The Hook Man Research Paper

The Hook Man and the Morality in Horror Imagine seeing your significant other hanging above your car with his throat slit from ear to ear and his eyes his eyes having been gouged out by a hook. Painted on your car you see the words “I could have gotten you too” painted in his blood (Dalton 1). Coming from a telling of the story of the Hook Man by Carolyn Dalton, the aforementioned scene is not a pretty picture. In spite of its grim nature the story of the Hook Man has been passed on for decades. Throughout history people have enthusiastically told stories of gruesome and rather terrifying situations. Many of these stories are often told as true stories and become a part of popular culture in society. The Hook Man is one such example of an …show more content…
Its basic format is epitomized in the retelling by Susan Baker. In her version, she tells the story of a young man who decides to go park with his girlfriend. As they go to the isolated spot he has chosen they begin hearing stories of a psychotic murderer out on the loose who is characterized by having a hook instead of a hand. Nervous because of the rumors, the young woman insists that the young man take her home. The young man frustrated tries to convince her that they can just lock the doors, but she insists that they leave. In an act of frustration, the young man peels out of the lot and they drive home without any incident. The young woman is ultimately shocked to find a dismembered bloody hook attached to her door when she gets home (Baker 1-2). All of the versions follow that basic outline, although a few describe a much more graphic ending where the boyfriend is brutally murdered after leaving the …show more content…
In his article “The Morality of Horror”, writer L.K. Hill states that “horror deals with morality in a more obvious, in-your-face way than any other genre. It forces the audience to think about and face issues of this sort in a more visceral way than most people are used to.” At its heart, one of the primary of the story of The Hook Man paints a very vivid and visual picture about the dangers of committing an immoral act. In the story, the young couple planned on spending the night in an isolated area engaged in passionate kissing. This was an act that was popular among the youth at its time but was seen as immoral by their parents. So similarly to how they narrowly avoid a grisly demise by leaving the lot before they committed, they act also avoided a type of spiritual demise by not committing the act. Although going out to park realistically will not likely lead to an encounter with a man with a hooked hand, the imagery of the story successfully conveys the seriousness that many parents associate with such an