Longlegs: Nicolas Cage’s serial killer is more terrifying than you think

❘ Published: 2024-07-10T09:24:18

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We’re yet to even see Longlegs in all his horrifying glory, but this isn’t the only reason Nicolas Cage’s titular serial killer is more terrifying than you think.

Firstly, Longlegs is hard to pin down. FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) finds this out in the anticipated horror movie, as she’s assigned the case after decades of brutal killings.

Then there are his alleged ties to the occult. Is he a lone wolf or are there darker forces at play? And just what the hell do his coded letters mean?

While you’re going to have to wait for Longlegs to drop in the theaters to find out more, let’s dive into the case files of the elusive serial killer – don’t worry, what you’re about to read doesn’t contain spoilers (although some may find the following content very distressing).

The Birthday Murders explained

Longlegs, described as a “Satan-worshiping psycho,” is linked to the deaths of at least 10 families in Oregon, US.

Although the killings appear to be random murder-suicides, there’s one thing connecting them all – eerie coded messages left at the scene of the crimes, all of them signed by Longlegs.

Another of his MOs: he always targeted families with daughters, whose birthdays were on the 14th of the month. With no signs of forced entry or outsider DNA, it’s a mystery that has plagued law enforcement for decades.

As stated by web log thebirthdaymurders.net, his “victims were good people: honest fathers, decent mothers, innocent little children. They were church-going, god-fearing, upstanding members of their community.”

Among his supposed victims are:

The Applewhite Family

Still from Longlegs Birthday Murders case

On July 14, 1966, Harland Applewhite killed his wife Patricia and nine-year-old daughter Theresa with an eight-inch carving knife before shooting himself with the family’s 12-gauge shotgun.

According to the medical examiner, Harland severed Patricia’s jugular and stabbed her 20 times, while the daughter was disembowelled.

Despite family insisting that Harland would never do such a thing and a strange coded letter found on the fridge, law enforcement initially ruled it a murder-suicide. However, when the case was reopened by the FBI, they realized the letter was a significant piece of evidence.

The Clover Family

On June 20, 1968, Marshall Clover killed his wife Caro and their 10-year-old daughter, Miranda, in a similar fashion to the Applewhites.

According to neighbor Merlin Bloch, “The house was so drenched in blood, they had to tear it down.” Alongside a coded letter signed by Longlegs, a pentagram and 666 had been drawn out in blood.

The Pendergast Family

On August 9, 1969, Thomas Pendergast decapitated his wife Loretta and their two daughters, Rhonda, 10, and Louise, nine, with a cleaver, before shooting himself in the head.

Although they were seen to be standup members of their community, his employee, Arlene Stanhouse, said Thomas had been acting strangely in the days leading up to the killings, rambling about his “youngest daughter not really being his daughter.”

Once again, a coded letter signed by Longlegs was left at the scene, with Deschutes County Sheriff Scott Wampler stating, “If we had known about the other letters, maybe we could have put something together. Maybe we could have stopped him.”

The Wormwood Family

On April 18, 1970, Curtis Wormwood murdered his wife Eugenie, and their three daughters, Julia, 14, Patricia, 11, and Cynthia, nine, with a carving knife, before killing himself with a gunshot to the head. Lester, Curtis’ brother who found the bodies, died by suicide six months later.

Satanic imagery was found at the family home once more, including pentagrams painted with blood and the number of the beast drawn on the floor. Longlegs’ textbook coded letter was also attached to the refrigerator door.

Coos County Police Sergeant Garth Franklin said the letter made him think of the Zodiac Killer, but admitted that the nature of the crime “wasn’t like that at all.”

The Hesse Family

On March 12, 1971, police discovered the bodies of the Hesse family. The killings were horrific: Eldritch had beaten his wife Ruberta beyond recognition and removed their nine-year-old daughter Mary Kathleen’s hands and feet, stabbing them both 30 times each with a serrated bread knife.

He also decapitated their pet bird, before killing himself with a single knife wound. Members of the community spotted a man with long hair “loitering in the neighborhood” and there were rumors of a “Satanic cult.” An inverted triangle had been carved into their front door, while 666 was on the back door.

Though it was initially ruled a murder-suicide, the FBI included the Hesse murders in their reopened case after one of Longlegs’ letters was found on the fridge.

The Angstrom Family

On November 17, 1972, police did a welfare check on the Angstrom family residence. There, they found that Warren had killed his wife Vivian with a boning knife before stabbing their nine-year-old daughter Polly 40 times with a 12-inch chef’s knife.

Once she had died, he peeled her face off with a vegetable peeler. Warren then gouged out his own eyes with a screwdriver before killing himself.

The house contained a number of inverted triangles, as well as a copy of the book ‘The Golden Bough, A Study in Magic and Religion’. And, of course, one of Longlegs’ letters.

