1.07 Hook Man

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1-07 Hookman.jpg
Title Hook Man
Episode # Season 1, Episode 7
First aired October 25, 2005
Directed by David Jackson
Written by John Shiban
On IMDB Hook Man
Outline Sam and Dean investigate a series of supernatural deaths that appear to be morally driven.
Monster Ghost
Timeline
Location(s) Ankeny, Iowa (Eastern Iowa University)
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Synopsis

Rich picks Lori Sorenson up to go to a party, but before they go he parks on 9 Mile Road, and attempts to make out with her. However while they are making out, the spirit of Jacob Karns has been watching them from the trees. They suddenly hear a loud scratching noise. When Rich gets out of the car to investigate, he suddenly disappears from Lori's view, and a loud banging and scratching noise begins to come from the roof of the car. When the scratching finally stops, Lori gets out of the car and starts to run away, she turns around and sees Rich, suspended from a tree upside down above the car -- revealing to her that he had been the one making noises on the roof in an attempt to get help from Lori.

Sam and Dean arrive in Ankeny, Iowa to investigate the case. They are intrigued because the witness, Lori, reported that the attacker was invisible. At the fraternity house where Rich lived, they find out he was seeing Lori, who is the daughter of Reverend Sorenson. They attend a service at the Reverend’s church and speak to Lori, but she is unable to give him any useful information as she believes she was just “seeing things.”

Sam and Dean think the story sounds like the Hook Man Legend, and go to the local library to research it. They find that in 1862 a preacher named Jacob Karns killed thirteen sex workers using the hook he wore in place of the hand he lost in an accident. He was later arrested and executed. That night the boys travel to 9 Mile Road in search of the Hook Man, but they are discovered by the sheriff.

Lori's father drives her back to her sorority house, and the two have a brief argument about Lori living at the sorority house, which causes Lori to get angry and abruptly leave the car. As Lori walks to her bedroom, she notices a large scratch on the wall, but pays no mind to and heads into her bedroom. As she is about to turn on the light, she sees Taylor sleeping and stops herself. As Lori gets ready for bed, Jacob Karns is revealed to be in her closet, waiting. The next morning Lori wakes up and screams at the sight of Taylor's bloody body, and sees written in blood on the wall are the words, “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?”

After being released by the sheriff, Sam and Dean hear about Taylor’s murder and search the dorm room, noting a cross symbol drawn in the blood that they recognize from their research. They also find other killings that have occurred in the area, also by clergymen. The boys postulate that the spirit of Karns is latching onto the reverend’s repressed emotions and killing those he feels are immoral.

While Dean goes to find Karn’s grave, Sam watches over Lori. When Lori notices Sam sitting outside her father's house, she goes outside and sits next to him and the two talk. Lori reveals that she feels cursed because of all the people around her dying, and her anger at her father for having an affair with a married woman. The two briefly kiss, but Sam pulls away saying "I can't". Reverend Sorenson comes outside to call Lori back in, suddenly, the Hook Man appears behind him and puts his hook into his shoulder, and drags him inside. Sam gives chase, followed by Lori. After Sam is able to stop the Hook Man from killing Reverend Sorensen, Lori bursts through the bedroom window and kneels down next to her dad.

The next day, Sam proposes that Jacob’s spirit has latched onto Lori, rather than her father. Sam and Dean are bemused that burning the corpse didn't stop Jacob, until they find out his hook wasn't buried with him, it was melted down and made into objects for the church. Sam and Dean head to St. Barnabas Church in the hopes of melting down the silver made from Jacob Karns' hook and putting an end to him, when they see that Lori is sitting in a pew alone, crying. Sam approaches her and she tells her she's to blame for all this, as she felt that Rich and Taylor and her father all deserved to be punished, and they were, and is seeking forgiveness and tells Sam she deserves to be punished. Suddenly, they hear a noise, so Sam leads Lori away and opens the door to the basement. But the Hook Man is behind it and pushes his hook through the door. As Sam and Lori run down the aisle and into a back room, the Hook Man follows them and smashes the glass of another door with his hook. He swings at Sam a few times but misses. The Hook Man chases the two of them around the room and finally hooks Sam in the shoulder. He screams in pain and an invisible force drags Lori on her back across the floor. When Sam runs over to her, the Hook Man appears and knocks him backwards into a wall. He gets up and maneuvers behind the Hook Man, who is standing over Lori, when Dean enters with his gun raised and shoots the Hook Man who disappears into dust. Confused as to why Jacob Karns is still around after they destroyed all the silver, Sam notices Lori wearing a silver necklace -- a church heirloom that her father gave to her when she started school. Sam rips it of her neck and hands it to Dean who rushes it downstairs and tosses it into the fire. Upstairs Karns begins another attack on Sam and Lori, having cornered them, he looms over them, and raises his hook, when he suddenly stops with his hook in the air. The hook melts and the Hook Man disappears.

