Katie Barcley

Katie Barclay is one the major characters in The Stalker series. She is the main protagonist of all the films, with the exception of The Stalker 4, where she only has cameo appearances at the start and end. Katie is the daughter of Tracey Barclay and an unnamed man who assaulted her mother, though she was lead to believe she was the daughter of Richard Barclay for most of her life. She is the older sister of Holly Barclay, and the former girlfriend of Adam Yates and Steven Strode.

Appearance
Katie is an attractive woman. She has fair skin, green-blue eyes and long, black hair. She appears to take after her mother in appearance more than her father (which makes sense, given that Richard is not her biological father). Katie always wears pink nail varnish (even when she is a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane), and it has become her trademark look.

Early Life
Katie was conceived when her mother, Tracey, was drugged and raped by an unnamed man. However, for most of her life, Katie was unaware of this, believing that Richard, her mother's husband, was her father and leading an ordinary life in Ridgecrest. Katie seemed relatively happy, though she expressed a desire for her mother to be more attentive towards her. When she was in high school, Katie began dating Adam Yates, the twin brother of her best friend, Jen. As a child, Katie was also good friends with Emma and David Lively, until they moved to the city.

The Stalker 1
Shortly before the events of The Stalker 1, Katie discovered Adam was cheating on her and broke up with him, despite his pleas for forgiveness. When the murders started to occur, Katie was deeply concerned over her friend Alex Turner, due to the fact that Alex had been talking to the second victim,her best friend Kris Strode, just hours before she was murdered. Katie was also worried, given that she was home alone for the week, her mother and sister having gone overseas, whilst her father was on a business trip.

Katie was furious when Adam stated "nothing like a murder to get me and Katie talking again" and stormed off. Later, Jen called her and they arranged to go to Alex's house to see if she was okay. Katie dozed off on the couch and when she woke up, it was dark. Jen called and Katie confirmed she was coming to meet her. However, moments after hanging up, Katie was attacked by the Stalker. She managed to kick him, knocking him to the ground and narrowly escaped. Katie spent the night in hospital, presumably being treated for minor injuries and shock. The next day, she went to stay with Jen and her family until her parents arrived home.

Katie was not very sympathetic when she learned that Adam, rather than come see her when she got to school, was studying in the library. For once, Jen chastised Katie, saying her brother had been really upset when he heard Katie had nearly been killed. Katie had been intending to go to the birthday party of Jen's boyfriend, Tom, but stated that after everything that had happened she didn't feel like it. Tom, however, convinced her to come. At the party, Katie reluctantly agreed to meet with Adam, who was asking after her, in an upstairs bedroom. There, Adam apologised profusely to Katie for his treatment of her and professed his love for her. Katie, realising she loved Adam too, forgave him and the couple ended up making love. When Katie woke up however, she discovered that Adam was gone, and that several party-goers had been murdered. Katie was chased by the Stalker and managed to hide in a bathroom, only to discover, to her horror, that her beloved friend Jen;s murdered body in the tub.

Afterwards, Katie tried to creep downstairs and met her father, who claimed he had just arrived back home and had gone looking for Katie after hearing about the killings. Katie wept on his shoulder over Jen and the others' deaths; at that moment, a bloodied Adam walks out of a nearby closet. Adam claims he was hit over the head and locked in the closet. Katie is horrified when her father and boyfriend begin to argue, both accusing the other of being the killer, and begs them to stop. When Richard describes in graphic detail how his sister was killed, Adam runs upstairs to be sick. However, Katie realises this is odd, given that she never told Richard how Jen was killed. Katie realises that her own father is the Stalker and briefly faints from the shock. When she comes to, she tries to escape, but is caught and witnesses Adam being stabbed by an second killer, revealed to be Tom.

Katie is shocked and sickened when Tom says he committed the murders because he was in love with Katie and wants to be with her. Katie rejects him, crying that he is crazy and that his plan won't work. Richard then betrays Tom, fatally shooting him and brutally beats Katie to unconsciousness. When she awakens, she finds she had been tied to a kitchen chair, with her father standing over her with a butcher's knife. When Katie asks why he's doing this, Richard reveals to her the truth behind her conception. Katie tries to reason with him, begging him "Not to do this to Mom and Holly." Richard, however, is too deranged to listen and is about to kill Katie, when Adam, who's wounds were not fatal, appears and shoots Richard, seemingly killing him and saving Katie's life.

After The Stalker 1
Following the events of The Stalker 1, Katie suffered a nervous break-down. She distanced herself from Adam, who was having to cope with own grief over losing his sister and began spending most of her time drinking and partying. Eventually, with her family's help, Katie cleaned up her act and decided to move to the city with her childhood friend Emma, for a fresh start. Katie had also recently discovered she was pregnant with Adam's baby and wanted to give her unborn child a better start in life.

Unfortunately, when Katie was walking home in the city one night, she was attacked by a mugger, who knocked her to ground. Her injuries caused her to miscarry her baby; Katie never told Adam she had been expecting his child. Apparently, the only people who knew were her mother, the Lively siblings and later Lori Yates, whom Katie revealed the knowledge to in ''The Stalker 5. ''Katie also stated that in hindsight, she believes either Emma or David was the 'mugger'.