As stated by the web log, “If this vicious crime was indeed a part of the Longlegs murders, it would have been the sixth set of killings perpetrated by the killer.

“Years later, when the case was reopened, the Federal Bureau of Investigation noted that the crime may have held special significance for the murderer, as ‘six is the number of the devil.’”

The Weir Family

On August 19, 1974, four bodies were found in the Weir family household. In what was initially thought to be a murder-suicide, Jasper Weir tabbed his wife 66 times before turning the knife on his daughters, Veronica, 12, and Rosemary, nine.

He then took his own life. According to the medical examiner, the family were found to have died from blood loss due to multiple knife wounds. As with all the other killings, a coded letter signed by Longlegs was found at the scene of the crime.

Since these murders were all committed in different parts of the state, authorities never connected the dots – until the FBI got involved.

The Bannister Family

On October 17, 1987, after an apparent 10-year break, another homicide-suicide case was discovered by police, this time in the town of Crowley.

Reginald Bannister had seemingly bludgeoned his wife Francis with a ball-peen hammer before using the tool to kill their daughter Veronica. He was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

With the FBI now on the case, their agents discovered a coded letter in a pink envelope signed by Longlegs.

The Gaddis Family

On February 12, 1989, Edgar Gaddis killed his wife Ramona, their daughter Valerie, and then himself with a carving knife.

Reports stated that Ramona was found with a pair of kitchen shears in her stomach, while Valerie had been decapitated. Deputy Rebecca Sayce found Longlegs’ coded letter on the refrigerator, saying, “I knew what it was as soon as I spotted it.”

The Horn Family

On November 14, 1992, police found the bodies of a family of four in what appeared to be another murder-suicide. Curtis Horn decapitated his wife Teresa before drowning their daughters Mary, 12, and Cathleen, nine, in the bathtub.

He arranged their bodies to create a strange formation. Finally, he shot himself in the head with a Smith & Wesson Model 686 revolver. Once again, a pink coded letter was found at the crime scene, signed Longlegs.

Cracking Longlegs’ code

The first step to decoding Longlegs’ letters is understanding the symbols, which we know thanks to Reddit user Jonah Cade, who matched the symbols to the letters of the English alphabet as follows:

• = A
// = B
V = C
⊂ = D
— = E
ᒕ = F
\ = G
Ո = H
：= I
⊓ = J
⅂ = K
Ↄ = L
ꇓ = M
⊥ = N
L = O
⨪ = P
/// = Q
Ω = R
ᘰ = S
⨀ = T
⏁ = U
⊘ = V
⊔ = W
⨲ = X
∴ = Y
＋ = Z

Now, here’s where things take an interesting turn. When you begin to translate his letters using this key, initially it seems like a jumble of random letters. But it appears Cage’s killer didn’t want to make things easy for law enforcement.

As such, he’s used the Vigenère Cipher, a method of encrypting alphabetic text by using a keyword to shift each letter of the plaintext by a corresponding number of positions in the alphabet, based on the letters of the keyword.

In this case, the keyword is ‘Longlegs’. So, if we take the letter left at the scene of the crime of the Bannister family murders, it translates to: “Woe to the earth and the sea, the devil has gone down to you.”

This initial half of the letter is a quote from the Bible, Revelation 12:12. However, the note goes on, “Laughing like the man downstairs,” which could either mean Longlegs himself or Satan.

As for the rest of the letter? All that comes up when put through the decoder is “wrigglislbmsjhkfe yirbnklfgui.” Although we’ve tried running them through various other ciphers and using other keywords, we’re yet to land on a response that makes sense.

We may be missing something or this could be one of Longlegs’ tricks to throw the authorities off – or there could be a deeper meaning still. Either way, no doubt it’s a point of frustration for the feds.

Longlegs profile – quick facts

What else do we know about Cage’s killer? Well, there’s little to go by. But what has been revealed is that he’s a dollmaker by trade and has an affinity for glam rock. Notably, he has images of T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan and Lou Reed attached to the walls in his workshop.

Although it’s not been confirmed, a number of witnesses have seen a white and brown station wagon, potentially a Chevy Caprice, parked across the street of the victims’ homes. According to thebirthdaymurders.net, the FBI haven’t yet commented on the vehicle.

Finally, the description of his appearance – he’s got long white, messy hair, prosthetics on his face, and wears white powder and red lipstick. In the Hesse murders, there were reports “of a tall man with long hair loitering in the neighborhood,” although this wasn’t confirmed.

With Special Agent William J. Carter (Blair Underwood) now on the case, we’ll no doubt find out more when Longlegs drops in cinemas on Friday, July 12.

While you wait, why not also take a look at the other new movies coming out this month, as well as the films arriving on streaming? And if it’s horror you’re interested in, here’s everything you need to know about Terrifier 3, Smile 2, and 28 Years Later.