The Hookman of Montville

Living in town my entire life, there are certain stories that I assumed were just related to Montville.  One of them was the Hookman living on Black Ash Road. Recently, there is a new link on Facebook called You're Probably From Montville If…  Funny, but the Hookman story became an item on the site.  Being curious, I decided to do a little research about how Hookman came to live in Montville.

First, I investigated Black Ash Road.  Originally named Black Ash Swamp Road and was proposed to be built in 1868. There were no houses, but there were fields for farming  I believe the first house built on the road wasn’t until the late 1960s. 

Next, I talked to several people from different generations to get an idea of how the story has changed over the decades.  The earliest story I heard came from someone who was a teenager in the 1960s.  Here’s that version:

“A couple went “parking” on Black Ash Swamp Road because there weren’t any houses around.  While they were listening to music and doing “whatever,” they heard a scratching on the car window and swore an old guy with a hook tried to open the door.  Being scared, they left and never went back.”

In 2011, the story has become much more graphic.  It sounds like something from a horror movie or video game:

“The Hookman lost his hand in a car accident which killed his girlfriend on Black Ash Road.  After the accident, Hookman was so upset that he used to kidnap couples “making out” on Black Ash and hang them by their feet in a old barn at the end of the road.  The police finally caught up with him, surrounded his house, and killed him during a gunfight.  Even now, on Halloween, the Hookman walks around the area and kills couples in love.”

Much to my surprise, The Hookman story is not a Montville original.  I found versions of the same story written in Indiana, New Jersey, Kansas, and Michigan – just to name a few.  It also was a plot in the TV show Supernatural. So with a little more research, this is what I found.

According to Jan Harold Brunvand in his article, “Folklore in the News (and, Incidentally, on the Net),” on “November 8, 1960, the day that John F. Kennedy was elected president, the “Dear Abby” column included a letter from a teenager telling the urban legend about The Hookman on Lovers’ Lane”  However, folklorist Bill Ellis  in his paper, “The Hook,” suggests that the origin of the Hookman tale comes from convicted murderer and robber Caryl Chessman curing the early 1950s in Los Angeles.

I still like the idea that the Hookman story started in Montville.  But my guess is that surrounding towns and even states have a similar Hookman living somewhere in their remote woods.  Too bad for them…because Montville’s Hookman will always be the scariest to me!