The Stalker 2
Two years after the Ridgecrest Massacre, Katie has finally begun to move on with her life, until a new string of murders begins in her apartment block. Katie is reunited with her former boyfriend, Adam, who moves into her flat to help her investigate the new murders. It becomes clear that they still have feelings for one another and they may even have planned to rekindle their relationship. Sadly, this never comes to pass. The killer is revealed to be David, who wants to kill Katie for 'rejecting' his love, and for 'killing' his friend Tom (whom he used to go with to spy on Katie through her window), and Julie, a journalist desperate for good story. Katie manages to get a gun and escape. She kills Julie in self-defense and returns to confront David. He attempts to shoot Katie, but Adam jumps in the way to shield her and is hit instead. Katie promptly shoots David in retaliation, saving both herself and Emma, who is tied up nearby. Katie cradles Adam's body and tells him she loves him.

The Stalker 3
By the events of the third film, Katie has moved back to Ridgecrest and is now working at the local high school, having become its headmistress. She has also entered a new relationship with police officer Steven Strode, though she wants to keep the relationship a secret. She still harbors feelings for Adam and is still haunted by the all deaths that seem to follow her wherever she goes, but seems to more or less have her life back on track. That is, until another set of murders begins.

Katie does her best to look out for her sister Holly and her friends. She is furious with her mother Tracey, with whom she has a strained relationship, for letting Holly go out to work whilst there's a killer on the loose, so that she "can get hammered". When Holly later calls Katie to warn her that the killer has trapped her and her friends, Lori and Claire Gates inside the supermarket where they work, Katie calls the police and heads over there to help them. When she discovers that her sister and Lori got out, but that Claire is still inside, she bravely goes in alone to save her, only discover she is too late. Katie later comforts Holly over Claire's death, telling her she understands how she feels, due to her losing her best friend Jen in similar circumstances.

Katie is later taken captive by the Stalker and wakes up to find herself in her home, surrounded by her friends and family, who have been taken prisoner: including Tracey, Holly, Lori, Lori's boyfriend Tim, Emma and Steven. It is revealed there are two killers, Officer Harris and Richard Barclay the latter of whom did not die of his wounds as everyone believed. The two psychopaths force Katie to answer six questions - one for every hostage - about the murders. For every question she gets wrong, one of the hostages will be killed. a distraught Katie is only able to answer two questions correctly and is forced to choose which hostages will be spared. A heartbroken Katie chooses her best friend, Emma, and her sister, Holly. The other hostages are then killed in front of her to. To Katie's horror however, Emma suddenly stabs Holly, killing her and reveals she was in on the plan all along.

Before Richard can kill Katie, however, holly's boyfriend Brendan, who was being kept in the bathroom to be framed for the killings, comes too and manages to attack and kill Harris. In the confusion, Katie picks up a TV and hurls it on top of Emma whilst she is trying to flee, killing her and avenging her sister's death. Richard shoots Katie, but Lori, who was pretending to be dead, manages to get free and shoots and kills Richard - this time permanently. As the police arrive on the scene, Katie opens her eyes, revealing she is still alive despite her injuries.

The Stalker 4
Katie only has a cameo appearance in the fourth film. It is revealed at the beginning that Katie suffered a mental break-down following the events of The Stalker 3, hallucinating that the Stalker was still coming after her and becoming severely paranoid. She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and remains there for over a year. During The Stalker 4, Lori attempts to call Katie to warn her another killer is on the loose, but the staff refuse to let her speak with Katie. At the end of the final part, Katie is shown reading a newspaper article about the new murders. She looks round and sees Paul, the only surviving killer, sitting in a wheelchair nearby and watching her.

The Stalker 5
In the fifth film, Katie has left the psychiatric hospital and has written and published a successful autobiography, named My Life, detailing her life and the murders. She travels to the city to find Lori and comforts her. When a new pair of Stalkers begin committing murders, Katie tries to protect Lori and her associates. Unfortunately, Lori is kidnapped by the killers, and Katie and Lori's sister, Annie, are framed for the killings and placed in a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.

The Stalker 6
Katie has been trying to figure out a way to escape the hospital, prove her and Annie's innocence and find Lori, whom she is convinced is still alive. During the months she has been at the hospital, Katie had befriended a psychologist, who believes Katie is innocent and tries to help her. When the Stalker comes after Katie and Annie, he helps them to escape, giving them the keys to his care. He also promises to take Katie on a date after everything has been settled, which she accepts, implying a romantic interest between the two. Katie and Annie then escape.

Katie takes Annie to an isolated house, where it is revealed that Holly is still alive and has been placed under witness protection. Katie learned she was alive after leaving the psychiatric hospital and went to track down Lori in The Stalker 5 at her sister's request. Holly gives Katie and Annie new clothes, before they set off to a nearby train station, intending to head back to where it all began: Ridgecrest, which is where Katie believes Lori has been taken. As they are attempting to board the train, they are recognized and forced to flee.

Trivia

 * Almost all the people Katie has killed has been in self-defense, with the exception of Emma Lively, whom she killed in revenge for the death of her sister, Holly, and because Emma had betrayed her and the others and plotted to kill her. Katie's total list of people she has killed include: David Lively (shot), Journalist (shot), Emma Lively (dropped a TV on her head)
 * Katie likely suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as she has several symptoms of it, including experiencing recurring nightmares and flashbacks of the traumatic event, believing herself to be re-experiencing the event, suffering 'survivor guilt' and briefly turning to reckless behavior in an attempt to cope.
 * The true identity of Katie's biological father is yet to be revealed.
 * Katie is the only main character from the first film to have survived the whole way through.