Hello, Hi! It's America week, I guess? I'm not sure what to call this week. But it will detail the real thing that makes America great. Halloween. But more on that later.
Today I wanted to share the origins of a few of my favorite scary stories from the iconic series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
What did you guys think if the movie? I liked it a lot, but I don't really think there should be a sequel, I think there will be though.
The first Scary Story is....The Hook!
The Hook tells of a killer with a hook for a hand that attacks couples parked in cars. Now me, being an undiscovered genius can see the connection of some ugly hook handed man killing people having car sex. I can also guess that our good friend Candyman, who also has a hook influenced my thoughts on that metaphor. If you haven't read my post on Candyman, I imagine you are unaware that he was killed for having sex with a white lady. So I kind of felt like Candyman was a way of turning the thought of the hooked man hating sexuality on it's head.
But, I think that The Hook Story is most likely based on the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. The still unsolved crimes occurred in 1946, and I imagine the tale got "telephoned", and now it's just some weirdo hook hand man.
There is also a movie based on these murders called "The Town That Dreaded Sundown", which has a pretty creative murder with a trombone. I remember the first time I saw this movie, because it was one of the first horror movies I saw that were based on a true story. I was very scared, but as an adult, I do appreciate the movie and it's kind of a shame it flies under the radar compared to other 70's horror films.
My favorite adaptation of The Hook Man is from the greatest Nickelodeon cartoon, Hey Arnold. Arnold and his friends have a sleep over and he tells them about "The Headless Cabbie", and The Hook Man makes a cameo towards the end. Instead of being the main antagonist, he is just kind of there. I was watching Hey Arnold and reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark around the same time and I always thought that was cool. Well, I'm still watching and reading, but you know what I mean lol.I also think that the killer in I Know What You Did Last Summer is loosely based on The Hook. Because well, duh.
In reality, the murderer was likely Younell Swinney. Even though he is dead now, and The Hook story in it's entirety is not exactly true; I will not advocate hooking up in cars. Do better!
Alligators
Ok, so the Alligator in the sewer thing has been around for like, ever. The earliest version I can find is from 1927 when a city worker in Pittsburgh found a three foot long alligator in a sewer that he cleaned. He took home the alligator. I think this story comes from the all too true occurrence when people try to dispose of creatures they can no longer care for. It used to be "cool" to go down to Florida and purchase baby alligators, cuz #Florida. So, that bears the question, wtf happened to all of those babies? People said these irresponsible pet owners flushed them down the toilet. Honestly, if I was a piece of sh*t/irresponsible pet owner, I would release my wild animal in the wild. Actually the Las Vegas Wetlands have signs that saw NOT to do that, so people have probably done so before. I really don't know if a baby alligator could survive being flushed down a toilet. They are hardy animals, but I am not sure how hardy. I do know that Alligators are cold blooded! I don't think they could survive in sewers, where the sun doesn't hit them. I also know finding alligators in sewers is not an uncommon thing, because a man found one chilling in the sewer in 2016. Where did he live? #Florida.
If it wasn't for this urban legend, we might not have had Leatherhead from TMNT. In the comics this alligator escaped a pet store during a robbery and made his way to the sewers. According to Ken, this current television Leatherhead was flushed down the toilet by some mean parents. But, Ken is seven and therefore an unreliable narrator. So, you're gonna have to consult Dr. Google on what's currently going on with Leatherhead.
I have a big heart for animals, but the big, ugly, ashy animals have my heart the most. Alligators are very misunderstood creatures. I love them, if you flush an alligator and I find out....Don't let me find out.
The Babysitter
Whew, are you even sure this is an urban legend? I have always felt like this story has been told SOOOO many different ways that there has to be some element of truth to it. Sometimes, the babysitter and her charges are able to leave in time, sometimes it's the kids #playing, sometimes, they ar all murdered, sometimes, there's a clown statue. It's a lot....But one thing never changes.
"The call is coming from inside the house."
I actually planned on talking about this scary story in a series called #nikbusters where I would try and see what urban legends were true or not. But, I found the name cringy and aborted the idea.
