Nancy Loomis

"Let them track down the second possible killer, Debbie Salt doesn't exist!"

- Nancy threatening Sidney Prescott with a gun.

Nancy Loomis (née unknown) is the primary antagonist of Scream 2 (1997 released film). She is the mastermind copycat Ghostface of The Windsor College Murders, which occurred sometime in 1998 in the state of Ohio. The character was previously mentioned in the original film, having abandoned her only son Billy Loomis sometime the year prior in 1995, after discovering her husband's affair with Maureen Prescott.

After this decision, she endures enormous grief and guilt after learning of his role as a serial killer in the 1996 Woodsboro Murders which culminated in his death. Nancy then targets two Woodsboro survivors in Ohio. These individuals being Billy's girlfriend, the now-famed survivor Sidney Prescott — daughter of the woman her ex-husband had an affair with, as well as reporter/author Gale Weathers — for her subsequent exploitation of her grief through her best-selling book that inspired the upcoming slasher film, Stab (1998), telling the true story of it all.

After losing sixty pounds and pursuing cosmetic surgery, Nancy adapted a false identity, "Debbie Salt" and enlisted Mickey Altieri, a rare find on the internet. Altieri was an aspiring/contract serial killer; she gave him maternal "guidance" and "nurturing", even offering to pay his college tuition as a film student.

Nancy agrees to Mickey's idea for a copycat Ghostface killing spree inspired by the original — a real-life sequel, with more brutality. With his personal desire for an infamous trial, Nancy's secretly self-interested agenda was old-fashioned revenge. She secretly operated with the full intent to frame Mickey as the sole killer.

Ultimately, Mickey is shot by "Deb", hoping to frame him as the sole killer (having even killed with her left-hand to match autopsy forensics similar to his left-handedness). While targeting Gale, she murders Randy instead in rage over his comments against her son. Later, Cotton Weary's interference foils her plan to kill Sidney as well, and he chooses to shoot her. Later, Sidney shoots her in the head to ensure her demise is permanent.

Family and Divorce from Husband
Nancy abandoned her only child, Billy sometime before/during 1995 after she discovered that her husband, Hank Loomis, had been having an affair with fellow Woodsboro resident, Maureen Prescott.

During or likely after this timeframe, in the fall of 1995, Roman Bridger, Maureen's birth son, had been stalking Maureen, as well as Nancy's husband, recording their affair.

Coincidentally, Maureen's daughter was Sidney Prescott, Billy's girlfriend. Billy and his best friend, Stu Macher, killed Maureen after she seduced a drunken Cotton Weary and he left his coat behind after leaving. They planted evidence against Cotton as the killer. One year later, they had continued on their killing spree, but Billy and Stu were ultimately killed by Sidney.

Nancy is grief-stricken by her son's death and unable to come to terms with her own abandonment of him, which partly influenced Billy's decision making. He credited his mother's abandonment as a motive, despite not truly believing in motives and believing it was scarier without them saying, "Maternal abandonment causes serious deviant behavior". After this, she began searching for a serial killer to help her take revenge. After losing sixty pounds and pursuing cosmetic face work, a "make-over" as she refers to it, Nancy searched online. Due to there only being 95 active serial killers in the country, it proved to be difficult, but 20-something Mickey Altieri was "quite a find". (It is unknown whether Mickey was a legitimate, experienced contract-killer or whether being "on his way up" meant that he killed before, but not quite to the level of serial killing).

Mickey agreed to execute a copycat killing spree of the original Woodsboro murders in exchange for guidance, tuition expenses and to become famous from the trial. What he did not know was her intention of killing him afterwards to conceal her identity and frame him for all the murders.

Amid all of this, she created the false identity "Debbie Salt", a reporter for a local newspaper, who poses as a massive fan of reporter, author and Woodsboro survivor Gale Weathers.

The Stab (1998) Premiere
Now "Debbie Salt", she and Mickey's first victims were Windsor college seniors, 22-year-olds Phil Stevens and Maureen Evans, as their names were similar to the original Woodsboro victims Maureen Prescott and Steven Orth. Maureen and Phil were attending the premiere of Stab, a film based on Gale weathers book about The Woodsboro Murders.

When Phil went to the bathroom, it is possible it was Debbie Salt that hid in the stall next to his and started making mumbling noises. Phil's curiosity led him to put his head against the stall wall to hear better. She or Mickey then stuck a knife through the stall wall into Phil's ear, killing him.

Debbie then gave Phil's jacket to Mickey (if she killed Phil) who went into the theatre wearing it over his Ghostface costume. Maureen thinking it was Phil, put her head on Mickey's shoulder when the movie got frightening and noticed blood on her hands from the jacket, and was then stabbed to death in front of the crowd, an assumed PR stunt by the crowd.

