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Rachel Murray

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“ No one wants to stay, but we're all just a little curious. ”

–Rachel to Audrey Jense, "Pilot"

Rachel Kay Murray was a recurring character in the television series, Scream. As an aspiring closeted artist, she became close to and eventually formed a secret relationship with Audrey Jensen, during their junior year of high school. Their relationship would then be exposed and each partner outed as a result, one night, on Monday, September 28th, 2015, by Audrey's classmate and queen bee from George Washington High School, 17-year-old Nina Patterson; who alongside her ex-boyfriend, Tyler O'Neill, by using his camera, recorded their rendezvous in a parking lot where her and Audrey were making out in the latter's car, unaware of them being filmed without their consent, with the video being uploaded on YouTube and going viral.

Unbeknownst to Rachel, this would be the catalyst to initiate the Second Lakewood Murders (2015-2016) committed by 20 year old podcaster, Piper Shaw, nearly two decades since the last murders were committed in Lakewood on Halloween night, 1994, due to Piper wanting to avenge her alleged deceased killer father and town legend, Brandon James, for his role in the previous murders; of who was the half-sister of her former girlfriend's former best friend, Emma Duval; with Brandon being the subject of a documentary which Audrey was working on, of which Rachel assisted her on prior to her death.

Rachel would become the third victim in the Second Lakewood Murders in the first volume committed in September-October 2015, the fourth female victim of the Lakewood Slasher; who overall, was the eighth victim, chronologically, the course of the Lakewood Murders, from the first and second season of the TV series.

She is portrayed by Sosie Bacon.

Description

Rachel is a shy, self-harming and self-loathing student from St. Mary's Catholic High School for Girls. She is wicked smart, sweet and funny, but hates the way she looks. The night after the video of her and Audrey making out goes viral and Nina Patterson's death, she was brutally murdered by the Lakewood Slasher, who is said to be wearing the Brandon James mask. She had a bit of a wild streak, as she enjoyed to go out to a bar and record what happened.

 Appearances (5/24)

Season 1 (3/10)

Season 2 (2/14)

Biography

Early Life

Not much is known about Rachel's life except she was born in approximately late 1998 to early/mid 1999 in Lakewood, Louisiana to Megan and Brutan Murray. She would become a future class of 2017 alum, and who'd grow up and possibly, up until high school, attended the same public schools as her fellow alums Emma Duval, Noah Foster, Brooke Maddox, Jake Fitzgerald, Will Belmont, and Riley Marra.

An aspiring artist and who was a closeted lesbian, Rachel would strike up a relationship with videographer and high school junior, Audrey Jensen, possibly in the summer before their junior year, with Audrey, alongside other alums and future victims, attending the town's public high school, George Washington, with Rachel attending the town's catholic high school for girls, St. Mary's. Audrey, due to being estranged and upset with angst from being distant from her former best friend, Emma, would begin working dedicatedly on a documentary about the town's outcast and alleged serial killer, deformed teenager Brandon James, of which Rachel would contribute to in order to support Audrey's project.

The night before the first day of the 2015 murders, on Sunday, September 27th, Rachel while at a bar by herself, would coincidentally record via her camera recorder, her and Audrey's teenage bully and popular mean girl, Nina, drunkenly and flirtatiously talking with and leaving with new transfer student, 17 year old Kieran Wilcox, of who'd caught a glimpse of Rachel recording him, of which was revealed during the second to last act, at the Halloween dance on Saturday, October 30th, 2015 by Audrey to Emma, correctly suspecting Kieran, despite him evading it.

The Second Lakewood Murders (2015)

"Pilot"

Pilot 1.1

Rachel is first seen in a car kissing Audrey Jensen which was recorded by Nina Patterson and uploaded on Monday, September 28th, 2015 to YouTube and shared online to the student body, causing for it to go viral, and in the process, out both Rachel and her girlfriend; despite the recording and transmission of the video thus being non-consensual and thus a cybercrime, given Rachel and Audrey each being minors. Off-screen, recorded by Rachel, following the uploading and virality of the video, prompted Audrey to meet up with Rachel, sometime that same night, who planned to confront Nina, who was angry and who's words were seen as a threat, due to the aftermath of Nina and Tyler's murders concurrent to when Rachel video was discovered from an SD card

