“The Legend of The Hook Man”

by Mason Jordan

Every October 1st the Hook Man walks the streets with a hook for a hand, looking for the children that made fun of him. He is seeking sweet revenge! As he walks through the streets of the town, he starts snatching up kids and takes them to the old shut down mill on the backstreets on the west side of town where he does things you don’t want to imagine. He puts them in the big fish tanks, closes the lid on the tanks and locks it. Once Halloween night comes, he turns them into fish chum, while parents are worried sick about their children. At 9:00 when the kids haven’t returned from trick or treating, the parents decide that they need to meet up and make a plan for finding their children, because something is clearly wrong. They all meet at the fountain on the town square. They’ve heard the rumors that the Hook Man will turn kids to fish chum at 12:00, so time is of the essence. As they are making their plan, one of the parent’s spots the Hook Man walking down the neighborhood. The parents start running after him, but this scares him, so he runs into the safety of the woods. It is now 11:00 and time is running out! The kids have yet to be found, and the parents are feeling defeated. They decide that enough is enough! They are going to find him and their kids before it’s too late! The parents grab pitchforks and baseball bats and go into the woods to find the Hook Man. They spot him running towards the mill and immediately know that they must catch him if they want their kids back. The parents kick in the door right where the Hook Man and the children are. The parents start fighting the Hook Man with the pitchforks and bats. It’s a brutal battle and blood is splattering everywhere. At the back of the mill is a cliff that leads to a freezing river below. They push him out the back door where the cliff is. He is now at a standoff with the parents! The Hook Man attempts to push the parents and a tussle ensues. After a few minutes of struggle, the Hook Man loses his balance and fell into the freezing water below. About that time, the cops arrive on the scene to find the parents just staring into the deep dark water below. The echos of children slightly heard in the background. Then the loud banging starts! That’s when they realize that the children are in the huge metal fish tanks. Immediately, they run to the tanks and start rescuing the children. One by one they are all saved. Each one is traumatized by the event, but they are alive and that’s what everyone wanted. The Hook Man was pronounced dead, but to this day you can still hear his voice cascading down the canyon late at night on Halloween.