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Principal Arthur Himbry was the tough-acting principal of Woodsboro High School, though he was caring to Sidney Prescott's trauma and was angry at 2 boys fooling around in Ghostface costumes after 2 fellow innocent schoolmates were just minding their own business when both of them were "savagely murdered" and wanted them to show compassion and sensitivity.

Himbry was the face of authority for most of the teenage characters. While the adults in horror films are usually ineffectual, Himbry is a strong force, suspending students and working as a liaison with the Woodsboro police. Like common adult characters, however, he is out-of-touch with youth culture.

Himbry was the third character to fall victim to the Woodsboro Murders.

Appearances in the Films

Scream

Playing around

Playing around Principal Himbry playing around with a Ghostface mask he collected from a student.

Principal Himbry assisted Sheriff Burke in interrogating several students in Woodsboro High following the night of the murders of Casey Becker and Steve Orth. He demonstrated a protective instinct towards Sidney Prescott when she was questioned.

After two boys pulled a prank wearing Father Death costumes by running through the hallways, while the killings were going on, he orders them into his office. Himbry took out a pair of scissors and threateningly cut one of the masks in half and unmercifully reprimands them of the seriousness of their prank after 2 innocent schoolmates were murdered and how they should be showing more sympathy. Declaring both of them expelled, he threw them out of his office. After Sidney was attacked and chased out of a school restroom by a person in a Ghostface costume, she ran to Himbry for help. He comforted her. Once alone he started toying around with the mask himself, making scary sounds in front of the mirror in his office.

When school let out for the day, Himbry announced over the loudspeaker that classes were suspended until further notice and there was a city-wide curfew instated beginning at 9:00 P.M that by the Woodsboro Police Department to protect everybody from the murderer.

HimbryRIP

Principal Himbry is stabbed four times by Ghostface.

He continued to work after hours and was lured out of his office by a knocking sound. The only one there was Fred an old janitor, working in the hallway outside of the main office. He returned to his office searching around suspiciously. He looked in his closet and nothing was there. Relieved, he finally closed his office door and discovered Ghostface waiting for him. Ghostface attacked him and murdered him by stabbing him in the chest 3 times and his stomach, gutted him and then hung him up on the goal post of the football field as a declaration for local teenagers. It seems that no one really cared much for their Principal, when they found out he died, the teens left Stu's party to see their gutted Principal. However, Randy was concerned, unlike the other teens.

Scream 2

Disciplne scream

"Your whole generation DISGUSTS me!" Principal Himbry intimidating and punishing his students after a bad Ghostface prank

Gale mentioned Himbry's murder while she discussed the new murder spree with Dewey, Randy, and Joel while sitting near Windsor College. His original murder was not copied or mimicked in the events of Windsor College Murders.

Scream 4

There is a memorial bust of Principal Arthur Himbry in the hallway of Woodsboro High School near Jill's locker.

Character

Mr. Himbry was the face of authority at Woodsboro High.

Behind the Scenes

  • He was described as "50's, an old codger of a man wearing a sour face" in the script.
  • Henry Winkler's casting was ironic, as he was best known as the cool, rebellious Fonzie in Happy Days. Here, he portrays an authority figure.The Fonz's first name in Happy Days was also Arthur.
  • Himbry checks his closet in an identical manner as Heather Langenkamp's character in Wes Craven's New Nightmare.
    • In Scream 4, Kirby Reed also checks her closet in the same manner when she incorrectly believes Ghostface to be hiding in her closet. 
  • He is the only character in the series who appears in more than one scene but is always shown in the same location, his office.
  • Killed by Billy Loomis.
  • Himbry's murder was added by the producers to give Scream another death scene because Bob Weinstein noticed  there were 30 pages of script without a death scene and told Kevin Williamson that "somebody must die", the death scene was added and it also added a reason to get the additional teenagers out of Stu Macher's party.
  • Henry Winkler was originally supposed to be credited for his role but remained uncredited so the audience wouldn't be distracted from the relatively unknown teenage cast as Henry Winkler was already becoming famous.
  • thumb|300px|right|A video of Ghostface killing Principal HimbryHimbry was mentioned a few times in the original Scream 2 script when the authorities discover the killer is mimicking the Woodsboro murders. As it stands, the copycat subplot is dropped when his murder would have been repeated next.
  • The scene where Himbry wears the Ghostface mask, it is actually the "KNB mask" rather than the original "Father Death" costume type worn by the killers. The "KNB" mask was the original movie mask but after the Father Death type was completed, they didn't want to reshoot the scenes where it was present in Casey's murder scene. The mask was later worked into the scene where Himbry plays with the mask.
  • Originally, Sidney ran to Mr. Himbry's office for help after she was attacked in the bathroom and he comforted her. This may have been taken out to keep him as a suspect, although she may still have ran to his office off screen. This also happened again in the first movie, as that while in the bathroom Ghostface or a prank Ghostface is wearing the same boots as Sheriff Burke, but had dark pants which Billy wore.
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