Y'all, hold on to your butts, because this one is true.
On a spring night in 1950, the police in Columbus, Missouri received a frantic call in which a female was pleading "HELP ME". The brief, but frightening call could not be traced. A mother and father returned home from a night with friends to a terrible sight.
Janet Christman was murdered while babysitting.
Y'all I'm just gonna warn you, that when you google her name the post mortem pictures are one of the first things you see. That personally makes me uncomfortable because she was thirteen when she died. So, if you're like me and don't like viewing IRL violence against children, avoid googling this. The baby she was supervising was unharmed.
The murder is still unsolved. But the prime suspect was a man named Robert Muller. Rest in Peace Babygirl.
The Green Ribbon
This isn't from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It's from an anthology called "In a Dark, Dark Room" which is also stories retold by Alivin Swartz. It does not have the same type of illustrations, and it more family friendly. But the stories are still creepy. It's the Goosebumps is "Scary Stories" is Are You Afraid of the Dark? If you read my earlier post on the lost media that I found from my childhood, the art is so similar and I think that's why the cartoon stuck with me for so long. I loved the f*ck out of In a Dark, Dark Room.
The Green Ribbon is about a girl named Jenny who wears a green ribbon around her neck. Why? No one knows, not even her long time love Alfred. He asks her why she chooses such a fugly accessory even on their GD wedding day. And Jenny's like, "I can't tell you lol." I know everyone who is reading this probably experienced their first ever twist ending when it turned out ole gyal had a ribbon around her neck to keep her head on!
So, there's "historical" evidence that backs up the theory that this story is about the horrors of wifing up sex workers. Apparently, sex workers used to wear ribbons around their neck. But, I don't really think that this is applicable to this story because chokers have meant different things as time has progressed. During the French Revolution, women would wear red ribbons around their necks in solidarity to people that lost their lives via guillotine. I tried my hardest to trace this story as far back as I could, and I could go back as far as the French Revolution. I still don't buy the idea that Jenny was a sex worker. I would much rather think that Jenny did not support the Reign of Terror like she assumed Alfred did. Or maybe she lost a family member. Or maybe, just maybe she was the victim of a failed decapitation. Scientifically, a human cannot survive without a head (yet), but a chicken can! But, there are women that have survived hangings. Some of them are Maggie Dickson, Anne Green, and Inetta de Balsham. I imagine these women wore chokers. I like to think our American Alvin Schwartz version of Jenny was hanged. Americans really have not used the guillotine like the French did.
I was really surprised to find that this story has French origins. I expected it to be an American story.
I like wearing chokers to conceal my PCOS scars, so I don't really feel like the sex work thing is applicable. I remember asking my step dad to buy me a choker for Christmas and her said no because he thought it meant you were into BDSM. So, chokers just mean different things to different people. I guess it could even be argued that Jenny also wanted to hide PCOS scars. Back then, carrying on your "line" was a big deal and maybe she was scared Alfred would not like her as much if she had trouble conceiving like a lot of women with PCOS do.
I have discovered that mental illness was one of the first "awareness" ribbons. And that ribbon, was green. So maybe something was going on with Jenny mentally, and wanted to keep it a secret. That's fair, I think. If I was able to hide my depression, I would in a heartbeat.
I have also read that drag queens like wearing chokers because it can conceal an Adam's Apple. I don't think that was necessarily the metaphor the original story was going for, BUT I do think the moral of the story is that men can consume their mind with a woman's past and it will be the death of the relationship.
I've already told y'all Jack Skellington is actually Ichabod Crane. I consider that my greatest work on this blog!
The writer of that story, Washington Irving also gave America it's first version of "The Green Ribbon." Jenny is Sally #konfirmed. Oh wait, this isn't Kombat week so I mean it's #confirmed. Anyway in Irving's story, which was largely borrowed from Alexander Dumas' version, she is a someone that had been guillotined earlier.
