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Beware the Black Limousine

 

The following is a recent horror tale adapted from a Polish legend.  According to rumors, a mysterious black limousine had been spotted roaming through neighborhoods, and subsequently, children were discovered missing. Coincidence?   You be the judge.

Would you give a second thought to someone dressed as a priest or nun innocently asking for directions? Most would not, but a violent and appalling kidnapping ring is using just such a ruse to lure young, financially impoverished children into a black limousine. Authorities have stated off-the-record that several children have been victims of such a ploy. The abducted children were never seen alive again, their small bodies drained of blood and vital organs, then discarded into garbage cans.

Based on the incisions from the recovered bodies, authorities believe the kidnappers have some medical knowledge. It is speculated that they are selling the stolen organs on the Asian black market in order to fill the demand among the wealthy upper class who need organ transplants.

This story is very similar to legends currently circulating in America and Europe.  In some versions of the story, a plea is being put forth to help children in Third World countries who are being kidnapped and slain in order to provide organs for transplants in the wealthier, more developed countries.  These rumors are completely unfounded.

Despite the fact that no organ harvesting gang has ever been found and no physical evidence of their handy-work has ever been uncovered, organ harvesting rumors abounded in September, 1999 after the destruction of homes, families and businesses from the earthquake in Turkey.  Many people claim to have seen the bodies of teenagers and children being removed from the debris whose organs had been removed. (for the full story, click here).  At about the same time, an investigation in Cairo, Egypt was being conducted to verify claims that an orphanage was involved in such organ harvesting practices (for the full story, click here).  All charges were dismissed in this case.  

These stories also remind us of an American organ theft legend that just won't die.   The two most common versions involve 1) an out-of-town businessman who meets a young woman, goes back to her hotel and wakes up the next morning in a bathtub full of ice only to discover that his kidneys have been removed , and 2) a UT college student at a friends party who meets a girl, goes with her to another party, then wakes up in a bathtub full of ice.  For more details on this popular American urban legend, click here.

As with many urban legends, this tale plays upon our fears. Fear of strangers, fear of other's greed, fear associated with being in another city, fear of the unexpected and unexplainable, and most decidely, fear of becoming the victim of random crime. 

-The Folklorist