character that will receive the credit for what Skullface does in that episode. However, if someone else is revealed as the Skullface in any particular episode, that character will be given credit for what Skullface does in that instance. For example, it was later revealed after Skullface's appearances at the hospital in episode 2 of the web series that it was actually James at the hospital, while Jake was the Skullface who lit the bonfire in the backyard of his house at the end of that episode. Had this revelation not come out, Jake would have been given the credit for what James did at the hospital in that episode.
• In the web series, Skullface's motives in Eagle Creek seemed to change on a whim throughout the series. Initially, it was supposedly his intention to kill off the people who had wronged his daughter Melinda, which included Nicole and Jarrid, though evidently not Josh, who broke up with Melinda. Then his big plan was to burn down Eagle Creek Junior High School during the final school dance of the 1999-2000 school year in an attempt to kill off all of his targets at once, which were all students at the school, interestingly, in that he himself is a grown adult targeting teenagers only to kill. Following this, he went on a seemingly random killing spree because his wife Margo ran his daughter Melinda down in a car, killing four people rather than confronting Margo. It was clear that the character of Skullface was simply being made up as things moved along. However, in the novel series, the character is much more three-dimensional and has a set plan for everything he does, which will eliminate some of this disjointed behavior and make for a much more menacing character than he ultimately was in the web series.

Quotes

Skullface: "Melinda, this is your father. I am coming for you, and we can get rid of that pest Nicole forever."