As Sam is getting patched up in an ambulance, Lori thanks him for saving her and her father.

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "Higher Mathematics" by Split Habit
(plays at the beginning of the episode, when Lori's getting ready for her date)
  • "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by Quiet Riot
(plays when they're arriving at the fraternity house)
  • "Noise" by Low Five
(plays when they meet Murf ("purple man") and question him about the death of the fraternity guy)
  • "At Rest" by Leslie Pearson (Bruton Music)
(plays at the sermon for Lori's dead friend)
  • "Royal Bethlehem" by Leslie Pearson (Bruton Music)
(plays while Sam and Dean do research at the library)
  • "U Do 2 Me" by Paul Richards
(plays at the college party)
  • "Peace of Mind" by Boston
(plays at the end of the episode, when Sam and Dean hit the road)

Netflix

  • "Higher Mathematics" by Split Habit
(plays at the beginning of the episode, when Lori's getting ready for her date)
  • "Supercharged" by Skeemin' NoGoods
(plays when they're arriving at the fraternity house)
  • "Noise" by Low Five
(plays when they meet Murf ("purple man") and question him about the death of the fraternity guy)
  • "At Rest" by Leslie Pearson (Bruton Music)
(plays at the sermon for Lori's dead friend)
  • "Royal Bethlehem" by Leslie Pearson (Bruton Music)
(plays while Sam and Dean do research at the library)
  • "Operated On" by Union of Knives
(plays at the college party)
  • "Dancing on a Wire" by Keygrip
(plays at the end of the episode, when Sam and Dean hit the road)

Quotes

Dean: Your, uh, half-caf, double vanilla latte is gettin’ cold over here, Francis.
Sam: Bite me.
Dean: Sam, I’m tellin’ ya, I don’t think Dad wants to be found. Check this out. It’s a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It’s only about a hundred miles from here.

Sam: 'The mutilated body was found near the victim’s car, parked on 9 Mile Road.'
Dean: Keep reading.
Sam: 'Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible.'

Dean: Could be something interesting.
Dean: So you believe her?

Sam: I do.
Dean: Yeah, I think she’s hot, too.
Sam: No, man, there’s something in her eyes. And listen to this: she heard scratching on the roof. Found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car.
Dean: Wait, the body suspended? That sounds like the—
Sam: Yeah, I know, the Hook Man legend.
Dean: That’s one of the most famous urban legends ever. You don’t think that we’re dealing with the Hook Man.

Sam: Every urban legend has a source. A place where it all began.
Sam: Hey, check this out. 1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes. Uh, right here, 'some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.'
Dean: Get this, the murder weapon? Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook.
Dean: Here you go.

Sam: If it is a spirit, buckshot won’t do much good.
Dean: Yeah, rock salt.
Sam: Huh. Salt being a spirit deterrent.
Dean: Yeah. It won’t kill ‘em. But it’ll slow ‘em down.

Sam: That’s pretty good. You and Dad think of this?
Dean: I told him you were a dumbass pledge and that we were hazing you.

Sam: What about the shotgun?
Dean: I said that you were hunting ghosts and the spirits were repelled by rock salt. You know, typical Hell Week prank.
Sam: And he believed you?

Dean: Well, you look like a dumbass pledge.
Sam: 'Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?' That’s right out of the legend.

Dean: Yeah, that’s classic Hook Man all right. It’s definitely a spirit.

Sam: Yeah, I’ve never smelled ozone this strong before.
Dean: All right, let’s find the dude’s grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down.
Sam: You must have missed something.

