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A lovers' lane is a secluded area where people kiss, make out or engage in sexual activity.^[1] These areas range from parking lots in secluded rural areas to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other features. The Oxford English Dictionary records use of the phrase "lovers' lane" from 1853.^[2]

While some traditional paths still maintain the name, in more recent generations "lovers' lanes" are often found in cultures built around the automobile—lovers often make out in a car or van for privacy.

Crime

Due to the typically isolated location of most lovers' lanes, they have occasionally been the setting for violent crime.^[3] For example:

Serial killer Charles Barr targeted couples at lovers' lanes in Memphis, Tennessee in 1923. He was executed for the crimes in 1926.^[4]^[5]
Three couples were attacked at a remote lovers' lane in Duck Island, New Jersey between 1938 and 1942. Clarence Hill confessed and was convicted of the murders two years later.^[6]
A series of unsolved murders and violent crimes in 1946, dubbed the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, began with two attacks which targeted couples at lovers' lanes in the Texarkana area.^[7]
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.^[8]
In 1963, a lovers' lane site at Fuller's Bridge, Sydney became notorious as the location of the bodies of CSIRO scientist Dr. Gilbert Stanley Bogle and 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, no one to-date has been charged. The Bogle-Chandler case has baffled law enforcement and forensic experts up to present day.^[9]^[10]
Several of the Zodiac Killer's victims were murdered in lovers' lanes in northern California.^[11]
Victims of the Monster of Florence were couples murdered in lovers' lanes near Florence, Italy.^[12]
In 1971, Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane were kidnapped from one lover's lane and murdered at another. The next year, another couple narrowly escaped a similar kidnapping from a lover's lane.^[13]^[14]
Several attacks perpetrated by the Son of Sam serial killer also took place in such settings.^[15]
Three couples were shot with a .38 caliber pistol by an unidentified perpetrator in the Atlanta Lover's Lane Murders of 1977, resulting in three deaths.^[16]
Two Mercer University students were killed by Andy Cook at a lovers' lane location in Georgia on January 2, 1995.^[17]

In popular culture

A lovers' lane is typically the setting of the urban legend "The Hook," about a young couple menaced by a hook-handed killer.^[3]
Lovers' lanes have featured in numerous popular songs; tracks with that title have been released by Georgio (1987), FireHouse (1990), The Other (2006) and Hunx and His Punx (2011). The Go-Betweens' 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. Episodes of the television series 77 Sunset Strip (in 1964), Roseanne (in 1988) and Cold Case (in 2004) also had this title.

References

^ "lovers' lane". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
^ "lover". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ ^a ^b Mikkelson, David (2 December 1998). "The Hook: An escaped killer interrupts a young couple's make-out session". snopes.com. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
^ "Trial Last Chapter in Memphis Murders". New York Daily News. October 12, 1924.
^ "Charles Barr 24th Victim State Chair". Kingsport Times-News. August 22, 1926.
^ "Justice Story: Cheaters slain on lovers lane on Duck Island near Trenton, N.J." New York Daily News. 11 December 2011. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
^ Newton, Michael (2013). The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-476-60578-4.
^ Cross, Gary S. (2018). Machines of youth : America's car obsession. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780226341644. OCLC 1004264026.
^ "Media Release: Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?" (DOC). Film Australia. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
^ "Logie Awards". Australian Television Information Archive. 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
^ "'Zodiac Killer' Breaks Long Silence". The Lexington Herald (Kentucky). April 26, 1978. p. 6.
^ Preston, Douglas (July 1, 2006). "The Monster of Florence". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
^ "Couple's abduction, torture, murder remains a Valentine's Day mystery in Durham almost 4 decades later". 15 February 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/article215439690.html. Retrieved 30 August 2024. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Son of Sam shoots couple at a Brooklyn lover's lane". nydailynews.com. 2017-07-28 [July 31, 1977].
^ "CSI Atlanta exclusive: Lovers' Lane serial killer remains elusive". www.cbs46.com. October 17, 2019. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
^ "Man convicted of killing Spencer valedictorian executed Thursday night". ledger-enquirer.com. February 21, 2013.

[1] "lovers' lane". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.

[2] "lover". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[snopes-3] Mikkelson, David (2 December 1998). "The Hook: An escaped killer interrupts a young couple's make-out session". snopes.com. Retrieved 11 July 2019.

[4] "Trial Last Chapter in Memphis Murders". New York Daily News. October 12, 1924.

[5] "Charles Barr 24th Victim State Chair". Kingsport Times-News. August 22, 1926.

