How did Jason Voorhees Survive?

In the original Friday the 13th (1980) it was Pamela Voorhees who explained the situation relating to our future Slasher.

Pamela Voorhees the mother of Jason Voorhees has admitted they never found his body, and if anyone played the Pamela Tapes, the police had to call off the search.

There is no "Official" on-screen origin of how he survived BUT we can very much logically state that a young Jason Voorhees had washed somewhere and was scared and hid in the woods, and survived on thrown away trash, and etc, it's very logical that if he was a "Hermit" like individual, it makes sense that he survived around the the area of Crystal Lake which is HUGE, and houses many different houses and cabins around the area.

I know the questions people are going to ask...

"How come Jason or Pamela never met then?!"

The size of Crystal Lake is huge, Jason could have been living on one half of the lake surviving the same with Pamela, and also let's not forget the Camp was purposely being sabotaged by Pamela so their meeting would be basically impossible if the Camp Grounds are closed off.


The Official Novelization for Friday the 13th Part 2 states this...

Part 2 Novelization wrote:He could recall the terrifying sensation of sinking down into the murky lake. The fading light. The roaring in his ears. And then.... nothing. At some point, consciousness returned but he had no way of telling how much time had passed. He came to on the shore, covered from head to toe with mud and slime. Apparently, having dragged himself out of the lake somehow, he coughed up water for a very long time. He remembered laying in the bushes and retching, vomiting up slimy worms and maggots as his body fought its way back to life. It never occurred to him to wonder what it was that made him different from the others. Why they shrank from him as rabbits shrank from snakes. He never asked himself why he was always healthy Why the slight injuries of childhood had always healed so quickly. He had never broken any bones. So no one ever had the opportunity to notice the supernatural way his body could repair itself. Pamela Voorhees never questioned it. Just as she never questioned his peculiar silence. A mother loves her child. She was simply grateful for having been blessed with a healthy little boy. Like father, like son. It did not occur to Jason Voorhees to wonder just how long he had been underwater. He merely dragged himself deeper into the woods. Some primitive urge driving him to find a hole somewhere that he could crawl into--a dark place where he could rest and heal and wait until he could think of what to do

The Novelization helps explain in details about his healing factor (Regeneration) had kept him alive, he was in a healing coma at the bottom of the lake for 20+ years, this is also helping for future films about this healing ability as with Jason X mentioning that Jason heals on a Cellular level, and that it's "Supernatural" in nature.

The Friday the 13th Part 2 Novelization also explains what is stated in the 1st section, that Jason very much survived on the surrounding cabins to eat, and used his environment to survive.


It would be disrespectful of me to not mention the biggest alternative Canon for Jason's survival which is as most would have guessed it...

Jason Goes to Hell the Final Friday lore!

Majority of fans don't consider this lore more as Canonical explanation, since it's explained that Pamela Voorhees had in some point used the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis to bring back her son, Jason Voorhees from the dead, but fans of both franchises will point out the major flaws with this so take this as you'll look like!

To further explain this would also explain his accelerated growth spurt in JGTH lore, since it's necromancy level of magic.


Whichever version of Canon you want to believe here will still be by logic and definition as "Fact" just understand and realize there is no "Retcon" about and for Jason's survival of "Death" or "Drowning" so I hope this explains the internet recent: "Why is Jason Vorhees so big if he died as a kid? " posts I've seen online.

So for further clarification for readers of this post, there are 3 Routes fans can either accept or not for Jason's survival, so again it's your subjective decision BUT only one would be more canonical than the other so that's between people and their opinions.

1. Supernatural: Jason's healing ability kept him alive for 20+ years under the lake.

2. Realism: Jason just washed ashore on another side of the lake and survived like a Hermit.

3. Dark Magic: Jason was brought back to life by Dark Magic by his mother Pamela Voorhees with the Necronomicon from the Evil Dead.

I'll choose to accept a fourth route for Jason's survival, the one that I've always subscribed too... That it doesn't matter how Jason survived or came back. It's just one of those questions in horror movies that we don't really need answered... Just like Michael didn't need a backstory for why he was evil, and Nightmare on Elm Street never needed to explain how Freddy came to be... The answers to questions like these are rarely satisfying, and often do more to damage the characters than build upon their lore. Even most fans of JGTH would agree that Jason didn't need to be anywhere near adjacent to the Necronomican or Dark Magic.

As someone who has studied science, I'd say the "realism" idea where Jason washed up somewhere appeals the most, although I think he and his mother may have met up. Where else would he get her head for the shrine in his fancy shack?

On the other hand, I don't rule out dark magic either, because I also think a supernatural element is in our world.

We'll never know for sure.

I'm Not a Goalie wrote:
I'll choose to accept a fourth route for Jason's survival, the one that I've always subscribed too... That it doesn't matter how Jason survived or came back. It's just one of those questions in horror movies that we don't really need answered... Just like Michael didn't need a backstory for why he was evil, and Nightmare on Elm Street never needed to explain how Freddy came to be... The answers to questions like these are rarely satisfying, and often do more to damage the characters than build upon their lore. Even most fans of JGTH would agree that Jason didn't need to be anywhere near adjacent to the Necronomican or Dark Magic.