Rachel and Audrey are later seen talking about Brooke Maddox's party on Wednesday, September 30th, at Rachel's house later that night, after Audrey ditched the party, due to a prank causing Audrey's sidekick from their duo, Noah, almost drowning at Wren Lake, done by Jake, due to it being tradition. Rachel starts talking negative thoughts about herself but Audrey cheers her up and they share a kiss, despite Lakewood Slasher (Kieran) watching from below, unbeknownst to them (despite party taking place on Wednesday, September 30th, Rachel perhaps died the next night not from Wednesday to Thursday as alluded, thus on Thursday, October 1st-Friday October 2nd: see Timeline).

Death

Thursday, October 1st, 2015
Rachel Death

Hung Up: Rachel, tragically, would become the 3rd victim (2nd female in 2015-2016 Lakewood Murders) to the Lakewood Slasher, whose death by hanging is reminiscent to that of Casey Becker.

After still feeling distraught and traumatized by the YouTube comments of the viral video, Rachel grabs a razor and reveals that she has many scars. As she attempts to cut her arm again, her phone rings, revealing Audrey's name. Rachel quickly puts the razor back in her heart case and talks to Audrey. She walks over to the bathroom, asking a distorted-voice Audrey about the video, which Rachel points out of Audrey's voice sounding distorted, which the killer assures her posing as her former girlfriend, it must be due to a bad connection. They talk for a while before a thudding noise is heard. Rachel walks over to her closet, thinking that Audrey is pranking her, which she tells her off on and about her mother coming home soon. She opens the door, only to find no one inside. A rustling noise is heard outside.

On the other line, Audrey tells Rachel to "come out to their spot" and that it's a "beautiful night", referring to the porch on Rachel's bedroom balcony. Rachel walks out to the balcony, only to discover that Audrey is actually not outside. Feeling a little scared, Rachel walks outside. "Audrey, where are you?" Rachel asks. She suddenly sees something tied to the railing of her balcony. Walking closer to take a closer look, while placing her phone to rest on her shoulder as she holds it with her head, Rachel begins pulling the rope, only to discover a noose tied at the end.

Confused, Rachel just stares at it. Just after, the Lakewood Slasher, who was impersonating Audrey on the phone via an app voice recorder/distorter, rushes from behind and quickly wraps the noose around a screaming Rachel, without stabbing her. He picks her up as she tries to fight back and who struggles, as she continues screaming in fear. The killer then throws Rachel over the balcony. Once she lands at the bottom, the noose tightens and crushes her neck, snapping it. Rachel's foot twitches, ceasing her screams. Her lifeless body sways lightly as the killer looks down as Rachel is killed.

Her body is later set up hung from a ceiling fan, as the killer wants the coroner (Emma's mother, Maggie Duval) to figure out that it was a murder, instead of Rachel's death being a suicide.

Aftermath

Following Rachel's murder, and who was initially excluded from the roster of victims by Quinn Maddox, the mayor of Lakewood, her death would continue to have a profound effect, especially for her ex-girlfriend, Audrey, as well as the true nature of her death impacting the survivors of the Lakewood Five, specifically Emma, due to her half-sister Piper being indirectly responsible for her death, as well as due to the death being caused by Emma's faux-boyfriend and her half-sister's lover and accomplice (and to the other survivors, including Audrey's, faux-friend), Kieran Wilcox.

"Exposed"

At the funeral for the deaths of Tyler, Nina, and Riley, a photo of Rachel can be seen a wall.

"Betrayed"

Although not physically seen or credited, Rachel's voice can be heard through a video she took using Audrey's camera.

Season 2

"Happy Birthday To Me"

Rachel appears in Audrey's hallucination. Audrey apologizes to her, and tells her that she takes full responsibly. They begin to kiss. When Audrey's hallucination ends, it is revealed that Audrey was actually kissing Noah.

"The Vanishing"

Audrey highlighted to Emma that Piper was with her the night that Rachel died, presumably either before Audrey met with Rachel after leaving Brooke's vigil party on September 30th, 2015, or after she had met up with Rachel and left to see Piper, either viable. She assumes that her accomplice killed her.

