A lovers' lane is a secluded area where people
kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
make out
Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or heavy kissing of the neck (called ''necking''), or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy pett ...
, or engage in
sexual activity
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
. These areas range from
parking lot
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
s in secluded
rural area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
s to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other features.
"Lovers' lanes" are typically found in
cultures built around the automobile—lovers often make out in a car or
van for privacy. The
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
records use of the phrase "lovers' lane" from 1853.
Crime
Due to the typically isolated location of most lovers' lanes, they have occasionally been the setting for violent crime.
For example:
*A series of unsolved murders and violent crimes in 1946, dubbed the
Texarkana Moonlight Murders
The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a term coined by the contemporary press, was a series of four unsolved serial murders and related violent crimes committed in and around the Texarkana region of Arkansas and Texas in the late winter and sprin ...
, began with two attacks which targeted couples at lovers' lanes in the
Texarkana area.
*In Palos Verdes, California, a gang of teens robbed multiple cars on a lovers' lane in October 1955, and were caught raping a thirteen-year-old girl.
*In 1963, a lovers' lane site at
Fuller's Bridge,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
became notorious as the location of the bodies of
CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...
scientist Dr. Gilbert Stanley Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Olive Chandler, the wife of one of his colleagues. The cause of death, while
indicative of poisoning, could not be definitively determined, and apart from Mrs. Chandler's husband, Geoffrey, who was considered the prime suspect by the
New South Wales Police
The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
, no one to-date has been charged. The
Bogle-Chandler case has baffled law enforcement and forensic experts up to present day.
*Several of the
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The case has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in American history. It became a fixture of popular c ...
's victims were murdered in lovers' lanes in
northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
.
* Victims of the
Monster of Florence
The Monster of Florence ( it, Il Mostro di Firenze) is the name commonly used by the Italian media for an unidentified serial killer active within the Province of Florence between 1968 and 1985. The Monster murdered fourteen victims, usually you ...
were couples murdered in lovers' lanes near
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Italy.
*Several attacks perpetrated by the
Son of Sam
David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco, June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who pleaded guilty to eight shootings that began in New York City on July 29, 1976.
Berkowitz ...
serial killer also took place in such settings.
*Two
Mercer University
Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...
students were killed by Andy Cook at a lovers' lane location in Georgia on January 2, 1995.
In popular culture
* A lovers' lane is typically the setting of the
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
"
The Hook
The Hook, or The Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car.
In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a rai ...
," about a young couple menaced by a
hook-handed killer.
*Lovers' lanes have featured in numerous
popular songs
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
; tracks with that title have been released by
Georgio (1987),
FireHouse
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...
(
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
),
The Other
In phenomenology, the terms the Other and the Constitutive Other identify the other human being, in their differences from the Self, as being a cumulative, constituting factor in the self-image of a person; as acknowledgement of being real; h ...
(
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
) and
Hunx and His Punx
Hunx and His Punx is an American punk band from San Francisco, California.
History Origins
Hunx, real name Seth Bogart, started the band in 2008 after years of performing in a pop group called Gravy Train!!!! The group's sound has been com ...
(
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
).
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout ...
' 1988 sixth album was titled ''
16 Lovers Lane'', and the 1992
debut album by
M.C. Brains was similarly titled.
*Films titled ''Lovers' Lane'' have been released in
1924,
1999, and
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
. Episodes of the
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
77 Sunset Strip
''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...
'' (in 1964), ''
Roseanne'' (in 1988) and ''
Cold Case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...
'' (in 2004) also had this title.
See also
*
Gropecunt Lane
Gropecunt Lane () was a street name found in English towns and cities during the Middle Ages, believed to be a reference to the prostitution centred on those areas; it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street's fun ...
*
Lover's Leap
Lover's Leap, or (in plural) Lovers' Leap, is a toponym given to a number of locations of varying height, usually isolated, with the risk of a fatal fall and the possibility of a deliberate jump. Legends of romantic tragedy are often associated w ...
*
Cruising for sex
Cruising for sex, or cruising, is walking or driving about a locality, called a cruising ground, in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety. Published: 11-14-2007 Published: 9-21-2005 Article from NYT about ...
References
{{Reflist
Romance
Crime
Types of streets
Streets by type