The Licked Hand
Encyclopedia
The Licked Hand, known sometimes as The Doggy Lick, is an urban legend
popular among teenagers. Like all urban legends, The Licked Hand has several versions including a story told in Indiana
.
She wakes in the night and can hear a dripping sound in her room, the bedside lamp won't work and she is too scared to get out of bed to turn on the main light. She hides under the covers but to reassure herself that the dog is still under the bed she puts her hand down and feels the dog lick her. She lays awake for some time listening to the dripping sound and periodically puts her hand down to where she can hear the dog breathing and each time it gently licks her fingers. Eventually she falls back asleep.
She wakes in the morning, lifts the covers and to her horror she sees her dog hanging by its collar from the ceiling light, its stomach slit open and its intestines hanging down still dripping blood onto the floor, on the wall smeared in the dog's blood is the phrase, "HUMANS CAN LICK TOO"
In another version of the story, there is a man and his dog who go hiking. Soon it is nighttime and the man goes to sleep. He wakes up and the dog is agitated. The dog licks his hand. Then the man falls asleep. The dog licks his hand again, but the man's eyes are closed. He feels something warm next to him and thinks it is the body warmers, then he falls asleep. The dog keeps licking the man's hand. When the man wakes up his dog is gone and in the snow, it says: Humans can lick hands too.
Another version features a house full of young girls who are having a sleepover without parental supervision. The parents of the girl hosting the party have relied on their large dog to act as protector against any possible danger. Instead of being woken up by dripping, the young girl is awakened by many odd noises throughout the night, only to fall asleep again after being comforted by the dog licking her hand. In the morning, she wakes to see all of her friends murdered around her and the dog hanging in another part of the house with, "People can lick too" written on the wall in blood.
Another version has the main character an older, blind woman. On the radio she hears that an escaped creature is on the loose. As before she goes into the house and locks all the doors. When the tap is dripping, she goes around the house, checking all the taps. As she tries each tap to find them not the source of the dripping sound, the dog licks her hand to tell her everything is all right. Eventually she goes into the living room to find her dog nailed to the ceiling and blood dripping onto the floor. The ending line is "so what was licking her hand?"
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
popular among teenagers. Like all urban legends, The Licked Hand has several versions including a story told in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
Plot
A girl is home alone with only her dog for company. Listening to the radio she hears of a serial killer on the loose, so she locks all the doors and windows and goes to bed, taking her dog to her room with her and letting it sleep under her bed.She wakes in the night and can hear a dripping sound in her room, the bedside lamp won't work and she is too scared to get out of bed to turn on the main light. She hides under the covers but to reassure herself that the dog is still under the bed she puts her hand down and feels the dog lick her. She lays awake for some time listening to the dripping sound and periodically puts her hand down to where she can hear the dog breathing and each time it gently licks her fingers. Eventually she falls back asleep.
She wakes in the morning, lifts the covers and to her horror she sees her dog hanging by its collar from the ceiling light, its stomach slit open and its intestines hanging down still dripping blood onto the floor, on the wall smeared in the dog's blood is the phrase, "HUMANS CAN LICK TOO"
Variations
A version with an extra ending also has her parents dead in her closet. She then attempts to call the police but is unable to (sometimes because of the phone line being dead). She then looks downstairs and sees the killer. This leads to a chase around the house while the killer attempts to kill her. The police later come and find her dead and her body mangled.In another version of the story, there is a man and his dog who go hiking. Soon it is nighttime and the man goes to sleep. He wakes up and the dog is agitated. The dog licks his hand. Then the man falls asleep. The dog licks his hand again, but the man's eyes are closed. He feels something warm next to him and thinks it is the body warmers, then he falls asleep. The dog keeps licking the man's hand. When the man wakes up his dog is gone and in the snow, it says: Humans can lick hands too.
Another version features a house full of young girls who are having a sleepover without parental supervision. The parents of the girl hosting the party have relied on their large dog to act as protector against any possible danger. Instead of being woken up by dripping, the young girl is awakened by many odd noises throughout the night, only to fall asleep again after being comforted by the dog licking her hand. In the morning, she wakes to see all of her friends murdered around her and the dog hanging in another part of the house with, "People can lick too" written on the wall in blood.
Another version has the main character an older, blind woman. On the radio she hears that an escaped creature is on the loose. As before she goes into the house and locks all the doors. When the tap is dripping, she goes around the house, checking all the taps. As she tries each tap to find them not the source of the dripping sound, the dog licks her hand to tell her everything is all right. Eventually she goes into the living room to find her dog nailed to the ceiling and blood dripping onto the floor. The ending line is "so what was licking her hand?"
Popular culture
- This legend was featured in the film Campfire TalesCampfire TalesCampfire Tales is a horror film written and directed by William Cooke and Paul Talbot. The film is an anthology about a group of teenagers telling ghost stories around a campfire. One of the storytellers is horror legend Gunnar Hansen...
. - In an episode of Showtime's series The L WordThe L WordThe L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
, Alice tells a version of the story with her friends as they sit around a campfire. - The episode "Bedsit" from A Scare at BedtimeA Scare at BedtimeA Scare at Bedtime was an Irish television show, produced by Double Z Enterprises and broadcast by RTÉ, featuring the two puppets Podge and Rodge as the hosts of a spooky tales and urban myths comedy show...
. - A variation of the story is featured in the film Urban Legends: Final CutUrban Legends: Final CutUrban Legends: Final Cut is a 2000 slasher film and sequel to the 1998 film Urban Legend. It stars Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, Loretta Devine, Anthony Anderson, Hart Bochner, Rebecca Gayheart, Regina Hall, Yani Gellman, and Eva Mendes...
. - A version of the story is featured in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
- The episode "Family Remains" of SupernaturalSupernatural (TV series)Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
features an alteration on this story in which a feral child licks the hand of a teenage girl who panics when she realizes that her dog is in the hallway. In this version she sees the dog alive and realizes it's not the pet licking her, although the dog is mutilated when the show's heroes attempt to help the family escape. - The legend is also used by Bloody Mary in the follow-up to Urban Legends Final Cut, entitled Urban Legends: Bloody MaryUrban Legends: Bloody MaryUrban Legends: Bloody Mary is a 2005 horror film starring Kate Mara, Robert Vito, Tina Lifford, Jeff Olson, Tamala Jones, Michael Gregory Coe, and Ed Marinaro....
, as a way to murder one of the high school boys that she sees as guilty for her death. - The legend is referenced in John Dies at the EndJohn Dies at the EndJohn Dies at the End is a comedic horror novel written by Jason Pargin that was first published online as a webserial beginning in 2001, then as an edited manuscript in 2004 and printed paperback in 2007 via Permuted Press. An estimated 70,000 people read the free online versions before they were...
, where the main character goes to bed (intending to lure out a ghost) and wakes up to find his dog still licking his hand, until he realises he can hear his dog lapping water from the toilet next door.
Sources
- Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Choking Doberman. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1984.