[6] "Justice Story: Cheaters slain on lovers lane on Duck Island near Trenton, N.J." New York Daily News. 11 December 2011. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2023.

[7] Newton, Michael (2013). The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-476-60578-4.

[8] Cross, Gary S. (2018). Machines of youth : America's car obsession. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780226341644. OCLC 1004264026.

[9] "Media Release: Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?" (DOC). Film Australia. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010.

[10] "Logie Awards". Australian Television Information Archive. 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010.

[11] "'Zodiac Killer' Breaks Long Silence". The Lexington Herald (Kentucky). April 26, 1978. p. 6.

[12] Preston, Douglas (July 1, 2006). "The Monster of Florence". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 13, 2022.

[13] "Couple's abduction, torture, murder remains a Valentine's Day mystery in Durham almost 4 decades later". 15 February 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2024.

[14] ttps://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/article215439690.html. Retrieved 30 August 2024. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[15] "Son of Sam shoots couple at a Brooklyn lover's lane". nydailynews.com. 2017-07-28 [July 31, 1977].

[16] "CSI Atlanta exclusive: Lovers' Lane serial killer remains elusive". www.cbs46.com. October 17, 2019. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2023.

[17] "Man convicted of killing Spencer valedictorian executed Thursday night". ledger-enquirer.com. February 21, 2013.

