A California mother’s $5 thrift store find turned into an unexpected Halloween jackpot after she unknowingly picked up a rare vintage Ghostface mask—later selling it online for more than $700.
Brittany Carey, a stay-at-home mom in her 30s, said she stumbled upon the mask while shopping for a Halloween costume for her daughter at a local Goodwill.
At first, the mask didn’t look like much. “It was dirty, had several holes, and was smushed as if it had been sitting under a heavy box for months,” Carey told Newsweek. But when she picked it up and flipped it over, she spotted something that made her pause: “Fun World,” stamped underneath the chin. “That was when I knew it was something special,” she said.
After learning from a friend on Instagram about the value of vintage Ghostface masks, Carey listed hers on eBay with a starting price of just 99 cents. “I wanted it to go to someone who would treasure it,” she said.
As bids quickly climbed to $500, then $700, Carey watched the auction unfold in disbelief. “It brought me immense joy to know that I was able to bring this mask to someone who valued it,” she said. “The earnings paid for baby diapers, groceries, and medical bills.”
The History Behind the Mask
The Ghostface mask, made famous by the Scream film franchise, actually predates the 1996 movie. Originally created by Fun World in the early 1990s as part of its “Fantastic Faces” line of inexpensive Halloween masks, it was sold under names like “Weeping Ghost” or “Peanut-Eyed Ghost.”
During Scream’s production, producer Marianne Maddalena discovered one of the masks in a Halloween store and showed it to director Wes Craven, who adopted it for the killer’s look. After the film’s success, Fun World officially licensed the design as “Ghost Face,” transforming a once-generic novelty item into one of horror’s most recognizable and collectible icons.
Vintage examples, particularly those produced before Scream, can now sell for hundreds of dollars among collectors.
Carey shared the discovery on Instagram, where the video has more than 1 million views, detailing how she first found the mask and the bids as they rolled in on eBay.
This isn’t the first thrift find she has shared, either. “I share my experience as a stay-at-home mom trying to avoid returning to the corporate world,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed by the reaction.”
Internet Reacts
“Oh my gosh!!! Amazing,” said one commenter. While another wrote: “I could never resell, ’cause I want to keep all the good finds for myself. I would’ve never given away the Scream mask.”
“I would simply die if this had happened to me lol congrats,” wrote another viewer.
Others couldn’t believe that the mask had sold for such a high price. One commenter even joked: “You could have bought my face for that price.”
This isn’t the first time the value of a thrift store find has left the internet baffled. Earlier this year a gamer in Ohio stumbled on a collector’s edition of Starfield for just $75.
While a woman in Arizona spotted a scarf for just $3.49 before she spotted an iconic designer logo.
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