Gale "Super-Fan"
The following day, Nancy as "Debbie Salt" arrives at Windsor College formally introducing herself, even slightly annoying Gale. That same night, she and Mickey prepare to claim their third victim, a film student named Casey Cooper, who goes by the nickname Cici, having the same forename as one of the original targets Casey Becker. She was killed by either Mickey or Nancy.

Nancy later appears again as "Debbie Salt" in the front of the sober house where it has now become an official crime scene after the discovery of Cici's lifeless body. She briefly encounters Gale before leaving, letting her know Cici's name and description.

She later sneaks to the side of the house off-screen and calls Sidney saying, "Hello Sidney, remember me?" (Indicating their personal connection and history) and Sidney responds, "What do you want?", Nancy replies, "I want you, it's show time" and Sidney finally snaps, "Then why don't you show your face, you fucking coward?"

Amid this almost concurrently with the tail-end of Ghostface's speech, Nancy enters the house saying, "My pleasure" and chases her through the house. Nancy slashes Derek Feldman through the arm. This only aroused suspicion onto Derek by Dewey and Randy, fellow Woodsboro survivor and film geek.

Copycat design exposure
The next day, Gale figures out the copycat killing pattern, which is what Nancy intended for Gale to do. She later informs "Debbie Salt" (Nancy) of this for a brief moment. Nancy, expecting Gale to figure it out, is concocting Gale's own murder.

She hides in Joel's news van (owned by Gale's cameraman) in broad daylight, as she watches Dewey, Randy, Gale and her cameraman Joel sitting down from afar. However, as the four discuss the murders, it is Randy who answers the phone for Gale.

Calling Gale, Randy Answers
Nancy finally plans to kill her own target — Gale Weathers who is sitting in the middle of a large campus park area. Randy answers the phone and explains to Dewey and Gale that it's the killer. Randy keeps Mrs. Loomis on the phone per Dewey's request, while Gale and Dewey disperse and search the surrounding area for people with a mobile phone in their hand. While stalling Nancy, Randy is critical of Billy and Stu.

However, his insults about Billy cause Nancy Loomis herself to become "a little knife happy". Amid his rant, she aggressively pulls Randy into Joel's news van, throwing him against the news van window, slashing his throat and stabbing him in the chest four times. She escapes before they discover Randy is missing.

Finally, Nancy as "Debbie Salt" once again approaches Gale, after Cotton's interrogation and Sidney's threatening IM messages in the college library. Gale grows tired of her constant chattering and irritant act. Gale insults "Debbie" and sends her off.

That night, Nancy attacks Dewey and Gale inside the Windsor College video archives rooms where Nancy stabs Dewey in the back, almost completely killing him. Then, she attempts to kill Gale. However, she ultimately gives up since the glass is resistant to damage.

Mommy Dearest
While Mickey reveals his identity to Sidney and murders Derek, he also reveals he had been who killed Maureen Evans, Officer Andrews, Officer Richards and Hallie McDaniel. Meanwhile, Gale catches Nancy outside the theatre on a call, and forces her to hang up, exclaiming the killer is Cotton Weary. At this point, off-screen, Nancy finally threatens Gale at gunpoint and lures her back into Windsor College Theatre.

She arrives, having lost her "Debbie" persona and is as wide-eyed and unhinged as her late son was. This is where she is revealed as the mastermind copycat killer, as well as her identity as Billy's mother. "Deb" suddenly double-crosses and shoots Mickey in the left shoulder once and in the chest twice.

As Mickey slumps to the floor, he shoots Gale in the side which causes her to fall, presumed dead into the instrumental area next to the stage. Mickey drops as well to the floor, apparently dead.

She explains her motivation to Sidney, intending to kill her, pinning all the murders on Mickey, revealing how everything is traceable back to Mickey, and when Sidney reminds her that she abandoned her own son, she contradicts her claim as a good mother. Nancy goes on a rage about "it all starts with the family" and "blaming parents", before suggesting Maureen is responsible.

Death
A brief chase hence ensues between Nancy and Sidney, which concludes with Nancy holding Sidney with a large knife pressed against her throat. Cotton then arrives with a loaded gun in his hand. She tries to negotiate with Cotton, offering him what his heart desires in an attempt to convince him to shoot Sidney rather than her.

Cotton points the gun at Nancy where he mentions that the Diane Sawyer interview mentioned earlier is looking pretty good compared to her other options. Sidney, much to Nancy and Cotton's surprise, agrees to the interview, giving Cotton the opportunity to shoot Nancy in the chest. Cotton and Sidney are hence surprised by Gale being alive and only wounded, as he helps her out. The three of them are left wondering if Mrs. Loomis is really dead or not, a reference to Randy's line of "the moment when the supposably dead killer comes back to life for one last scare" from the first movie.

To their surprise, Mickey leaps forward screaming, only to be really killed by a hailstorm of bullets fired by Sidney and Gale. Sidney turns again and shoots Mrs. Loomis in her forehead. As an explanation for this, Sidney simply states "Just in case!", before dropping the gun and leaving the theatre. Cotton and Gale follow her.

