In networks they compare Ethan Hawke with Kenneth Parnell, a real-life criminal
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The Black Phone it’s a horror movie which is currently in theaters and stars Ethan Hawke. The film drew attention for its good reception on Rotten Tomatoes: 83% by critics; and 89% by the public, but more recently it has emerged that it is inspired by a true story.
the black phoneas the film is called in our country, tells the story of Finney Shaw, a teenager who is kidnapped serial killer The Grabber (Hawke). When he is locked in a soundproof basement, the boy answers a disconnected phone called by the criminal’s previous victims – who are dead – and gives him clues to escape.
what is it based on the black phone?
It is based on a story by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. It is part of the story collection 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and the premise of the film is practically the same, with the difference that the kidnapper in the book is called Johnny Sins.
Obviously the story of Joe Hill is fiction, but the internet has found similarities between the criminal and Kenneth Parnell, a terrifying real-life character.
Kenneth Parnell and his relationship with The Grabber
Kenneth Parnell was a man that in the 1950s he was sentenced to four years in prison for crimes against a minor; more than 10 years later he was convicted of armed robbery. In 1972, he kidnapped 7-year-old Steven Stayner.
Parnell told the boy that his parents could no longer support him, that he would be named Dennis, and that he now had custody of him. Years passed and Kenneth lost interest in the boy, whom he tried to use to help him kidnap younger children, but he always sabotaged his crimes.
In 1980, Kenneth Parnell kidnapped five-year-old Timothy White. As Steven Stayner did not want him to suffer the same as him, they escaped when the criminal left to work his night shift.
Stayner went to the police in Ukiah, where White was from, and Parnell was arrested the next day. He was only sentenced to 7 years in prison for the kidnappings, of which he served 5 and was released on parole.
Kenneth Parnell was arrested again in 2003, when he tried to coerce his sister’s caregiver into buying him a 4-year-old boy for $500. Since he knew his background, he collaborated in a police operation to find out. He was in jail until his death in 2008.
The story of Stayner, who sadly died in 1989 in a motorcycle accident, inspired the book I Know My First Name Is Stevenby Mike Echols, and a miniseries of the same name, also known as The Missing Years.
Until now neither Joe Hill nor Scott Derrickson, director and screenwriter of The BlackPhone, have confirmed that the character of Ethan Hawke is inspired by Kenneth Parnell. However, there are those who interpret Steven Stayner as the equivalent of the voice of the black telephone that would save Timothy White.
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The Black Phone: The dark real case that inspired the film