The Hook Man

 Caitlin Baxter

The Hook
 

The “Hook Man” story, is an urban legend that started as a belief in the United States around 1950’s and spread worldwide. The urban legend spread from United States to England, Scotland, and to other countries around the world. This urban legend is just a cautionary tale or horror story for entertainment other than a believable story that actually happened in reality. The Hook by David Emery, states that the moral message of the “Hook Man” is to convince young teens to believe the quote: “Sex is naughty. Bad boys and girls will be punished!” Warning teenage couples to not let their hormones lead them to a deserted area, where they realize they have made a mistake in the end.
The original tale starts off with a teenage boy, who takes his date to Lovers’ Lane to make-out. Lovers’ Lane was considered a dark and deserted area, which was a perfect spot to make-out with no interrupts. He turned on the radio to play some music to set the mood, while making out with the girl. All of a sudden, the radio announcer said that a mentally ill patient escaped from the mental institution, and is known as a convicted murder with a hook instead of a right hand. The girl is frightened, and wants to leave immediately because the institution he escaped from was close to Lovers’ Lane. The girl started to hear creepy noises outside of the car, however the boy figured she was just running wild with her imagination. The boy kept insisting for them to stay, but the girl wanted to leave right away. In anger, the boy sped off taking the girl home. When they arrived at the girl’s house, the boy went to open her door, and froze in a state of shock. A bloody hook was hanging on the door handle on the girl’s side of the door. One version of the tale, states that the car would not start, so the boy left the girl in car to find help. The girl kept hearing noises on top of the car. After a long time of waiting, she notices that her boyfriend has not returned yet. The next morning, a state police trooper rescues her and told her not to look back, however she looks back anyway. She looked back to see her boyfriend’s body dangling upside down from a tree over the car.
The legend of “The Hook” has spread worldwide, but the interpretation of the legend is often inconsistent. The tale is known to always include a hook and an automobile. As published in Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, this urban legend is believed to warn young teenage couples not to park in unknown areas, dangers of a mental ill or disabled person, and an example of why parents’ are concerned about their children going out by themselves.

Works Citied:
"The Boyfriend's Death". Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. JanHaroldBrunvand. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Credo Reference. Web. 11 Oct 2015.

"The Hook". Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. JanHaroldBrunvand. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Credo Reference. Web. 12 Oct 2015.

Emery, David. “The Hook” Urbanlegends. about.com. N.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

Emery, David. “The Hookman’s Hook” Photograph. Pinterest. Web. 21 Oct. 2015
Wilson, William. “Hook Man (Urban Legend)” Byu.edu. Brigham Young University. 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Links for further research:
Cruel, Kevin. “The Hook Man” YouTube. YouTube. 6 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015https://youtu.be/L2oZN5jzXkY
This link above talks about the original story of the hook man in Pennsylvania.

Idealsoft Blog.it. “Campfire Legends - The Hookman (free full game)” YouTube. YouTube.
6 May. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2015https://youtu.be/eWg6pP69Hms
This link above is a video of the video game based off the Hook Man.

S.E. Schlosser. “The Hook” Americanfolklore.net. 13 Dec. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2015http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2009/10/the_hook.html
This link above gives a descriptive story of the Hook Man.

Am I Safe From “The Hook Man”?

Author: Eduardo Alarcon

"The Hook"

The Story:

“The Hook Man” is a consequential urban legend for teenagers not to have sex. According to Mr. Emery, the legend says two teenagers were on “Lovers’ Lane” listening to the radio preparing to have sex. All of a sudden, a news reporter interrupts the media saying that a maniac escaped out of the “state insane asylum,” and warns everyone to be on the lookout (Emery). After hearing this, the girl is afraid, hallucinates, and requests to go home. The boy, however, attempts to act masculine, and suggests that their situation is absolutely under his control. The boy locks the doors anyway so that the girl may feel safe. The girl then resists while the boy urges to continue. In his persistence, he foolishly “jerked the car into gear and spun its wheels” (Emery). After being frightened, the boy drives the girl to her home to drop her off. Once they safely arrive at the girl’s house, the girl gets out of the car and screams. When the boy runs to her side to see why she screamed, he notices that her scream was because there was a bloody hook on the car door (Emery).