Really f*cking cool fun fact about Washington Irving, he created the concept of Gotham! That's what he called New York City and I mean, did he lie? But, my fave IS problematic because he wrote a (fictional) biography about Christopher Columbus and now we have flat earthers.
I don't know how I feel about Sally being Jenny outside of making jokes, but I think the connection is really cool. Not enough to write a whole #thing on it, but worth mentioning.
Today I wanted to share the origins of a few of my favorite scary stories from the iconic series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
What did you guys think if the movie? I liked it a lot, but I don't really think there should be a sequel, I think there will be though.
The first Scary Story is....The Hook!
The Hook tells of a killer with a hook for a hand that attacks couples parked in cars. Now me, being an undiscovered genius can see the connection of some ugly hook handed man killing people having car sex. I can also guess that our good friend Candyman, who also has a hook influenced my thoughts on that metaphor. If you haven't read my post on Candyman, I imagine you are unaware that he was killed for having sex with a white lady. So I kind of felt like Candyman was a way of turning the thought of the hooked man hating sexuality on it's head. But, I think that The Hook Story is most likely based on the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. The still unsolved crimes occurred in 1946, and I imagine the tale got "telephoned", and now it's just some weirdo hook hand man.
There is also a movie based on these murders called "The Town That Dreaded Sundown", which has a pretty creative murder with a trombone. I remember the first time I saw this movie, because it was one of the first horror movies I saw that were based on a true story. I was very scared, but as an adult, I do appreciate the movie and it's kind of a shame it flies under the radar compared to other 70's horror films.
My favorite adaptation of The Hook Man is from the greatest Nickelodeon cartoon, Hey Arnold. Arnold and his friends have a sleep over and he tells them about "The Headless Cabbie", and The Hook Man makes a cameo towards the end. Instead of being the main antagonist, he is just kind of there. I was watching Hey Arnold and reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark around the same time and I always thought that was cool. Well, I'm still watching and reading, but you know what I mean lol.I also think that the killer in I Know What You Did Last Summer is loosely based on The Hook. Because well, duh. In reality, the murderer was likely Younell Swinney. Even though he is dead now, and The Hook story in it's entirety is not exactly true; I will not advocate hooking up in cars. Do better!
Alligators
Ok, so the Alligator in the sewer thing has been around for like, ever. The earliest version I can find is from 1927 when a city worker in Pittsburgh found a three foot long alligator in a sewer that he cleaned. He took home the alligator. I think this story comes from the all too true occurrence when people try to dispose of creatures they can no longer care for. It used to be "cool" to go down to Florida and purchase baby alligators, cuz #Florida. So, that bears the question, wtf happened to all of those babies? People said these irresponsible pet owners flushed them down the toilet. Honestly, if I was a piece of sh*t/irresponsible pet owner, I would release my wild animal in the wild. Actually the Las Vegas Wetlands have signs that saw NOT to do that, so people have probably done so before. I really don't know if a baby alligator could survive being flushed down a toilet. They are hardy animals, but I am not sure how hardy. I do know that Alligators are cold blooded! I don't think they could survive in sewers, where the sun doesn't hit them. I also know finding alligators in sewers is not an uncommon thing, because a man found one chilling in the sewer in 2016. Where did he live? #Florida.If it wasn't for this urban legend, we might not have had Leatherhead from TMNT. In the comics this alligator escaped a pet store during a robbery and made his way to the sewers. According to Ken, this current television Leatherhead was flushed down the toilet by some mean parents. But, Ken is seven and therefore an unreliable narrator. So, you're gonna have to consult Dr. Google on what's currently going on with Leatherhead.
I have a big heart for animals, but the big, ugly, ashy animals have my heart the most. Alligators are very misunderstood creatures. I love them, if you flush an alligator and I find out....Don't let me find out.
The Babysitter
Whew, are you even sure this is an urban legend? I have always felt like this story has been told SOOOO many different ways that there has to be some element of truth to it. Sometimes, the babysitter and her charges are able to leave in time, sometimes it's the kids #playing, sometimes, they ar all murdered, sometimes, there's a clown statue. It's a lot....But one thing never changes."The call is coming from inside the house."