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+{{Short description|Secluded area where people kiss, make out, or engage in sexual activity}}
 {{Other uses|Lovers Lane (disambiguation){{!}}Lovers Lane}}
+[[File:Lovers Lane Sign - geograph.org.uk - 2915011.jpg|thumb|Sign for a Lovers Lane in Maybole, Scotland]]
-A '''lovers' lane''' is a secluded area where people [[kiss]], [[Making out|make out]], or engage in [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]].<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lovers'%20lane</ref> These areas range from [[parking lot]]s in secluded [[rural area]]s to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other feature.
+A '''lovers' lane''' is a secluded area where people [[kiss]], [[Making out|make out]] or engage in [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]].<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|lovers' lane}}</ref> These areas range from [[parking lot]]s in secluded [[rural area]]s to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other features.  The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] records use of the phrase "lovers' lane" from 1853.<ref>{{OED | lover}}</ref>
-"Lovers' lanes" are typically found in [[car culture|cultures built around the automobile]]&mdash;lovers often make out in a car or [[van (vehicle)|van]] for privacy.
+While some traditional paths still maintain the name, in more recent generations "lovers' lanes" are often found in [[car culture|cultures built around the automobile]]&mdash;lovers often make out in a car or [[van (vehicle)|van]] for privacy.
-Lovers' lanes have existed for centuries, sometimes as places for secret meetings with a forbidden lover or as a [[euphemism]] for [[red-light district]]s and other areas of [[prostitution]].{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
-The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] records use of the phrase "lovers' lane" from 1853.<ref>{{OED | lover}}</ref>
-== Examples ==
-[[Image:Love Lane.jpg|thumb|[[Road sign]] for Love Lane in [[Marldon]], [[Devon]], [[United Kingdom]].]]
-There are several streets called ''Lovers Lane'', including those at [[Oriskany, New York]]; [[Whitmire, South Carolina]]; [[Manitou Springs, Colorado]]; [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]; [[Kersey, Pennsylvania]]; [[Boonville, New York]]; [[Greenfield, Massachusetts]]; [[Southborough, Massachusetts]]; [[Northfield, Vermont]]; [[Riverton, Utah]]; [[Steubenville, Ohio]]; [[Bowling Green, Kentucky]]; [[Portage, Michigan]]; [[Excelsior Springs, Missouri]]; [[Springfield, Missouri]]; [[Charlestown, New Hampshire]]; [[Sugar Hill, New Hampshire]]; [[Princeton, New Jersey]]; [[Slatington, Pennsylvania]]; [[Adliya]], [[Bahrain]]; [[Dallas, Texas]]; [[Texarkana, Texas]]; [[Ravenna Township, Portage County, Ohio]]; [[Visalia, California]]; [[El Segundo, California]], [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]; [[Ancaster, Ontario]]; [[Newark-on-Trent]]; [[Ludham]] (both in [[England]]) and [[Thurso, Scotland]].
-*[[Lovers Lane station]] is a [[DART Light Rail]] station in [[Dallas, Texas]].
-*[[Lover's Lane Bridge]] is a historic bridge spanning the Dog River in [[Berlin, Vermont]].
-*Lovers Lane is a famous road in [[St. Joseph, Missouri]] of which a popular poem by [[Eugene Field]] was written.
-*The area on the south-east side of [[Fullers Bridge]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.792692,151.157048&spn=0.01,0.01&t=k&q=-33.792692,151.157048 |title=Google Maps|website=Maps.google.com |date= |accessdate=2017-07-07}}</ref> which crosses the [[Lane Cove River]], and is located near [[Chatswood, New South Wales]], [[Australia]], is a well-known Lovers' Lane.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}
-The [[Thomas Bowdler|bowdlerised]] version ''Love Lane'' is sometimes seen. [[Jowett Walk]], [[Oxford]], once had this name.
 ==Crime==
-Due to the typically isolated location of most lovers' lanes, they have occasionally been the setting for violent crime.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-hook/ | title = The Hook:An escaped killer interrupts a young couple's make-out session. | last = Mikkelson | first = David | date = 2 December 1998 | website = snopes.com | access-date = 11 July 2019}}</ref> For example:
+Due to the typically isolated location of most lovers' lanes, they have occasionally been the setting for violent crime.<ref name=snopes>{{cite web | url = https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-hook/ | title = The Hook: An escaped killer interrupts a young couple's make-out session. | last = Mikkelson | first = David | date = 2 December 1998 | website = snopes.com | access-date = 11 July 2019}}</ref> For example:
+*Serial killer [[Charles Barr]] targeted couples at lovers' lanes in [[Memphis, Tennessee]] in 1923. He was executed for the crimes in 1926.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79916680/charles-barr-with-photos/|title=Trial Last Chapter in Memphis Murders|work=[[New York Daily News]]|date=October 12, 1924}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79915405/charles-barr/|title=Charles Barr 24th Victim State Chair|publisher=[[Kingsport Times-News]]|date=August 22, 1926}}</ref>
-*A series of unsolved murders and violent crimes in 1946, dubbed the [[Texarkana Moonlight Murders]], began with two attacks which targeted couples at lovers' lanes in the [[Texarkana metropolitan area|Texarkana area]].<ref>Newton, Michael (2013). The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer. McFarland. {{ISBN|978-1-476-60578-4}}.</ref>
+*Three couples were attacked at a remote lovers' lane in [[Duck Island, New Jersey]] between 1938 and 1942. Clarence Hill confessed and was convicted of the murders two years later.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Justice Story: Cheaters slain on lovers lane on Duck Island near Trenton, N.J. |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=11 December 2011 |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/justice-story-cheaters-slain-lovers-lane-duck-island-trenton-n-article-1.989759 |access-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-date=December 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207031536/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/justice-story-cheaters-slain-lovers-lane-duck-island-trenton-n-article-1.989759 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+*A series of unsolved murders and violent crimes in 1946, dubbed the [[Texarkana Moonlight Murders]], began with two attacks which targeted couples at lovers' lanes in the [[Texarkana metropolitan area|Texarkana area]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Newton |first=Michael |year=2013 |title=The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-476-60578-4}}</ref>
