This article contains spoilers for the Scream franchise.In addition to thrills, kills, and an abundance of meta-commentary, the Scream franchise is well-known for the many horror Easter eggs littered throughout its six slashers, soon to be seven with the release of Scream VII in early 202). Often, these allusions are directly referenced by the characters themselves, including Billy Loomis’ use of pigs’ blood from Carrie or Randy’s near-constant name-dropping of horror classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th. However, there are plenty of Easter eggs that have slipped through the cracks over the years, with many of them truly giving credence to the phrase “blink-and-you-miss-it.”

For those dedicated fans who love nothing more than to scan the Scream films frame-by-frame to catch any and all references, these allusions and references will prove daunting even for you—save those responsible for their discovery. Indeed, with legacy characters Stu and Dewey confirmed to be returning in Scream VII (with the possible reappearance of one other fan favorite), there’s no better time to take a look back at these hidden and obscure Easter eggs for fun, laughs, and potential insight into the fate of the franchise’s most beloved characters in the upcoming sequel.

10

Wes Craven Is Dressed Like Freddy Krueger In Scream (1996)

The Late Horror Icon Paid Homage To His Most Popular Film (And Hitchcock)

Starting off easy, one of the better-known Easter eggs in the franchise comes from the film that started it all, Scream (1996). In the original, Scream director and horror legend Wes Craven makes a brief one-second appearance as a cleaner dressed head-to-toe in the garb of the infamous killer from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger (except for Freddy’s signature bladed glove).

Through this fleeting cameo, Craven was able to connect his most popular horror series with what would become his longest-running franchise—all through donning a fedora and a red striped shirt.

However, the cherry on top comes when Principal Himbry (played by the iconic Henry Winkler) calls out to the disgruntled cleaner, referring to him simply as “Fred.” Through this fleeting cameo, Craven was able to connect his most popular horror series with what would become his longest-running franchise—all through donning a fedora and a red striped shirt.

9

In Scre4m, Sidney Pulls The Same Move As Laurie In Halloween

The Allusion Subtly Illustrates Sidney’s Similarities To Laurie

In Scre4m, the franchise’s 2011 soft reboot, Sidney Prescott is once again thrown into the midst of a Ghostface rampage and must fight to protect her friends and survive. While there have always been intentional parallels between Sidney and Halloween final girl Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), it wasn’t until Scre4m that we got to see her emulate one of the resilient babysitter’s signature moves.

In the 1978 horror classic, Laurie throws a potted plant at a house window to wake up Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) as the murderous Michael Myers pursues her. In a stroke of genius, however, Scre4m flips the books on this scenario, instead having Sidney throw a potted plant through the front door window to save Olivia (Marielle Jaffe) from the Ghostface killer, highlighting her bravery while also tying her in with horror icon and fellow badᴀss Laurie Strode.

8

There’s A Split-Second Reference To Nightmare On Elm Street in Scream II

This Easter Egg Is One Of The Hardest To Find Without Pausing

The second Scream film contains one of the craziest blink-and-you-miss-it references ever created in filmmaking, a feat quite notable for a franchise renowned for its less-than-subtle plotlines and characters. A recently-acquitted Cotton Weary confronts Sidney over a potential Diane Sawyer interview in her college library, which ultimately gets him arrested by the police. However, if you look closely at the bookshelf Sidney’s bodyguards pin Cotton against, you’ll see a large cream book тιтled Our Dreaming Mind.

Our Dreaming Mind is a real book by psychologist Robert Van de Castle detailing the history of dreams and several prominent theories/experiments around the sleeping mind, and its placement in Scream II is a surefire nod to the iconic killer that hunts his victims in their dreams, Freddy Krueger. Unlike its predecessor, Scream II doesn’t contain the plethora of A Nightmare on Elm Street references found in the original film, so this Easter egg is a rare and welcome inclusion.

7

Tatum Is Dressed Like Glen From Nightmare On Elm Street

Her Outfit Is A Direct Reference To Johnny Depp’s Character

Another subtle nod to A Nightmare on Elm Street can be found in the original Scream in one of Tatum Riley’s (Rose McGowan) outfits. In the second act of the film, Tatum can be seen wearing a white football jersey and red pants, an outfit eerily similar to the clothes Johnny Depp wore in his breakout role as Glen Lantz in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

While this simple outfit might initially appear to be an easy reference to the classic horror film, it actually subtly foreshadows Tatum’s death later in the film, since her outfit is the same one that Glen wears when he meets his incredibly bloody end at the knife-handed of Freddy Krueger.

6

Scream VI References One Of The Most Iconic Friday The 13th Films

The Follow-up To Scream (2022) References One Of Jason’s Craziest Films

This one was really a no-brainer for Scream VI directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who had the difficult task of crafting a follow-up to Scream (2022), the bold series reboot that contains an Oscar-winning Ghostface. Scream VI’s Manhattan setting provided filmmakers with a perfect opportunity to reference another late-franchise film set in the Big Apple: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.

