The Hookman – An Urban Legend
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The Hookman story begins with a young couple who goes for a drive and learns about the escaped hooked man on the radio. Later, the couple returns home with a hook embedded in the back of their car.
A popular urban legend — The Hookman — tells the story of a “hook-handed lunatic”, who escapes from a local institution in Pennsylvania, USA. It is the main antagonist of The Hook – an urban legend.
The terrifying story began circulating in the 1950s. There are many variations, but the basic tale has remained the same.
Legend of The Hookman
The Hookman story begins with a young couple going for a drive and hearing about the escaped hooked man on the radio.
The Hookman is a popular urban legend about a “hook-handed lunatic” who escapes from a local institution in Pennsylvania, USA.
The terrifying campsite story first circulated in the 1950s and has many variations, but the basic story has remained consistent, with a few exceptions.
The Hookman story begins with a young couple going for a drive and hearing about the escaped hooked man on the radio. When the couple gets home, they discover a hook embedded in the back of their car.
This well-known urban legend has been adapted into numerous films and television shows. For example, in the 1997 horror film, “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” a killer with a hook stalks teenagers while the main characters gather around a campfire and recount the Hook legend.
In the slasher film “Lovers Lane” (1999), a killer with a hook murders teenagers on a lovers’ lane.
Basic Description of The Hookman
The Hookman murders innocent people and it is believed as a legend. He especially targets young couples, roaming around at night. Historians have been trying to find out the origin of the Hookman story for many years. It has become very popular among American teenagers by 1959. And later it continued to expand into the 1960s.
Some writers and investigative journalists say The Hook is linked to a few infamous murder cases, that include the 1946 Texarkana Moonlight Murders.
Folklorists have narrated the long history of this urban legend in many ways. “Dear Abby”, an American advice column, reprinted the story in 1960 and since then referenced it in various horror films.
Here are few lines from the column in “Dear Abby”: “A fellow and his date pulled into their favorite “lovers’ lane” to listen to the radio and do a little necking. The music was interrupted by an announcer who said there was a convict who escaped an institution which is nearby. The convict had served time for multiple criminal charges. The announcer described the man having a hook instead of a right hand.
Hearing this, the couple became frightened and drove away, according to the “Dear Abby”.
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Other Versions of The Hookman
In an alternative version of the tale, the couple drives through an unknown part of the country. At a time, they decide to stop the car in the middle of the woods at night. Because the man has to take rest. Or their car breaks down and the boyfriend/husband goes for help. The wife or girlfriend, waiting for him to return, turns on the radio and listens about the Hookman. She notices that her husband/boyfriend has not returned yet. At the same time, she is disturbed many times by a loud thumping on the roof of the car. When she exits her vehicle and witnesses the crazy man on the roof of the car. The man holds her husband’s decapitated head in his hand and hits the roof with it.
Another variation describes that the wife or girlfriend sees her husband/boyfriend’s butchered body suspended upside down from a tree. She finds the body down from the tree above the car with his fingers dangling just above the roof.
The most common version has a happy ending. The story sees the couple driving off when it sounds like the Hook is approaching the car. They assure themselves that it was just their imagination. But, when they return home and exit the car, they see the Hook stuck in the door.
Hookman is Characterized in Films and TV Series
The Hookman has been adapted into many films and television series. For example, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, a horror film made in 1997. The movie features a killer stalking teenagers with a hook and the main characters gather around a campfire and recount the Hook legend.
The slasher film “Lovers Lane“, in 1999, also features a murderer who kills teenagers at a lovers’ lane with a hook.
Apart from this, the popular TV show, “Supernatural” features a Hookman as a villain in the 7th episode of the first season.
Author Alvin Schwartz used a version of the story in “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” in 1981 collection of short horror stories for children.
Which Urban Legend is Scarier: Bloody Mary or the Hook Man?
Urban legends are enthralling. They demonstrate that the art of oral storytelling is far from extinct. Everyone has sat through a terrifying story that could have grown right in their own backyard at some point in their lives. You’ve probably heard of Bloody Mary, the demonic figure who appears in your mirror if you say her name three times in a row. Perhaps you’re more familiar with the Hook Man legend, in which the psychotic protagonist has a ghoulish appendage. Which is the most terrifying?
For a long time, Bloody Mary has terrified both bored high school students looking for something to do and sleepover guests. No, she has nothing (at least not entirely) to do with that insane British queen, but everything to do with some jerk murdering anyone who chants her name three times in the bathroom mirror.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about The Hookman
What is the definition of a hookman?
hookman. hukmn, -man. plural hookmen.: a worker who employs a gaff or a cant hook (as in handling logs or fish).
What is the plot of the play Hookman?
Summary. Freshman year of college is difficult when your roommate is strange, you’re homesick, and a hook-handed serial killer slashes the throats of young women. But if Lexi can figure out what happened to her high school best friend on the way to the movies, everything will be fine.
What movie has a killer with a hook?
The Candyman (1992) A skeptic grad student researching the monster’s myth accidentally summons The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand.
What Disney movie is Hook in?
In the early 1980s, Spielberg began working on Hook with Walt Disney Productions and Paramount Pictures, following the Peter Pan storyline seen in the 1924 silent film and the 1953 animated Disney film.
How did Hook lose his hand?
He is the last in a long line of villains, and he seeks to become a great villain by defeating a great hero, which he finds in Peter. His hand is severed accidentally when he slams the lid of a trunk in a fit of rage, rather than by Peter.
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