"When a Stranger Calls"

It was revealed in the episode that Piper's accomplice, Kieran was the one that killed her in "Hello, Emma".

Relationships

Family

  • Unnamed parents

Allies

Enemies

Trivia

  • She is the first character to appear on the series along with Audrey Jensen.
  • Similar to Cici Cooper, she was thrown off a balcony and her death was believed to be a suicide until further evidence showed it was a murder.
    • Also, both girls were the third victims of their respective killing sprees.
  • She is the first person to fall victim to Kieran Wilcox, and also his first female victim.
  • She attended Saint Mary's Catholic School for Girls, a high school.
  • While in "Pilot", as Audrey discusses to Rachel about not going to the stupid party, referring to Brooke's vigil for Nina on Wednesday, September 30th, as Rachel consoles her and shares a kiss, the Lakewood Slasher is shown watching from down below and afar.
    • Continuity Error: Due to the events of "Hello, Emma", starting after the first episode taking place over Monday night September 28th until Thursday, October 1st, 2015, it's alluded that Rachel's attack happened after, on midnight, from September 30th to October 1st, due to the Lakewood Slasher watching from afar. However, as the Pilot transitioned to the second episode, still took place on October 1st, as Emma's call took place approximately 3-5 hours before Rachel's murder after having met with Audrey, in the first episode, thus Rachel's murder being on Thursday midnight, October 1st possibly into Friday morning, October 2nd, 2015, instead.
  • Rachel would be the respective third victim of her murder spree and in the Scream franchise, of who was played by a notable actor or actress (with her actress being the daughter of actor Kevin Bacon, mentioned back in Scream 2), which would be similar to:
  • Like Casey Becker, she is found hanging. Rachel's death via being pushed out from her balcony, after being in her bedroom is a nod to Olivia Morris being defenestrated (pushed out her window), by Charlie Walker in Scream 4, although the difference being Rachel wasn't stabbed or attacked in her bedroom.
    • The way she is hung from the ceiling fan is very similar to the deleted scene of Marnie Cooper in Scream 4.
    • Rachel telling Audrey (not her but the Lakewood Slasher) that her mom would be home soon when she heard a noise, is reminiscent to when Casey told Ghostface that her boyfriend, Steven Orth, would arrive to her aid, albeit the roles and scenarios similar in theme yet reversed (seeing as Audrey is being impersonated by the killer, supposedly going to visit Rachel, unbeknownst to her it isn't Audrey; while for Casey it is established she is being taunted), likewise.
  • Rachel is the first LGBTQ+ female character to be killed in the Scream franchise and to be killed by falling, albeit she was hung, and was thus dropped (who is the first character, regardless of sex, to be killed this way in both the franchise and the TV series).
    • She would be succeeded in-universe 8 years and 4 weeks plus a day after her death by Anika Kayoko and her death in Scream VI, and also killed by being dropped, albeit different killers (Rachel by the Lakewood Slasher, Anika by Ghostface).
    • Both females were the respective partners of LGBTQ+ female protagonists (Rachel to Audrey, Anika to Mindy), who were devastated by their deaths, in which one wasn't present for (but whose voice was manipulated as if to implicate, Audrey) while the other was (but couldn't aid in time, Mindy).
  • Despite Nina being the series' "opening victim", Rachel shares more similarities to Casey Becker, receiving a call from the killer and ending up hung somewhere, only to be found by their mother (although Nina is found dead by her mother in the morning in the pool, while Rachel's discovery by hers occurs off-screen).
    • Albeit reversed, since the call Rachel receives by the Lakewood Slasher is using a voice modifier impersonating Audrey, and who never drops the voice while on call.
      • This is a nod to the voice changer which could copy people's voices used by the fifth Ghostface killer, Roman Bridger, in Scream 3.
  • Like Arthur Himbry they both were found hanging and their "murder" was first known to the main protagonists via phone call.
    • Also both were the third victims of their respective killing sprees.
  • As written in the original script for "Pilot", Rachel was intended to die in the first episode.
