Is Candyman Real or an Urban Myth?
- Mar 1, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 4, 2022
What is the difference between fact or fiction; one is real, one is made up. Many horror films tend to release fears we the audience don’t necessarily knew existed. Other horrors are based on true stories – notably “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” being created on the foundation of Ed Gein’s violent frenzy.
What if a story was created and inadvertently referenced a real life killing?
Clive Barker, creator of the “Hellraiser” franchise brought us the story “The Forbidden” in 1985, which introduced us to the iconic killer Candyman. By 1992, director Bernard Rose adapted the story, simply naming it “Candyman". The story is about graduate Helen Lyle (played by Virginia Madsen) who is sceptical of the story of Candyman; Daniel Robitaille, an African American painter who was killed hundreds of years ago because of an inter-racial affair. His hand was cut off and a hook put in its place, boiling honey poured over him for bees to sting him and then set on fire. The legend of Candyman became an urban legend until a spate of murders framing Helen made her realise, she shouldn’t have said his name five times in front of the mirror…
More recently, “Candyman” returned to the cinema from Oscar winning producer, Jordan Peele, and director Nia DaCosta only this time Yahya Abdul-Mateen II takes over as the titular antihero as the adult version of baby Anthony from the first film. Of course, we must mention that Tony Todd returns briefly at the end.
In the new version, “Candyman” ramps up the rooted myth of the killer through the ‘Bloody Mary’ modernisation that he kills anyone who says his name five times, rather than a love story reminding viewers of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
From the story hitting shelves in 1985, there was a murder in 1987 that showed likeness to the hook wielding killer.
According to the-line-up.com, it discusses a viral TikTok video that circulated during the lockdown of 2020, which shed light of the killing of Ruthie Mae McCoy. The video was uploaded by Samantha Hartsoe, who discovered a large hole behind her bathroom mirror, which led to an abandoned flat behind it.
This led to people discussing the killing of Ruthie Mae McCoy. She was an African American living in a block of flats in Chicago, who suffered from mental health issues since she was in her twenties and was in and out of mental health hospitals over the years.
In 1983, she was moved to ABLA public housing, which was a fifteen-minute drive to Cabrini-Green; the setting for the “Candyman” films.
Despite her health issues, McCoy led a normal life, however, on the night of April 22nd, 1987, that would all change.
That evening, the Chicago PD received a call from McCoy – stating that someone had threw a cabinet down and were coming through the bathroom. Confused at the call, the PD sent a police car to the home where things started to unravel.
The PD dispatcher didn’t note down that it was a break-in, only as a ‘disturbance’, to which the police car didn’t respond immediately to. In fact, more calls were made to the PD by McCoy’s neighbours stating that they heard shouting and gunshots. Once the police eventually arrived, they knocked the door to no avail. The officers then went to the management office and couldn’t find a spare key to her flat, so rather than breaking down the door, the police left.
The next night, the PD received another phone call from McCoy’s neighbours saying they hadn’t seen her. The police returned to the flat, knocked her door then left after receiving no answer.
Her neighbours, especially Debra Lasley became extremely concerned about Ruthie. So, she took matters into her own hands and along with fellow neighbours, they managed to get the door open to find Ruthie lying in a pool of blood in her bedroom after being shot multiple times.
Years later, it was found that negligence did happen on Ruthie’ plea for help because she was a black mentally ill woman, something to which still happens to this day.
It was also found that the killers had broken through her medicine cabinet in the bathroom and were found not guilty in court.
Apart from the striking similarities in the way of entry and treatment of Ruthie Mae, “Candyman” also used her name in sperate instances in the film; Anne Marie McCoy (baby Anthony’s mother in the film took the second name McCoy and the name Ruthie was also used as the first victim in the film of the killer Candyman.
Coincidence? It is a possibility yes, however there is still more to come.
Although, not in resemblance in method, back in 2020 a death caused shockwaves around the world. George Floyd was killed by police offer Derek Chauvin. Floyd was an African American who was killed by the police – something that occurs too much.
In 2021s “Candyman”, the main star, Anthony McCoy (played by Yahya Abdul- Mateen II) has in effect become the new Candyman and is struggling to stay alive. The police barge in on him and his girlfriend Brianna (played by Teyonah Parris), who is trying to help him. The police brutally guns down Anthony – their reason – he had a hook for his hand. Then they had the audacity to try and get Brianna to change the truth to the events all because of the colour of their skin so the police wouldn’t get into trouble.
This resonates so much with the case of George Floyd on so many levels, which tells you a lot about society; we still live in a world where they are still Daniel Robitaille’s being killed for no reason; whether it is for love, standing up for themselves, mental health - all because of the colour of their skin.
Ruthie Mae McCoy died almost 35 years ago out of pure negligence in a similar situation of the way Candyman carried out his killings. George Floyd died for being black and unarmed. What the films of “Candyman” show us is this; nothing will change our society. We look to films as an escape from the real world, but film now mimics real life and that is the true horror of the legacy of “Candyman”.
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