Scream VI’s Jason Voorhees Easter egg is another blink-and-you-miss-it reference which occurs at the beginning of the film. In the dorm room of Jason Carvey (played by The Grand Budapest H๏τel’s Tony Revolori), you can see a scene from Jason Takes Manhattan playing on the television in the background where Jason does what he does best—killing people.

5

The Dream Sequence In Scream III References Salem’s Lot

Wes Craven Imitated One Of Stephen King’s Scariest Scenes

In addition to being the film with potentially the most meta-commentary in the franchise, Scream III is also notable for having one of the franchise’s few dream sequences (discounting Sam’s visions of Billy Loomis in Scream (2022) and Scream VI that partly redeemed his character). In the scene, Sidney Prescott sees her ᴅᴇᴀᴅ mother call her name from outside her window, eventually telling her that “everything she touches dies” before her dream ends.

This creepy sequence is a direct reference to Salem’s Lot, a Stephen King horror miniseries from 1979 that features a similar scene where one of the town’s missing kids named Ralphie Glick (Ronnie Scribner) floats to his big brother’s window and scratches until being let in. The entire scene is exceptionally haunting, and undoubtedly responsible for thousands of kids’ nightmares in the late ’70s.

4

There’s An Actual Elm Street Sign In Scream (2022)

This Easter Egg Holds Surprising Potential For The Franchise

The recent reboot to the Scream franchise carried Wes Craven’s tradition of referencing A Nightmare On Elm Street with another blink-and-you-miss-it moment that holds surprising potential for potential world-building. In Scream (2022), there’s a brief scene where Richie’s Prius drives past a road whose name we know all-too-well at this point: the тιтular, nightmarish Elm Street.

While this is a cute Easter egg on Scream‘s part, it could also make way for a sure-to-be iconic horror crossover in the manner of Alien vs. Predator or—more appropriately—Freddy vs. Jason. While it’s hard to see how Ghostface could stand a chance against the supernatural Freddy, it would nevertheless be wildly entertaining to see him trip and stumble in his battle against the malevolent dream-killer. Plus, there would be endless potential for meta jokes and commentary.

3

Billy Loomis’ Name Is A Callback To Previous Horror Classics

By Referencing Horror Cinema, Scream Recontextualizes The Genre’s Tropes

The name “Billy Loomis” holds a surprising history, likely captured by only the utmost horror fanatics. There are two notable examples of characters named “Loomis” in the horror genre prior to Scream: one is Dr. Sam Loomis (played by character actors Donald Pleasence and Malcolm McDowell) from the Halloween series, a middle-aged psychiatrist who fervently hunts after his most disturbed patient, Michael Myers.

By pulling Billy’s name from two of the most important slasher films ever created, Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson directly links his film to the roots of horror cinema while also foreshadowing Billy’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier side.

The second and more obscure example actually bears the same name as the first: Sam Loomis (John Gavin), the boyfriend of the ill-fated Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. By pulling Billy’s name from two of the most important slasher films ever created, Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson directly links his film to the roots of horror cinema while also foreshadowing Billy’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier side. Furthermore, the fact that Billy got his name from two characters also hints at the film’s dual Ghostface twist early on.

2

Scream (2022) References A Top Horror YouTube Channel

By Referencing New Media, The Film Expands Its Scope Of Meta Commentary

One of the most surprising Easter eggs from the recent Scream reboot in 2022 didn’t reference a famous horror franchise, movie, or villain: it referenced a YouTube channel. With over six million subscribers, ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Meat is by far the most popular horror channel on YouTube, with much of that growth a result of their popular series “The Kill Count,” which recaps the storylines of popular horror movies while tallying up their kills.

“ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Meat” is run by YouTuber James A. Janisse and his wife, Chelsea Rebecca, who also co-host a podcast aptly тιтled “The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Meat Podcast.” With James and Chelsea’s videos on the Scream franchise generating millions of views, they were the perfect choice for the two podcasters in Scream (2022) that discuss the fictional “Stab” film series based off the Woodsboro murders in the original film.

1

The Original Exorcist Girl Makes A Brief Cameo In Scream (1996)

She Appears As A Reporter Outside Sidney’s School

Finally, the original Scream film included an expert blink-and-you-miss-it Easter egg with its inclusion of Linda Blair, an actress who gained international fame in the ’70s for her role in the brutally-horrific The Exorcist. During the scene where reporters swarm outside Woodsboro High, Blair makes a brief cameo as one of the reporters harᴀssing Sidney.

Anyone who’s seen The Exorcist is aware of the film’s lasting horror, which persists in the following days, weeks, and months of your first—and for many, only—viewing. Her inclusion, therefore, in Scream (1996) not only acts as a fan callback to one of horror’s most renowned films: it also connects the Scream franchise to a mythic lineage of horror icons, cementing itself as a modern classic against the backdrop of slasher films and greater horror cinema.