Story: A good samaritan warns an unsuspecting, female driver that there is an armed and dangerous person waiting in the backseat of her car.
Beginning in 1967, the killer in the backseat urban legend quickly caught on and became one of the scariest and favorable stories to tell. Aside from just being an oral tradition, the legend appeared in Ann Landers' column (Ask Ann Landers) in 1982 in the form of a reader's letter about a friend.
Even with such a long history and range of tellings, the legend itself has not be proven to be much more than a cautionary tale for female drivers to be aware of their surroundings and people lurking around. That being said, there are plenty of real stories of rapes and carjackings that have happened to unsuspecting drivers however, many of these involve the perpetrator entering the front seat where the driver is. Very little involve an assailant hiding in the backseat waiting for their moment to strike.
While there is no concrete story the legend was taken from, it is thought to have been inspired by this true news story;
Even with such a long history and range of tellings, the legend itself has not be proven to be much more than a cautionary tale for female drivers to be aware of their surroundings and people lurking around. That being said, there are plenty of real stories of rapes and carjackings that have happened to unsuspecting drivers however, many of these involve the perpetrator entering the front seat where the driver is. Very little involve an assailant hiding in the backseat waiting for their moment to strike.
While there is no concrete story the legend was taken from, it is thought to have been inspired by this true news story;
"Research shows that one true case of "The Killer in the Backseat" did occur in 1964 in New York City, when an escaped murderer hid in the backseat of a car. The car, ironically, belonged to a police detective who shot the man. Though the differences between the legend and the true occurrence are vast (the real occurrence did not feature a lone female; it didn't necessarily happen at night; and no third person was involved), the legend may have sprung out of this real incident"
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/backseat.asp#SdtfTSWsRZCQyYr7.99
The legend has been criticized for being both racist and sexist. In many of the tellings either the killer in the back seat or the savior is African-American. Both are racially tense either having the woman not believing the savior because of his race or having the killer be of a difference race. In both instances the different races are pitted against each other and help increase the fear. The woman in every telling of the legend is weak, absent minded, and can be viewed as being just plain dumb. She never notices that there is someone in her backseat until the strong, sturdy man sweeps in to protect her. The tellings of the legend often lead to anger for every single person being portrayed in a bad light in some way or another.
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/backseat.asp
This legend often is most prominent around Halloween when people believe that as part of gang initiations, there will be a killer hiding in the backseat.
The story has created such a subconscious fear that people often check their backseats before getting into their cars without even realizing it. The legend continues to gain popularity due to people continuing to drive and it constantly being told.
http://canofmystery.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-killer-in-backseat.html