I actually planned on talking about this scary story in a series called #nikbusters where I would try and see what urban legends were true or not. But, I found the name cringy and aborted the idea.
Y'all, hold on to your butts, because this one is true.
On a spring night in 1950, the police in Columbus, Missouri received a frantic call in which a female was pleading "HELP ME". The brief, but frightening call could not be traced. A mother and father returned home from a night with friends to a terrible sight.
Y'all I'm just gonna warn you, that when you google her name the post mortem pictures are one of the first things you see. That personally makes me uncomfortable because she was thirteen when she died. So, if you're like me and don't like viewing IRL violence against children, avoid googling this. The baby she was supervising was unharmed.
The murder is still unsolved. But the prime suspect was a man named Robert Muller. Rest in Peace Babygirl.
The Green Ribbon
The Green Ribbon is about a girl named Jenny who wears a green ribbon around her neck. Why? No one knows, not even her long time love Alfred. He asks her why she chooses such a fugly accessory even on their GD wedding day. And Jenny's like, "I can't tell you lol." I know everyone who is reading this probably experienced their first ever twist ending when it turned out ole gyal had a ribbon around her neck to keep her head on!
So, there's "historical" evidence that backs up the theory that this story is about the horrors of wifing up sex workers. Apparently, sex workers used to wear ribbons around their neck. But, I don't really think that this is applicable to this story because chokers have meant different things as time has progressed. During the French Revolution, women would wear red ribbons around their necks in solidarity to people that lost their lives via guillotine. I tried my hardest to trace this story as far back as I could, and I could go back as far as the French Revolution. I still don't buy the idea that Jenny was a sex worker. I would much rather think that Jenny did not support the Reign of Terror like she assumed Alfred did. Or maybe she lost a family member. Or maybe, just maybe she was the victim of a failed decapitation. Scientifically, a human cannot survive without a head (yet), but a chicken can! But, there are women that have survived hangings. Some of them are Maggie Dickson, Anne Green, and Inetta de Balsham. I imagine these women wore chokers. I like to think our American Alvin Schwartz version of Jenny was hanged. Americans really have not used the guillotine like the French did.
I was really surprised to find that this story has French origins. I expected it to be an American story.
I like wearing chokers to conceal my PCOS scars, so I don't really feel like the sex work thing is applicable. I remember asking my step dad to buy me a choker for Christmas and her said no because he thought it meant you were into BDSM. So, chokers just mean different things to different people. I guess it could even be argued that Jenny also wanted to hide PCOS scars. Back then, carrying on your "line" was a big deal and maybe she was scared Alfred would not like her as much if she had trouble conceiving like a lot of women with PCOS do.
I have discovered that mental illness was one of the first "awareness" ribbons. And that ribbon, was green. So maybe something was going on with Jenny mentally, and wanted to keep it a secret. That's fair, I think. If I was able to hide my depression, I would in a heartbeat.
I have also read that drag queens like wearing chokers because it can conceal an Adam's Apple. I don't think that was necessarily the metaphor the original story was going for, BUT I do think the moral of the story is that men can consume their mind with a woman's past and it will be the death of the relationship.I've already told y'all Jack Skellington is actually Ichabod Crane. I consider that my greatest work on this blog!
The writer of that story, Washington Irving also gave America it's first version of "The Green Ribbon." Jenny is Sally #konfirmed. Oh wait, this isn't Kombat week so I mean it's #confirmed. Anyway in Irving's story, which was largely borrowed from Alexander Dumas' version, she is a someone that had been guillotined earlier.
Really f*cking cool fun fact about Washington Irving, he created the concept of Gotham! That's what he called New York City and I mean, did he lie? But, my fave IS problematic because he wrote a (fictional) biography about Christopher Columbus and now we have flat earthers.
I don't know how I feel about Sally being Jenny outside of making jokes, but I think the connection is really cool. Not enough to write a whole #thing on it, but worth mentioning.
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