Dean: No. I burned everything in that coffin.
Sam: Did you get the hook?
Dean: The hook?
Sam: Well, it was the murder weapon, and in a way, it was part of him.
Dean: So, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power.
Sam: So if we find the hook...

Sam and Dean: We stop the Hook Man.
Lori: I’ve been trying to understand what’s been happening. Why? Now I know so I’m praying for forgiveness.

Sam: Forgiveness for what?
Lori: Don’t you see? I’m to blame for all this. I’ve read in the Bible about avenging angels.
Sam: Trust me, this guy—he’s no angel.
Lori: I was so angry at my father. Part of me wanted him punished. And then he came and he punished him.
Sam: It’s not your fault.

Lori: Yes, it is. I don’t know how, but it is. I killed Rich. Taylor, too. I nearly killed my father.

Trivia & References

The title of the episode, "Hook Man" refers to the urban legend known as "The Hook" or "Hook Man. The "Hook Man" legend in this episode is actually a combination of 3 urban legends: "The Hook Man", "The Dead Boyfriend", and "Aren't You Glad You Didn't Turn on the Lights."
The message above Taylor's bed after she is killed ("Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?") is a reference to an old urban legend entitled 'The Roommate's Death.'
"Eastern Iowa University" is a Fictional Location created by sci-fi author Stephen Bury. source
Sam: Or it could be nothing at all. One freaked out witness who didn’t see anything? Doesn’t mean it’s the Invisible Man.
The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells, first published in 1897. The story tells the tale of a scientist named Griffin who learns the secret to invisibility. However he fails to learn how to reverse the process.
Dean: Nice job, Dr. Venkman.
Dr. Peter Venkman is the character played by Bill Murray in Ghostbusters film series.
Dean: Saved your ass! Talked the sheriff down to a fine. Dude, I am Matlock.
Ben Matlock is an attorney played by Andy Griffith in the TV show Matlock.
Dean: Dude, sorority girls! Think we’ll see a naked pillow fight?
Reference to National Lampoon's Animal House where in a scene the character Bluto, played by John Belushi, gets to see some sorority girls in a naked pillow fight.
The Hook Man's cross is a Jerusalem cross.

Minutiae

Filming Location: British Columbia Institute of Technology Library.
Kim Manners was asked to come in an work as a co-director on this episode, as the original director had troubles getting the "scare" across.S1Com, p.47
This episode was originally set to air after 1.02 Wendigo. Eric Kripke originally thought it might have been beneficial to air an episode about such a "classic" urban legend early in the show's run. 1.04 Phantom Traveler was aired instead.
Actress Christie Laing who plays Taylor, also played Robert Johnson's Crossroads Demon in 2.08 Crossroad Blues.
This is the first episode in which rock salt was considered a threat to supernatural demons/spirits. It was "invented" for Supernatural by writers Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes Burton. Eric Kripke agreed it "...was the perfect combination of occult element - salt is a folkloric repellent of evil - and the blue-collar aspect of shotguns."S1Com, p. 47-48


In where many actual notes from the studio were included in the script, fun is made of the use of salt when Tara Benchley the actor on the horror movie says " Salt? Doesn't that sound silly? I mean, why would a ghost be afraid of salt?" and the writer Martin Flagg says "Not married to salt, what do you want? We still sticking with condiments?"


Back in 1977 rock salt and a rock salt shotgun were used in the Doctor Who episode "Image of the Fendahl" written by Chris Boucher. The rock salt was used to kill the psychokinetic fendahleen.

Doctor: Sodium chloride. Obviously affects the conductivity, ruins the overall electrical balance, and prevents control of the localized disruption of the osmotic pressures.
Leela: Salt kills it.
Doctor: I just said that. Probably the origin of throwing it over your shoulder.
Until season 3, the Impala had spotlights. Sam can be seen using one of them in this episode, when he and Dean drive up to investigate the murder site on 9 Mile Road.
When Sam enters the church, looking for the object to which the murdering spirit is tied, he passes a bulletin board with the phrase "Reaping with Joy" on it.
The role of Rich originally went to Jesse Hutch but he was replaced apparently for being "too nice" source. Jesse later ended up appearing in 9.02 Devil May Care as Crewcut and 15.10 The Heroes' Journey as werewolf Brad Myers.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

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