  • Rachel is similar to Maureen Prescott from the original Scream film trilogy, as well as to Deion Elliot from Season 3, in that their deaths served as a catalyst for the main events to occur, due to events surrounding them and secrecy in relation to a protagonist (Maureen as Sidney Prescott's own mother; Rachel as Audrey's former girlfriend, who was a protagonist herself, survivor and former best friend of the first and second season's own protagonist, Emma; with Deion as the twin brother of the third season's protagonist, Marcus Elliot).
    • Maureen's recorded extramarital affairs with Hank Loomis and Cotton Weary on videotape for a "family film" as stated by Sidney's half-brother and Ghostface #5, Roman, loosely similar to Rachel's recorded make out with Audrey distributed on YouTube, taunted on by Piper Shaw (who didn't contribute to the video, but used it to initiate her murder spree), both's videos also being used before each female character's deaths.
    • Deion due to having met his secret older-half brother and future Ghostface, Jamal Elliot, in a rendezvous by his and his twin Marcus's father, Earl, with the rendezvous and being told by both brothers to keep it a secret costing Deion his life due to his death months later, which would be loosely similar and reversed in how Rachel's secret relationship and rendezvous with Audrey (as a relationship, not family) was exposed, of which would cost Rachel her life as well.
  • At the beginning of "Hello, Emma", we see numerous cuts on her arm as a result of her history with self-abuse and depression.
  • She is the second person in the series to get a call from the killer.
    • The killer disguised their voice as Audrey using the voice changer app to convince Rachel to come outside for the kill.
  • She and Audrey met online on a Film Geek site.
    • This is a nod to how Ghostface killers, Nancy Loomis and Mickey Altieri in Scream 2 met, reversed, due to Rachel and Audrey not being killers.
  • Her death may have been staged as a suicide so that Piper Shaw could make Emma feel Rachel's death was her fault because of her part in the video.
  • After the season finale, many fans believed that Audrey was the one that killed Rachel.
    • This turned to be false due to the fact that in "The Vanishing", Audrey mentioned that Piper Shaw was with her the night Rachel died.
  • Rachel is played by Sosie Bacon, the daughter of Kevin Bacon.
    • Her father Kevin starred in Friday the 13th (1980) which the movie is mention several times in both the movies and in the show. Kevin himself was referenced by Murphy in Scream 2.
  • She appeared as a hallucination to Audrey in "Happy Birthday to Me".
  • In "The Vanishing", it was revealed that during the time of Rachel's death, Piper and Audrey were at Crescent Palms Motel, meaning that Piper wasn't her killer.
  • She shares her name with Rachel from Stab 7, from Scream 4.
    • They ironically have similar appearances (shoulder length blonde hair) and are technically the third person to die in their respective series.
  • It is revealed in "When a Stranger Calls" that Kieran Wilcox was her murderer.
  • Her death bears many similarities to Cassidy Spilker's death in the 2015 found footage supernatural horror film, The Gallows:
    • Both Cassidy and Rachel are killed by a masked murderer whose identity is presumed to be deceased.
    • Both Cassidy and Rachel are hung from a noose, but are later found dead in a separate location.
    • Ironically, her death scene in Hello, Emma aired just 3 days before the release of The Gallows, on July 10th, 2015.
  • She is the first and only victim to date be killed with a noose in the franchise. Although many victims have been hung after being killed.
    • While technically Officer Richards in Scream 2 and Tom Prinze in Scream 3 predate her as the first victims not to be killed with a bowie knife or firearm, (as Richards was impaled onto a pole after being trapped on a car when Mickey attempted to run him over, while Prinze died in an explosion).
    • Rachel is the first victim to directly be attacked and killed with something other than a firearm or bowie knife and throughout the series various different weapons would be used on victims.
  • She's the first character to be directly attacked and killed in a unique fashion without receiving any kind of injuries from a bowie knife (due to being hung from a noose). Prior to her, several victims in the series were at least wounded with the bowie knife only to be killed in a different fashion:
  • Rachel has one of the quickest and most direct deaths in the franchise, succeeded by the Prison Guard from the Season 2 "Halloween" episode, Liv McKenzie from Scream (2022), and two unnamed male victims and a clerk (see Bodega Victims) at Abe's Snake Bodega in Scream VI.
    • None of them were chased, tied up, tortured or previously injured by their killers.

Video Clips

Character Guide

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