The kidney thieves urban legend: Supernatural’s inspiration
The first season of Supernatural focused on a lot of urban legends. There was one used as inspiration for a storyline in Season 3, Episode 15: The kidney thieves.
In Supernatural Season 3, Episode 15, the idea of someone stealing organs may have felt familiar. It had been a while since an urban legend was used in the series, but that’s exactly where the organ theft idea came from. You may have heard of the story of a woman (or sometimes a man) waking up in a bathtub of ice missing a kidney.
Yes, it’s all about the kidney thieves urban legend. This legend started around 1991 according to Snopes and it has been used in various movies, stories, and TV shows. Urban Legend featured is, for instance.
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There are various versions of the tale, with one of the most popular set in Las Vegas. a stripper lures a businessman back to her apartment and then drugs him and steals his kidney. He wakes in a bathtub of ice with the message “if you want to live, call 911,” making it clear that he’s all alone.
In Supernatural, a slightly different version of the tale showed up. While there was a person who’d woken up in a bathtub with a kidney removed, the focus initially was on the guy who’d lost his liver to some 19th-century surgeon.
It was a good way to throw in an urban legend into the series. Unlike other urban legends, like the Hook Man or Bloody Mary, it wasn’t the legend that was the main focus. Well, not this one anyway. It was the Doc Benton legend that took over, using inspiration from the kidney thieves urban legend.
Next. Doc Benton legend: The search for the Elixir of Life. dark
Did you make the kidney thieves urban legend connection in the Supernatural episode? Do you love the various inspiration or Supernatural stories? Share in the comments below.
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