That's understandable as well! There's always a mix with the Horror Fandom about bringing in origin stories, where I'm fine with it depending on the character.

The one Slasher/Horror character that I strongly disagree for with having a background is Michael because he was by all purposes pure evil, I don't see why they tried to explain it as something else in the original timeline.

They are making a Halloween Prequel for when he was at the institution.

ThePunisher wrote:As someone who has studied science, I'd say the "realism" idea where Jason washed up somewhere appeals the most, although I think he and his mother may have met up.  Where else would he get her head for the shrine in his fancy shack?  

On the other hand, I don't rule out dark magic either, because I also think a supernatural element is in our world.  

We'll never know for sure.  

Yeah them not meeting could be from multiple ways from the across the lake situation, Jason would be definitely more unaware of his surroundings and wouldn't wanna leave camp, that's where I think that night Jason heard the whole thing from the screams and chase and saw what his mother was doing and saw that she was killed, and when Alice got into the boat, he went to the shore and took her Head and kept it.

Jason Voorhees wrote:

I'm Not a Goalie wrote:
I'll choose to accept a fourth route for Jason's survival, the one that I've always subscribed too... That it doesn't matter how Jason survived or came back. It's just one of those questions in horror movies that we don't really need answered... Just like Michael didn't need a backstory for why he was evil, and Nightmare on Elm Street never needed to explain how Freddy came to be... The answers to questions like these are rarely satisfying, and often do more to damage the characters than build upon their lore. Even most fans of JGTH would agree that Jason didn't need to be anywhere near adjacent to the Necronomican or Dark Magic.

That's understandable as well! There's always a mix with the Horror Fandom about bringing in origin stories, where I'm fine with it depending on the character.

The one Slasher/Horror character that I strongly disagree for with having a background is Michael because he was by all purposes pure evil, I don't see why they tried to explain it as something else in the original timeline.

They are making a Halloween Prequel for when he was at the institution.

ThePunisher wrote:As someone who has studied science, I'd say the "realism" idea where Jason washed up somewhere appeals the most, although I think he and his mother may have met up.  Where else would he get her head for the shrine in his fancy shack?  

On the other hand, I don't rule out dark magic either, because I also think a supernatural element is in our world.  

We'll never know for sure.  

Yeah them not meeting could be from multiple ways from the across the lake situation, Jason would be definitely more unaware of his surroundings and wouldn't wanna leave camp, that's where I think that night Jason heard the whole thing from the screams and chase and saw what his mother was doing and saw that she was killed, and when Alice got into the boat, he went to the shore and took her Head and kept it.

As for Michael, I think trying to explain him, or describe his childhood, is a serious error. You want the audience to fear him, not understand him. When and where will be this prequel for Michael? The crystal Lake prequel seems headed for development hell.

ThePunisher wrote:

Jason Voorhees wrote:

I'm Not a Goalie wrote:
I'll choose to accept a fourth route for Jason's survival, the one that I've always subscribed too... That it doesn't matter how Jason survived or came back. It's just one of those questions in horror movies that we don't really need answered... Just like Michael didn't need a backstory for why he was evil, and Nightmare on Elm Street never needed to explain how Freddy came to be... The answers to questions like these are rarely satisfying, and often do more to damage the characters than build upon their lore. Even most fans of JGTH would agree that Jason didn't need to be anywhere near adjacent to the Necronomican or Dark Magic.

That's understandable as well! There's always a mix with the Horror Fandom about bringing in origin stories, where I'm fine with it depending on the character.

The one Slasher/Horror character that I strongly disagree for with having a background is Michael because he was by all purposes pure evil, I don't see why they tried to explain it as something else in the original timeline.

They are making a Halloween Prequel for when he was at the institution.

ThePunisher wrote:As someone who has studied science, I'd say the "realism" idea where Jason washed up somewhere appeals the most, although I think he and his mother may have met up.  Where else would he get her head for the shrine in his fancy shack?  

On the other hand, I don't rule out dark magic either, because I also think a supernatural element is in our world.  

We'll never know for sure.  

Yeah them not meeting could be from multiple ways from the across the lake situation, Jason would be definitely more unaware of his surroundings and wouldn't wanna leave camp, that's where I think that night Jason heard the whole thing from the screams and chase and saw what his mother was doing and saw that she was killed, and when Alice got into the boat, he went to the shore and took her Head and kept it.

As for Michael, I think trying to explain him, or describe his childhood, is a serious error.  You want the audience to fear him, not understand him.  When and where will be this prequel for Michael?  The crystal Lake prequel seems headed for development hell.

I have no idea when the Halloween Prequel for Michael is coming out but it might have Blumhouse making it.