‘Friday the 13th’ Mysteries: Where Is Jason in Part 1?

Paramount Pictures likely had no idea they were creating one of the biggest pop culture franchises in history when they released the original Friday the 13th in 1980. It tells the story of a grief-stricken mother murdering camp counselors to avenge the death of her son, Jason Voorhees, who had drowned in the campground’s lake many years before. And yet, an older version of Jason appears in Friday the 13th Part 2, picking up where his mother left off. It was a great move for the franchise, but it leaves us with one burning question…

If Jason Voorhees was around to avenge his mother’s death, then just where was he during Pamela’s killing spree?

Yes, young Jason does technically appear at the end of the first Friday the 13th film, pulling Alice into the lake after she decapitates Mrs. Voorhees. This is more than likely an apparent dream sequence or hallucination, considering Jason still looks as he did as a child, although it’s been over 20 years since his “death.” There’s just no indication that the real Jason in Friday the 13th Part 2 was still alive in the original movie, and yet, here he is murdering Alice at the very start of the sequel. As such, a Friday the 13th mystery is born.

So, how do we explain Jason’s absence in Friday the 13th? I’m sure we, as the viewers, were never meant to really think too much about this. Paramount just wanted a sequel to be made, and because Pamela was dead, making Jason the new killer was the obvious choice. Still, after watching the film so many times over for decades, it gets harder and harder to ignore this question. As this is one of those mysteries that keeps me up at night when I should be getting some sleep, I’ve narrowed the possibilities down to four separate theories.

Theory 1 – The “Logical” Explanation

It is true that, later on in the series, Jason Voorhees definitively dies and comes back later as a super-powered zombie. So, we can’t deny that the supernatural does exist in the Friday the 13th universe. Still, some fans prefer to believe Jason actually survived his drowning as a child, apparently stowing away in the forest for over two decades until the planned reopening of Camp Crystal Lake brings him back out of hiding.

This certainly isn’t impossible. It’s never specified that Jason’s body was ever recovered, and he could have been presumed drowned if he disappeared in the lake. This would mean that Jason apparently washed up on shore out of sight of the camp counselors or his mother, retreating into the woods to make a new life for himself. If he wandered far enough away from the campgrounds, then his mother and the police could have easily believed him to be dead, making that the “official” story.

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The biggest problem with this particular theory is that you have to ask why Jason never approached his mother during this time. Perhaps he suffered brain damage from oxygen deprivation due to his near-drowning, leading him to behave erratically. Maybe he was lost in the forest and simply didn’t know his way back home, as the current could have carried him quite a ways away from where the campgrounds were. Even so, you still have to wonder why Jason still doesn’t make himself seen at any point during Pamela’s slaughter of the camp counselors.

In Part 2, it is speculated that Jason witnessed his mother’s death five years prior and is now out for revenge. Maybe Jason simply didn’t realize his mother had embarked on a killing spree that day, missing most of the killings with no chance to interact with her. And maybe, just maybe, Alice’s screams during her tussle with Mrs. Voorhees drew Jason out of the woods at just the right moment to see his mother’s death. Traumatized, Jason goes on a murder spree of his own, which begins with hunting down the very woman who killed Pamela.

Theory 2 – Paranormal Forces Bring Him Back

Is any love greater than a mother’s love? Maybe not, and that could have played a major role in bringing Jason Voorhees back from the dead. If you don’t believe Jason could have been living in the woods this whole time, avoiding his mother and everyone else for over two decades, then perhaps you could accept that this was a supernatural event. In short, Jason really is dead in the original film, having died as a young child in the late ’50s, later resurrecting through paranormal means for a new chance at life.

The things Pamela does in the original film are horrific, but as dastardly as they are, they all come from a place of love. For years and years, Mrs. Voorhees deals with the never-ending pain of losing her “special, special boy.” Desperate to keep any other mother from feeling the same heartache, Pamela does everything she can to keep the camp closed down so no more children will drown – even if it means murdering a bunch of well-meaning teenagers hoping to work as camp counselors. It could be that this bond between mother and son was so immensely strong that it attracted otherworldly forces, perhaps the very same spirits that would resurrect Jason once again in Jason Lives, which used this powerful energy to reanimate Jason.

