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Halloween Party Goer Ends Up On Ice

(Kidney Thieves Strike Again)

And you thought that the worst thing that could happen after a night of drunken debauchery was waking up next to some ugly person.  Read the following story and discover the horrifying reality of the morning after.

Around this time last year, a sophomore at the University of Texas left his dorm to attend a Halloween bash. He was having a good time, had a couple of beers and attracted the interest of a young lady. She asked him if he would like to leave and go to another party, he quickly agreed. She took him to a small party in an apartment. They continued to drink, and added narcotics to their already inebriated bodies. The next thing the sophomore remembers is waking up naked in a bathtub filled with ice. Confused and still feeling the effects of the previous night, he looked around only to discover that he was alone.

Next to the tub he spotted a telephone with a post-it note attached which read: "CALL 911 OR YOU WILL DIE." He dialed the EMS operator, told her of the situation and explained that he was really not sure why he was calling. The woman on the phone advised him to look himself over in the mirror. He complied and discovered two 9-inch slits on his lower back. She told him to get back into the tub immediately until a rescue team arrived.

Once at the hospital, it was discovered that his kidneys had been surgically removed from his body the previous night. According to one of the doctors at the hospital, each kidney is worth an estimated $10,000 on the black market.

To this day, the unfortunate sophomore remains in the hospital on life support, awaiting a donor kidney. The University of Texas in conjunction with Baylor University Medical Center is currently conducting tissue research to match the student with a donor.

This story is particularly horrifying for those still in college, because it could happen...who knows what happens after you pass out.  One thing that is certain though, THIS has never happened.

According to Jan Harold Brunvand, author of numerous books on urban legends, this story first came to his attention March 8, 1991.  The story as it was first told was "of a group of young men who went to New York City for a weekend of fun.  One of them was attracted to a woman he met in a bar, and told his buddies he was going to spend the night at her place and would get in touch with them later.  They didn't hear from him until late the next day when he phoned to say 'I think I'm in such-and-such a hotel in room number so-and-so, but something is wrong with me and you'd better come and get me.'   When the friends arrived at the hotel room, they found their friend in bed and the sheets were splattered with blood.  He was very weak. When they tried to help him out of bed, they discovered a fresh surgical closure on his back and still more blood, so they rushed him to a hospital.  There it was discovered that the man had had one of his kidneys removed, and they concluded that he had been drugged so his kidney could be taken for sale on the black market for human organs." (The Baby Train, Brunvand, 1993).

Only a few days after this first version of the story appeared, a second version was now making it's way around.  This version was a tale of four Washington business partners, three women and a man, who traveled to New York City twice a week as part of their business.  One night, the man met an attractive woman at a bar and went back to her place.  The next day, the women received a call from their friend and later found him lying against a building, soaked in sweat, doped up on morphine and sporting 110 stitches across his abdomen.  A doctor later commented that the work had been "done by an expert."

Apparently, this story became so popular and widespread, that in a matter of less than a month it was made into an episode of  Law and Order, broadcast on April 2, 1991.  Sighting of this story following this date have been attributed, at least in part, to the airing of this episode.

Later in the year, this tale, now being called "The Kidney Heist," had made it across the ocean to Europe.  The tale now featured as the main characters, tourists to a foreign country or more horribly, small babies and children who were being kidnapped and murdered for their vital organs. (For samples of these stories, click here and here.)

An interesting twist to this story occurred in May of 1996.  The story reappeared with a college student at the University of Texas-Austin, being the unlikely victim, but that's not the most interesting part.  The story was passed around from friend to friend, then an unfortunate incident occurred.  Unfortunate for the recipient of the email, but not for the "life" of this tale.  You see, Kimm Antell, an administrative assistant at UT Austin, received this story in her mail, then forwarded it to some of her friends...along with her name and title attached at the bottom.

Within a matter of weeks, Kimm's name and title became a permanent part of the legend, but now she was identified as the editor of the campus newspaper, the Daily Texan, and not an administrative assistant in mechanical engineering.  The tale now had credibility.

By January 1997, Kimm had received hundreds of inquiries about this story that she published in the Daily Texan.  Major news shows from here and abroad were calling for an interview.  Kimm's number had to eventually be changed, and to this day, the Daily Texan version of this story continues to circulate.  (To read the response from the Daily Texan, click here.)

There are two lessons to be learned from these tales...

If you receive an email message of questionable validity, better think twice before forwarding to your friends, and...

If you're planning on spending the night with a stranger, better leave your kidneys at home!

-The Folklorist

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http://thefolklorist.com/kidney.htm

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San Fernando Valley Folklore Society (Kidney #1)