Backseat Killers & Ankle-Slashing Gangs
Netlore Archive: Email warning about escaped murderers hiding in the backseats of cars and ankle-slashing gang members lying in wait underneath cars for unsuspecting shoppers.
Description: Urban legends
Circulating since: 1999 / 1960s
Status: False
Example #1:
Email text contributed by R. Sears, Oct. 19, 1999:
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Subject: FW: FW: Be careful out there
I am passing along because I know of a incident similar to this. My girlfriend was getting some gas and when she attempted to return to her car the gas station attendant starting yelling at her and telling her she did not pay yet. When she went back in to argue about having already paid the attendant told her he just wanted to get her back in because he saw someone crawl in the backseat of her car, and that he had already called the police. So it's worth taking to heart. this is a true story. it has been "ritual" of gang members to take one body part from women as an initiation into gangs. the rule is that is has to be in a well lit area and at a gas station, so be careful. they tend to lay under the car, and slash females' ankles when she goes to get in her car, causing her to fall and then they cut off a body part and roll and run. they are known to hide behind the gas pumps too, so be careful. it might sound bizarre and gross, but the bigger the body part the higher the initiation they receive. this like i said was communicated by a person who work in law enforcement in the south.. and is very real. she has investigated and been call to al number of these scenes. she has also confirmed the following statement below as true and not an internet "hoax." please pass these on to as many people you know, mothers, sisters, grandparents, daughters, nieces and friends. the world it seems has become a crazy place to live in, but let be careful out there and make stuff like this known so we are better protected. |
Example #2:
Email text contributed by C. Downing, Nov. 5, 1999:
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I actually saw this on 20/20! Pretty scary. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO AS MANY WOMEN AS YOU KNOW IN OR OUT OF YOUR UNIT! Subject: Be Careful I am passing along because I know of a incident similar to this. My girlfriend was getting some gas and when she attempted to return to her car the gas station attendant starting yelling at her and telling her she did not pay yet. When she went back in to argue about having already paid the attendant told her he just wanted to get her back in because he saw someone crawl in the backseat of her car, and that he had already called the police. So it's worth taking to heart. This is a true story. it has been "ritual" of gang members to take one body part from women as an initiation into gangs. The rule is that is has to be in a well lit area and at a gas station, so be careful. They tend to lay under the car, and slash the female's ankles when she goes to get into her car, causing her to fall and then they cut off a body part and roll and run. They are known to hide behind the gas pumps too, so be careful. It might sound bizarre and gross, but the bigger the body part the higher the initiation they receive. This information was communicated by a female law enforcement person that works in the South. She has investigated and been called to a number of these scenes. She has also confirmed the following statement below as true and not an internet "hoax." Please pass these on to as many people you know, mothers, sisters, grandparents, daughters, nieces and friends. The world it seems has become a crazy place to live in, but let's be careful out there and make stuff like this known so we are better protected. Here is an example of a true case: A gas station attendant yelled at a lady to come back and pay for her gas. If she did not he would call the cops if she tried to drive away (this was right after she had been in and paid for the gas). She returned into the station upset and angry at the attendant, only to realize that he had called the cops after spotting a man roll under her car. She was about be a victim of the above initiation. ******************** It sounds like many gas stations have been informed of this as well and the attendants are on the watch for such activity. You might want to make a copy of this and hand it to the gas stations you frequent. |
Analysis: If you saw the 1998 film Urban Legend, you should recognize both of these tall tales even though they're much less impactful in email form.
"The Killer in the Backseat" is at least three decades old. Jan Harold Brunvand reported a variant of it in his first volume of urban legends, The Vanishing Hitchhiker (W.W. Norton, 1981), where he classified it as "a teenage horror fiction." As it is typically told, the would-be victim is horrified to find herself being chased by an unknown motorist who, unbeknownst to her, has glimpsed a madman with a knife hiding in the backseat of her car and is trying to rescue her.
The "ankle slasher" legend has been grossly embellished in the email version above to my knowledge, the bit about gang members cutting off women's body parts as an initiation rite has never before been associated with this story. Folklorists have tracked the basic scenario a criminal hiding under a car and slashing the legs of a female shopper whom he intends to rob - back to the 1950s. Up until now, the story has usually been set in a shopping mall parking lot.
Like most email urban legends, both tales lack the immediacy of a personal recounting but benefit from the urgency of the "Warning to all women, send this to everyone you know!" format.
More:
The Killer in the Backseat
A more traditional rendering of the urban legendHorrors!
The scariest urban legends ever!