According to Ms. Brunvand on page 200, “The Hook Man” originated in South Africa. The place known as “Lovers’ Lane” in the legend, originally took place at Naval Hill, Bloemfontein, South Africa (Brunvand 200). As a moral lesson, generations seem to have slowly developed the story to the United States in the 1950s to prevent a labor increase. Of course, the same message gets across to the audience. It’s just the interpretation of the legend that changed (Perry). In this manner, the message is less intimidating because people in the 21^st century expect legends to be scary stories rather than a “believed legend” (Brunvand 95).

The Scary Reality!

The Scary Reality: 

There are several cases where men had been convicted for murdering young couples. For example, Richard Hirschfeld   , Charles Howard Schmid, Jr. , John A. Ber, and Kenneth Barnes are all relative cases. The closest to the legend, however, is Edward Wayne Edwards. In 2009, Edward Wayne Edward was convicted after admitting to a "double homicide" (Falcon). Edwards’s story relates to the legend because he murdered two young couples. One in which Edwards had a sexual intercourse with. 

The Confessions!

 

The Good News: 

There are no reports of anyone who went by the serial killer name “The Hook Man”. Also, the closest criminal to this legend, Edwards, did not murder any of his victims as the legend portrays “The Hook Man” went about murdering. Edwards actually knew his victims, and killed his victims by gun, not a hook. The legend is nothing more than that, a legend. Even in Mr. Berthold’s review on Matt Clark’s Hook Man Speaks, page 349, does he reveal that Mr. Clark attempts to make the legend to “an imaginative embodiment…and a contemplation of Hook Man’s ‘place’ in American ‘culture and history.”

My point is, there is no reason to be afraid of this urban legend. The closest man to this legend, Edwards, died in 2011. Unless you are one of those people who believe that Edwards’ damned soul will come back from the dead to leave a bloody hook on someone’s car door, you have nothing to worry about. Yes, there are serial killers out there, and you should be cautious of these serial killers. Especially when murderers are capable to camouflage themselves into society such as the ALICE AND GERALD UDENhttp://www.cnn.com/2013/10/02/justice/wyoming-cold-case-arrests/ case. Otherwise, if you cannot scare your grand-kids, son, daughter, niece, or nephew with this legend, safe sex should be strongly advised.

  

Works Cited

Berthold, Michael. Fictionalizing the Folkloric: Matt Clark's Hook Man Speaks. The Journal of American Culture, 31: 349–360. Print.

Brunvand, Jan. “The Hook”. Harold Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. Ed. Linda Deigh. California: ABC-CLIO, 2001. 199-201. 199-201. Print.

Brunvand, Jan. Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. 94-95. Print.

Emery, David. "The Hook." About.com:Urban Legends. About.com, n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/horrors/a/the_hook.htm>.

Geauga Maple Leaf, username. “EXCLUSIVE (PART 1): Edward Wayne Edwards on Dannie Boy Edwards murder.” YouTube. YouTube.com. 22 April 2013. Video. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCA9DEIRdZI>.

Geauga Maple Leaf, username. “EXCLUSIVE (PART 2): Edward Wayne Edwards on Dannie Boy Edwards murder.” YouTube. YouTube.com. 22 April 2013. Video. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhiLdHzqDks>.

Geauga Maple Leaf, username. “EXCLUSIVE (PART 3): Edward Wayne Edwards on Dannie Boy Edwards murder.” YouTube. YouTube.com. 22 April 2013. Video. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoBM_PHmlaQ>.

Map. n.d. “BLOEMFONTEIN Search by Map, Free State.” www.sa-venues.com. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://www.sa-venues.com/include/images/maps/fs-bloemfontein.gif>.

Perry, L. “Hook Man” (Urban Legend). World History & Culture. n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://sites.lib.byu.edu/worldhistory/folklore-william-a-wilson-folklore-archives/popular-search-topics/hook-man-urban-legend/>.

Real Life Mysteries, username. “Urban Legends: The Hook.” YouTube. YouTube.com. 8 Feb. 2011. Video. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuKMVFl_uSk>.

Links For Further Research:

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/40929997.html?site=full

This site provides more information on the Edward Wayne Edwards case from NBC news.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/04/ohio.slayings.confession/

This site also provides more information on the Edward Wayne Edwards case from CNN news.

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2009/10/the_hook.html

This source provides information on the hook man retold by Schlosser.