Legacy
Her role in the copycat killing spree was adapted into a film, Stab 2 (1999) released the following year starring Tori Spelling yet again. it is unknown who portrayed Nancy. Fans were upset over Randy's death.

25 years after her death, Nancy's granddaughter Samantha Carpenter became a victim to a new Ghostface killing spree, with the killers inspired by her son's icon status as Ghostface in the original Stab film based on his killing spree. The new killers planned to frame her granddaughter but were unsuccessful.

Speculated Murders

 * Phil Stevens
 * Cici Cooper

Family

 * Hank Loomis - Ex-husband
 * Billy Loomis † - Son
 * Samantha Carpenter - Granddaughter

Allies

 * Mickey Altieri † - Accomplice

Enemies

 * Woodsboro, California
 * Maureen Prescott † - Affair with Husband
 * Hank Loomis † - Affair
 * Sidney Prescott - Murdered her Son / Victim
 * Gale Weathers - Victim
 * Dewey Riley † - Victim
 * Windsor College
 * Derek Feldman † - Victim
 * Phil Stevens † - Victim
 * Cici Cooper † - Victim
 * Maureen Evans † - Victim
 * Hallie McDaniel † - Victim
 * Cotton Weary † - Victim / Killer

Quotes

 * "It's called a makeover. You should try it. Looking a little tired yourself there, Gale."
 * "Oh, Mickey, there's not going to be a trial."
 * "Mickey was a good boy, but my God? That whole "'blame the movies'" motive? Did you buy that for one second? Poor boy was completely out of his mind."
 * "No, I'm very sane. My motive isn't as 90s as Mickey's. Mine is just good, old-fashioned revenge. You killed my son! And now I kill you and I can't think of anything more rational."
 * "What did you just say? Was that a negative, disparaging remark about my son? About my Billy?"
 * "Not wise to patronize me with a gun, Sidney. Randy spoke poorly of Billy, and I got a little knife happy."
 * "You don't know what it is to be a mother. To raise a child, to teach him and guide him!"

Trivia

 * The first female Ghostface in the franchise.
 * The only Ghostface to be mentioned in a previous film before their appearance. (She is mentioned in the original Scream).
 * Her alias name Debbie Salt is an homage to Jennifer Salt, the actress who portrays reporter Grace Collier in the 1972 horror film, Sisters.
 * She handles most (possibly all) calls in the sequel.
 * Her true forename Nancy is never mentioned on-screen, and is only revealed in the script for Scream 4 (2011), similar to other characters in the film franchise, such as Joel and Hoss.
 * In the script, Kirby Reed must answer Stab trivia in a game to save Charlie's life. She mentions Debbie Salt/Nancy Loomis, on the 99th page of the script.
 * Given she is also divorced, her legal maiden surname is technically never revealed either, making her the first on-screen completely nameless Ghostface character.
 * Inspired by Pamela Voorhees, the killer in the original Friday the 13th. Pamela was mentioned by both Ghostface in Scream (1996) and Randy in Scream 2. Both characters strongly resemble each other:
 * They kill people to avenge their son's deaths.
 * They use a knife as a weapon
 * They have a huge influence on their son's actions and fate.
 * They are addressed as "Mrs. Voorhees" and "Mrs. Loomis", indicating their marriage and maternal roles.
 * Her name Nancy Loomis is a reference to the actress of Annie Brackett in John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic, Halloween.
 * Nancy Loomis who portrayed Annie now goes by Nancy Kyes since her marriage.
 * Her son and granddaughter's names are also Halloween references, especially her granddaughter Sam Carpenter, secretly Billy's daughter, making her a Loomis (Donald Pleasance's character is Sam Loomis, which is an homage to a character from Psycho).
 * She was described as "a flashy woman - all hair and teeth, thick sunglasses" in the original script. The character became more unassuming in the final version. Her cover story changed from being a Newsweek reporter to working for a local paper.
 * In an old draft, Nancy as one of three killers. Her accomplices being Hallie and Derek, who was a film student and resembled Mickey in this version. She also willingly admitted to her insanity whereas in the final cut, she vehemently denied being mentally ill.
 * Nancy stabs Randy to death left-handed. This is another clue to her agenda in framing Mickey and escaping, as Mickey himself is left-handed, connecting him to the crime (and is mentioned as left-handed in a deleted scene). Even something as trivial as to the hand used to stab victims, which is noticed in an autopsy.
 * After Cici's death, Nancy is seen writing with her right hand as the famous "Red Right Hand" song plays, a hint towards her role as framing Mickey in the killings.
 * It is unknown who played her in Stab 2 (1999 Scream-universe film).
 * Hints at being the killer:
 * She only speaks to Gale.
 * She never writes anything down.
 * She indicates the killer is from Woodsboro.

Appearances

 * Scream 2 (1997 film)