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Gossip Frenzy

Can I still get the Haunted Metal Scrap?

Author

William Jenkins

Published May 05, 2026

Is Haunted Metal Scrap being awarded during the lead-up to this year's Halloween event? Is haunted scrap under the same restrictions as haunted gifts (i.e. they're only awarded during a special time of year)?

I've attempted to melee the Horsemann a couple times but I haven't had any success.

1

7 Answers

The Haunted Scrap can be earned year-round As of 2014, Halloween mode is automatically activated on Halloween maps in order to get their bosses to spawn. However, the haunted gifts only drop during the Halloween event. Starting with the Halloween 2011 update, gifts will only drop on servers registered with Valve. This is going from a long conversation thread on the hlds_linux mailing list:

We're going to be launching some new Halloween content in the near future and wanted to give you all a quick heads-up. There will be random gift drops, but this year we are requiring that participants register their servers. If you choose not to register, you can still run the Halloween maps, but no gifts will drop on your server.

The easiest (and expected) way to get the Haunted Metal Scrap is to melee the Horsemann while he's doing his death scream 2 seconds before he dies. I'm not sure if Meleeing him at any other time will award the achievement.

The problem is staying alive and being close enough to melee him. The easiest classes to do this with are Demoman (with one of the charging shields) and Scout.

His death scream is heard at 1:18 in this video:

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The first time I killed the Horsemann, I didn't get the Gored! achievement or the Haunted Metal Scrap. However, the second time I got both, so I can verify that you can obtain both the achievement and the item, just that there's not a 100% chance of getting it.

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you need to meele him AND survive. so hit him and run to base so you don't get killed. also I heard it only comes "clean" (tradable) if you get it during or around Halloween. I got mine some random time this year and its dirty. :(

You can only get it once per account, not once per year, so if you've already achieved the achievement Gored!, you can't "still get it" because you already would (should) have.

If you can't find the metal in your bags, did you already craft it into the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker or a fashionable festive hat?

4

I got it 15 minutes ago, so they work.

However, I hit him with melee numerous times (and stayed alive until he died) without getting it. The only difference now was that I hit him with melee and he died shortly afterwards (mine was not the killing blow though)

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It must be the last hit, not the killing blow. You can hit him when he is doing his death scream though, but you just have to be the last to hit him. You get it once per account and you have to survive if you are the last hit

You can still get Haunted Scrap through trades, if you use gift wrap on it and trade it to someone.