Ghostface first appears in the opening scene of scream (1996). The character, voiced by Roger L. Jackson, calls and taunts teenager Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) with horror clichés and trivia questions, eventually murdering her boyfriend Steve Orth (Kevin Patrick Walls) and then her. The identity has been adopted by the primary antagonists of each successive film to conceal their identities, prior to being revealed in each film's final act.
In the original Scream, the identity is used by a killer stalking the fictional town of Woodsboro, California. After the murder spree begins, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) begins receiving taunting and threatening phone calls from Ghostface, who claims knowledge of her mother Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee)'s brutal rape and murder, one year prior to the events of the film, a murder that was blamed on Cotton Weary(Liev Schreiber). The Ghostface disguise allows suspicion to fall on many people, including Sidney's boyfriend, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich); her father, Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht); her friend, Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy); and her schoolmate, Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). Ghostface is revealed in the finale as both Billy and Stu, who reveal that they murdered Sidney's mother and framed Cotton. Billy cites his motivation as abandonment by his mother, brought about by his father's affair with Maureen, while Stu cites "peer pressure". As the two killers reveal their plan to frame Sidney's father for their killing spree, reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) suddenly appears and attempts to shoot them with their gun, only for Billy to knock her out and prepare to kill her, only to suddenly realize that while Gale was confronting them, Sidney managed to escape. Sidney ultimately turns the tables against Billy and Stu, temporarily adopting the Ghostface persona herself to taunt them with a phone call, revealing that she called the police on them and thus foiled their plan to get away with their killing spree the two killers shocked, horrified, and enraged. Briefly dressing up as Ghostface, Sidney attacks and knocks out Billy with an umbrella and then engages in a fight with Stu, ultimately killing him by dropping a television on his head. Gale shoots Billy to stop him from killing Sidney, who then finishes Billy off with a bullet to the head, citing the fact that "They ALWAYS come back," a common horror cliché, and now her catchphrase. This is most likely one of the many tropes taught to her by Randy Meeks, who is obsessed with horror and openly lists these clichés earlier in the film during a party.
Ghostface's, second appearance was in Scream 2 (1997) where it was again used as a disguise by the main antagonists. A series of murders occur at Windsor College, Sidney's current location, with the initial victims sharing names with Billy and Stu's victims from Scream. The killers again taunt Sidney and attempt to kill her, and later kill Randy. The Ghostface disguise allows suspicion to fall on several characters, including Cotton again, and Sidney's boyfriend Derek Feldman (Jerry O'Connell). However, Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant), a friend of Derek, reveals himself as the killer, seeking fame for his prolific exploits. Mickey's accomplice is revealed to be Billy's mother (Laurie Metcalf), under the alias Debbie Salt, who is seeking revenge against Sidney for her son's death, while showing unwillingness to accept her own faults as a mother which included abandoning Billy, which Sidney points out during their confrontation. Mrs. Loomis shoots Mickey, claiming to have indulged his desire for fame only to enlist his help in enacting her revenge, and tries to kill Sidney, only for Sidney to fight back. Just as Mrs. Loomis ultimately prepares to kill Sidney, Cotton suddenly arrives, and Mrs. Loomis tries to manipulate him into letting her kill Sidney, but to her shock, she fails to do so and Cotton instead shoots Mrs. Loomis in the neck. Seconds later, Mickey springs to his feet screaming but is quickly shot to death by Gale and Sidney. Sidney then shoots Mrs. Loomis in the head, saying "just in case".
GhostFace.
The Ghostface persona remains the same throughout the Scream series, featuring a black hood and cloak with a jagged base and a white rubber mask resembling a ghost with an anguish expression. Though each iteration of Ghostface is human, they often exhibit extreme durability against physical harm, high levels of physical strength, and an almost supernatural stealth ability, able to appear and disappear in seemingly impossible situations. The character has become a popular culture icon since its inception, referenced in film and television as well as spawning a series of action figures and merchandise, as well as parodies and titular spoofs.