The Original 1974 Massacre

Lore & Background

The massacre began when a group of five friends—Sally Hardesty, her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin, and their companions Jerry, Kirk, and Pam—ventured to a remote Texas farmhouse after reports of grave robbing. They stumbled upon the Sawyer family, a clan of former slaughterhouse workers turned cannibals, led by the oily patriarch Drayton. The family's youngest, Leatherface, a hulking figure in a mask stitched from human skin, wielded a roaring chainsaw to dispatch the intruders one by one, turning the farm into a slaughterhouse where the walls dripped with the memory of blood.

Reader's Guide

The events unfold as the group stops at a gas station run by Drayton Sawyer, a greasy, smiling predator who warns them—with a wink—of danger. They visit the family home, where Leatherface ambushes Kirk and Pam, killing Kirk with a hammer blow that cracks his skull and Pam with a meat hook that swings her into the dark. Jerry follows, lured by Pam's screams, and is similarly slain. Franklin is cut down by the chainsaw while searching for Sally, his wheelchair toppling into the dust.

Sally is captured and forced into a grotesque dinner with the family, where the mummified grandfather is propped up to suck her finger. She escapes by hurling herself through a window, shattering glass and hope, fleeing into the moonless night as Leatherface swings his chainsaw in a frenzied dance. The massacre solidifies the family's notoriety and sets the stage for future encounters, leaving Sally as the sole survivor—scarred, screaming, and forever marked.

Did You Know?

• The film was inspired by the real-life crimes of Ed Gein, though the Sawyer family is fictional.
• Leatherface's mask is made from the skin of his victims, a detail that adds to his terrifying persona.
• The chainsaw used in the film was a lightweight model, modified for easier handling by the actor.
• The dinner scene was improvised to enhance the chaotic, nightmarish atmosphere.