NAME.....The Hook
CODE.....HR4702
ORIGIN...At least since the 1950's USA
STATUS...Undecided

As a young teenage couple are driving along to a remote lover's lane, a news flash interrupts the song on the radio announcing that a serial killer has just escaped from the local prison, and is considered extremely dangerous. The announcer warns for people to stay in their houses and not to go out unless it is necessary. He also says the killer can easily be recognised as he has a hook in place of a hand. The young girl looks worriedly at her boyfriend and tells him she is scared and wants to go home. He calmly tells her there is nothing to be worried about, and besides, he is there to protect her! The girl calms down and they proceed to the lover's lane.

Just after they start getting jiggy with it, the girl hears a rustling noise from the nearby woods and gets frantically scared. She pleads with her boyfriend to take her home, but he is very reluctant and an argument ensues. The girl is so frantic that the boyfriend eventually gives in. The boyfriend turns the ignition key, and roars away down the lane in utter frustration.

After a journey in sulky silence, the young couple arrive at the girl's house. The boyfriend (even though mad with her, hasn't forgotten his manners) gets out of the car and walks around the other side to open her door. He stops dead, turns as white as a ghost and faints. The girlfriend hurriedly gets out of the car to tend to him. As she shuts the car doors behind her, she hears a 'clank' and turns around. There, swinging backwards and forwards is a bloody hook dangling on the door handle.

Summary

'The Hook' needs no introduction! If you have never heard this story, then I welcome you to our planet, and I am sure you come in peace! This UL has been kicking around the campfires since at least the 1950's, although it's origins are unclear. This story is particularly scary, as it brings up the scenario of 'What if'. The teenage couple obviously escape with their lives at the last moment, and it is a chain of events that lead to their lucky escape. If the young girl had let her boyfriend get his own way and decided to stay, then they would not have escaped. This is also true if the boyfriend hadn't have been so annoyed and stepped on the accelerator, roaring off down the lane. This very action leads to the climax of the story, with the bloody hook left dangling on the door handle. This image is a realisation of what could have been!

Final Thoughts

This UL may have been based on events that actually happened. The story probably has been altered to give a more dramatic and scary effect, but the basic outline may have been based on true-life experiences. It is reported that Lover Lane murders did occur in the 1940's, but none as far as I know, by a man with a hook for a hand.

I think that this UL gives a good dose of the 1950's moral standards. This period saw the explosion of 'Rock 'n' Roll', and in it's wake, teenage rebellion. This was the first time that a true 'Generation Gap' was created, and parents treated Rock and Roll as the new evil (even worse than Eminem!). Teenage girls found a new confidence, and started to rebel against their parent's old-fashioned views. They started going out with boys more freely, and this was seen as a threat by the parents. That is why I believe UL's like this one, were made up to warn teenage girls not to let their morals slip. After all, if the girl in this story succumbed to her boyfriend's wishes, she would have paid with her life, and that is a pretty raw deal!

So enough with the history lesson, next week will be Algebra - oh no!