The Hook

:"The Hook" is also a nickname for the Islamic preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri."

The Hook is a classic example of an urban legend.

Basic Premise

A young couple is parked at the local lover's lane. The place was dark and desolate so the boy parks the car, turns the lights off, and puts on the radio. There is some light music on the radio, and the two lovers begin making out. Suddenly, the music stops as an announcer cuts in. A psychopathic serial killer had just escaped from the state asylum, which just happened to be nearby. The one distinguishing and disturbing feature was a hook that the murderer had in place of one of his hands. The girl becomes rather distraught and asks to go home. The boy, who was not quite ready to go home, locks the doors and tells her that they will be fine. She becomes more and more insistent and continues pushing him away. He eventually gives in to her demand and starts the car. They tear out of the parking lot and speed home. When he pulls up to her house, she gets out of the car. As she goes to close the car door, she begins screaming uncontrollably. The boy jumps out of the car and runs around to the other side to see what was causing the commotion. There, hanging on the door handle, was a bloody hook.

Many variations include the sound of scraping on the car door, which causes the girl great fear and anxiety followed by more persistent cries to go home. As the boy speeds off the girl hears more scraping and a loud thud, then a large bump is hit as they drive off. This means the hook was on the door because the man was trying to get in and was unprepared for their quick getaway.

The HookMan

The story starts off in a manner similar to the basic premise of the Hook: a young couple is parked in a dark and desolate place. Strange noises are heard outside and the boy goes out to check. The boy is gone for a prolonged period of time and the girl hears a scraping along the side of the car. A similar scraping is heard hereafter, this time on the car roof. When the girl goes to investigate she finds her boyfriend hanging upside down from a tree, his nails scraping the roof of the car. The gruesome nature of the boy's death varies from telling to telling.

History

Snopes.com has found references to the story of The Hook as far back as 1960. [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/hook.asp]

References in Popular Culture

*On The CW's Supernatural episode 'Hook Man' Sam and Dean fight The HookMan defeating it by burning the bones of the man and burning the 'Hook'.

*In The film Urban Legend the serial killer re-enacts The HookMan legend, killing the boy, hanging from the tree behind the car upsidedown

*The tale is told in the slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer (film), by the group of teen protagonists. The killer of the film also uses a hook as a weapon.

ee also

* Hookman's Cemetery