Hook Man - Recap

At the Theta Sorority at an eastern Iowa university in Ankeny, Lori Sorenson asks her roommate, Taylor, for tips on dressing for her date. She borrows an outfit and leaves to meet with her boyfriend, Rich, go driving. He pulls off the road and says they can't arrive early, but she suspects he has an ulterior motive. They start to kiss but Lori's father calls. She ignores it and he starts to undress her, but he stops him. They're unaware that a shadowy figure lurks nearby, holding a hook. Rich tries again and she insists that he stops. They hear a screeching noise as the intruder drags his hook across the nearby signs and then fades away. Rich gets out to investigate and sees scratches appear on the car with no visible source. One of the tires is punctured and the rear windshield shatters. Startled, Lori is unable to find Rich outside. She locks the doors and closes the windows. Something lands on the roof of Rich's car and Lori gets out, and spots Rich, dead, hanging upside down from the bridge above his car.



The Winchesters stop for morning coffee and Sam admits that he's unable to find a trace of their missing father. Dean shows him the news report on Rich's death, and the report from the unidentified eyewitness that the killer was invisible. When Dean points out that John would have checked it out, Sam agrees to investigate and they drive to Ankeny. They stop at the local fraternity and convince them that they're fellow brothers so they have a place to stay. They talk to their new roommate, Mark, who explains that Rich was dating Lori, a reverend's hot daughter. He directs them to Reverend Sorenson's church, where they are holding a service for Rich. Lori and Taylor are there. The brothers come in and Lori notices Sam. Afterward, Taylor suggests that Lori go out drinking with her, and Lori promises that she'll try but usually she spends that night having dinner with her father. Sam and Dean approach Lori and express their condolences. She introduces them to her father and Dean distracts him while Sam asks Lori about what she saws. She explains that the police think she was seeing things, but Sam assures her that what she saw was real.



Afterward, Sam insists to Dean that he believes Lori actually saw something. Based on Lori's description, he believes that the legendary Hook Man is involved. They check the local library records and find an 1862 article about the murder of a local one-handed priest, Jacob Karnes, who killed thirteen prostitutes using a silver hook. He suspended several of the victims upside-down from trees, and killed his victims near where Rich died.

That night, Reverend Sorenson drops his daughter off at her sorority, and warns her against partying and drinking with Taylor. Lori gets mad and storms out of the car, and goes upstairs to her room. Taylor is asleep and Lori goes into the bathroom to prepare for bed.

Sam and Dean drive to the murder site and load their shotguns with rock salt to deter the ghost. They hear something moving in the trees but the local sheriff emerges and arrests them.

Lori comes to bed, unaware that something is lurking in her closet. To avoid disturbing her roommate, she doesn't turn on the lights. The next morning, she wakes up and sees Taylor in her bed, brutally murdered and blood everywhere. Written in blood above her is the message, "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light."



Later, Dean and Sam are released when Dean talks them out of jail by claiming Sam was a pledge being hazed. They watch as the police leave for the sorority and follow, realizing something is wrong. At the sorority, Reverend Sorenson wants to take Lori home but the sheriff believes she is somehow involved. He finally gives in and Sorenson takes his daughter home. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean sneak around the back, and Sam wonders why the Hook Man struck somewhere other than the scene of his murders. The brothers climb upstairs to Lori's room and see the message, which is right out of the legend. They can also smell the ozone indicating a spirit's presence. Sam notices a symbol at the bottom of the message, and realizes it's the same symbol that was on Carnes' hook hand in the articles. They determine he was buried at Old North Cemetery, but in an unmarked grave. Dean figures that Carnes is tied to Lori somehow and spots a flyer for a fraternity party



That night at the party, the brothers arrive and Sam explains that in 1932 and 1968, clergymen preached against immorality and then wanted for murders against those who were considered immoral. Sam figures that Sorenson is summoning the spirit to protect his daughter, or that the spirit is latching onto Sorenson's emotions. Dean tells Sam to keep an eye on Lori while he goes to find the unmarked grave. Sam follows Lori home and watches her through the window as she argues with her father.

Dean finds the grave and breaks open the coffin..

Lori comes outside and finds Sam. he says that he's keeping an eye on the place and is worried about her. She tells him he should stay away from her because she's cursed, and Sam admits he knows how she feels.

Dean salts and burns Carnes' bones.



Lori tells Sam that no one will talk to her and the sheriff thinks she's a suspect, and all her father will do is tell her to pray. She has just found out that Sorenson is having an affair with a married woman, and believes that he's an immoral hypocrite. She hugs Sam for comfort and then they start to kiss, but then he backs away, saying he can't. Lori realizes that he's lost someone. Sorenson comes out and calls his daughter inside. She tells him she'll come inside when she's ready, and the Hook Man appears behind her father, stabs him in the shoulder, and pulls him back inside. Sam runs inside and hears Sorenson upstairs. He runs into the bedroom and shoots the Hook Man ghost, temporarily dissipating it with rock salt.



The next morning at the hospital, Sam tells the sheriff what happened. The lawman points out that Sam has been at the scene of two murders and tells him to watch his step. Dean arrives and tells Sam that he burned the bones, and Sam suggests that the spirit has latched onto Lori, not her father. Every time someone has acted immoral around Lori, the Hook Man attacked them. Dean insists that he burned everything in the coffin, but they realize that he didn't destroy the hook itself. Back at the library, they find an article on Carnes' personal effects. They were remanded to St. Barnabas' Church, where Carnes preached. It's the same church where Sorenson is the preacher. They check the church records and confirm the hook was delivered there, and that it was reforged into something else.

That night, the brothers go to the church and decide to split up. Sam goes to Lori's house to search while Dean checks out the church. They find everything silver, Sam returns to the church, and they toss everything into the furnace. Once they're done, they hear someone walking upstairs. It's Lori, crying and praying for forgiveness. She figures that she's summoned an avenging angel and that the deaths are her fault. When Lori says that she deserves to be punished, they hear something move through the church and the candles go out. Sam gets her to the door but the Hook Man is waiting for them.



They run to the rear but it attacks and wounds Sam, and then shoves Lori into her father's office. It knocks Sam down and moves in on Lori, and Dean arrives in time to shoot the spirit with rock salt, sending it away. They figure they missed the one piece of silver, and Sam notices the silver chain that Lori wears. He rips it off of her as the invisible spirit drags its hook along the walls. Dean takes the chain and runs to the furnace, while Sam tries to hit the invisible spirit. As he reloads, Dean tosses the necklace into the furnace. The Hook Man knocks the shotgun away but then disappears for good as the necklace melts in the furnace.



The next morning, Dean tells the sheriff that the killer ran away, and the sheriff tells the Winchesters to leave town. As the EMTs tend to Sam's wound, Dean gets in the Impala and watches his brother talk to Lori. She thanks him for saving her life and her father's, Sam gets in the car and Dean suggests that they could stay. Sam doesn't say anything and after a moment, Dean drives out of town with his brother.



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