Hook Man

*Breaking News: A convict with a hook for a hand has escaped from a nearby mental institution.*



A couple drives out to Lovers Lane to make out. An announcement comes over the radio saying that a killer, with a hook for a hand, has escaped from a nearby psychiatric hospital. The girl freaks out and asks her boyfriend if they can leave. He wants to stay and make out, but is eventually convinced to drive her home. He is sometimes convinced when they hear a screeching sound near the car. When she gets out of the car, she discovers the killer’s hook hanging on the car’s door handle.

Also known simply as “Hook,” this legend has many variations as well, and they are listed below.

This legend is used in Supernatural, "Hook Man" (S1E7).

Variations on the Legend of the "Hook Man"


Who the killer is

  • A patient escaped from a psychiatric hospital
  • A patient escaped from a psychiatric hospital who is going on a murder spree
  • A serial killer escaped from a psychiatric hospital
  • An escaped convict, sentenced for rape and robbery

How the couple reacts to the radio announcement

  • The boy locks the doors and the girl wants to leave
  • They leave quickly

Deadly variations

  • The boy leaves the car to relieve himself, or the car breaks down and he goes for help. The girl hears the radio announcement and goes looking for the boy. He is dead, either suspended upside down above the car, or the killer is banging the boy's decapitated head against the car roof
  • The couple see the killer before they can leave. They are both killed

Examples of the "Hook Man" in modern media

Movies

  • Campfire Tales (1991)
  • I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
  • Lovers Lane (1999)
  • The Hook of Woodland Heights (1990)

TV Shows

  • Supernatural, "Hook Man"
  • Spongebob Squarepants, "Graveyard Shift"

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