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If we’re going this route, we could also theorize that young Jason pulling Alice into the water really did happen as well and was not actually a hallucination. Jason might have initially been “brought back,” appearing as he did when he died, explaining his child-like appearance in the scene. It could be that this resurrected Jason also matures and grows stronger very rapidly, growing more powerful with each subsequent sequel. This story may also help explain why Jason’s appearance is constantly changing, and of course, leads right into Jason Lives, which finally makes Jason a full-fledged zombie.

Theory 3 – Pamela Is Hiding Jason

This theory borrows from Theory 1 in the sense that this explanation isn’t supernatural in nature, but for some, it may still seem pretty far out. Still, it does fill in some of the holes in the Friday the 13th story, so it’s certainly just as possible as the other concepts outlined above. As you may have surmised, the idea here is that Jason not only survived his drowning, but Pamela is completely aware of it, keeping Jason hidden from the world while still acting like he’s dead.

Here’s how this one works. In some way or another, Pamela finds Jason after he’s been presumed to have drowned, possibly finding him in the woods away from everyone else. Determined to keep him safe from the outside world, which she now considers to be very dangerous, Pamela then keeps Jason at home, not telling another soul her sweet, handsome son had actually been found alive. Still, she harbors resentment towards Camp Crystal Lake for allowing Jason’s near-drowning to happen, determined to keep the campground closed forever at all costs.

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You could also go a step further here to speculate Jason was even helping his mother with all of the murders. Some Friday the 13th fans have questioned how Mrs. Voorhees would have been physically able to move around dead bodies seemingly with such ease. Hanging Mr. Christy upside-down from a tree, for example, seems like it’d be a bit of a struggle for Betsy Palmer. Maybe, just maybe, she had some help with her presumed-dead son Jason himself carrying out some of the film’s off-screen murders – or at least moving around the bodies.

Of course, if Jason was always just around the corner, you’d have to wonder why he didn’t get involved in the climactic fight at the end between Pamela and Alice. It could be that Pamela gave him specific instructions to never make himself seen by any person, ever, to keep him “safe” from the harm that they would bring him. This would also explain why Jason always wears a mask in the sequels, as he might believe that the masks keep him “hidden” per his mother’s wishes. Possibly, Jason was watching his mother’s killing spree play out from a distance, and when he witnessed her demise, he sought to pick up directly where she left off.

Theory 4 – Jason Is a Deadite

When we spoke with Jason Goes to Hell director Adam Marcus for an exclusive interview, he revealed that the ninth Friday the 13th movie is set in the Evil Dead universe. According to Marcus, Jason is actually a Deadite, and his mother brought him back to life using the Book of the Dead. “She [Pamela Voorhees] makes a deal with the devil by reading from the Necronomicon to bring back her son. This is why Jason isn’t Jason. He’s Jason plus The Evil Dead,” Marcus told us. He also says, “In my opinion, Jason Voorhees is a Deadite. He’s one of The Evil Dead.”

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Buying into this particular theory will mean accepting the events of Jason Goes to Hell as canon with the original Friday the 13th movie timeline. Many fans consider the original story concluded with Jason Takes Manhattan, which ended Paramount’s run with Jason before handing the franchise keys over to New Line Cinema. As such, Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, and Freddy vs. Jason are all considered to be separate standalone movies by some Friday the 13th fans, and the Deadite theory definitely doesn’t hold water without JGtH in consideration.

We cannot definitively say which of the above theories is the one true explanation for Jason’s absence in the original Friday the 13th film. Personally, I lean towards the first theory, as it’s the most “rational” of the four explanations and seems plausible enough to work for me. However, none of us can be 100% sure, and your guess is just as good as mine. Pick the one you like the best, as we’ll never really know for certain.

So, what do you think? If you have some ideas of your own or anything else to add to this mystery, you can do so in the comments below!