-*In Palos Verdes, California, a gang of teens robbed multiple cars on a lover's lane in October 1955, and were caught raping a thirteen-year-old girl.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Machines of youth : America's car obsession|last=Cross|first=Gary S.|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2018|isbn=9780226341644|location=Chicago, IL|pages=87|oclc=1004264026}}</ref>
+*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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Machines of youth : America's car obsession|last=Cross|first=Gary S.|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2018|isbn=9780226341644|location=Chicago, IL|pages=87|oclc=1004264026}}</ref>
-*In 1963, a lovers' lane site at [[Fullers Bridge|Fuller's Bridge]], [[Sydney]] became notorious as the location of the bodies of [[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation|CSIRO]] scientist Dr. Gilbert Stanley Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Olive Chandler, the wife of one of his colleagues. The cause of death, while [[Bogle-Chandler case|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 Force|New South Wales Police]], no one to-date has been charged. The [[Bogle-Chandler case]] has baffled law enforcement and forensic experts up to present day..<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.filmaust.com.au/news/media_releases/070507_BC2007logie.doc | publisher=Film Australia | title=Media Release: Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? | date=7 May 2007 | format=MS Word .doc | accessdate=24 May 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/awards/logie2007.html | title=Logie Awards | year=2007 | publisher=Australian Television Information Archive | accessdate=24 May 2010 }}</ref>
+*In 1963, a lovers' lane site at [[Fullers Bridge|Fuller's Bridge]], [[Sydney]] became notorious as the location of the bodies of [[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation|CSIRO]] scientist Dr. Gilbert Stanley Bogle and Margaret Olive Chandler, the wife of one of his colleagues. The cause of death, while [[Bogle-Chandler case|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 Force|New South Wales Police]], no one to-date has been charged. The [[Bogle-Chandler case]] has baffled law enforcement and forensic experts up to present day.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.filmaust.com.au/news/media_releases/070507_BC2007logie.doc | publisher=Film Australia | title=Media Release: Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? | date=7 May 2007 | format=DOC | access-date=24 May 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/awards/logie2007.html | title=Logie Awards | year=2007 | publisher=Australian Television Information Archive | access-date=24 May 2010 }}</ref>
+*Several of the [[Zodiac Killer]]'s victims were murdered in lovers' lanes in [[northern California]].<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=The Lexington Herald (Kentucky) | page=6 | date=April 26, 1978 | title='Zodiac Killer' Breaks Long Silence | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97564030/zodiac-lovers-lane/}}</ref>
+* Victims of the [[Monster of Florence]] were couples murdered in lovers' lanes near [[Florence]], Italy.<ref>{{cite web | last=Preston | first=Douglas | title=The Monster of Florence | website=The Atlantic | date=July 1, 2006 | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/07/the-monster-of-florence/304981/ | access-date=March 13, 2022}}</ref>
-*Several of the [[Zodiac Killer]]'s victims were murdered in lovers' lanes in [[northern California]].
+*In 1971, [[Murders of Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane|Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane]] were kidnapped from one lover's lane and murdered at another. The next year, another couple narrowly escaped a similar kidnapping from a lover's lane.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/couples-abduction-torture-murder-remains-a-valentines-day-mystery-in-durham-almost-4-decades-later/|access-date=30 August 2024 |title=Couple's abduction, torture, murder remains a Valentine's Day mystery in Durham almost 4 decades later |date=15 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/article215439690.html|access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref>
+*Several attacks perpetrated by the [[Son of Sam]] serial killer also took place in such settings.<ref>{{cite web | title=Son of Sam shoots couple at a Brooklyn lover's lane | website=nydailynews.com | date=2017-07-28 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/son-sam-shot-couple-brooklyn-lover-lane-article-1.3365236 |orig-date=July 31, 1977}}</ref>
-* All victims of the [[Monster of Florence]] were couples murdered in lovers' lanes near [[Florence]], Italy
+*Three couples were shot with a .38 caliber pistol by an unidentified perpetrator in the [[Atlanta Lover's Lane Murders]] of 1977, resulting in three deaths.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 17, 2019 |title=CSI Atlanta exclusive: Lovers' Lane serial killer remains elusive |url=https://www.cbs46.com/news/csi-atlanta-exclusive-lovers-lane-serial-killer-remains-elusive/article_a90b29ee-f13d-11e9-bad9-6768946355b8.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822222407/https://www.cbs46.com/news/csi-atlanta-exclusive-lovers-lane-serial-killer-remains-elusive/article_a90b29ee-f13d-11e9-bad9-6768946355b8.html |archive-date=August 22, 2021 |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=www.cbs46.com}}</ref>
+*Two [[Mercer University]] students were killed by Andy Cook at a lovers' lane location in Georgia on January 2, 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article29288752.html |title=Man convicted of killing Spencer valedictorian executed Thursday night |date=February 21, 2013 |website=ledger-enquirer.com}}</ref>
-*Several attacks perpetrated by the [[Son of Sam]] serial killer also took place in such settings.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG3acr-IyCE ''Born to Kill'', Documentary Series]</ref>
-*Two [[Mercer University]] students were killed by Andy Cook at a lovers' lane location in Georgia on January 2, 1995.<ref>[http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article29288752.html Andy Cook news story]</ref>
 ==In popular culture==
-* A lovers' lane is typically the setting of the [[urban legend]] "[[The Hook]]," about a young couple menaced by a [[Prosthesis|hook-handed]] killer.
+* A lovers' lane is typically the setting of the [[urban legend]] "[[The Hook]]," about a young couple menaced by a [[Prosthesis|hook-handed]] killer.<ref name=snopes />
 *Lovers' lanes have featured in numerous [[Pop music|popular songs]]; tracks with that title have been released by [[Georgio (singer)|Georgio]] (1987), [[FireHouse (band)|FireHouse]] ([[FireHouse (album)|1990]]), [[The Other (band)|The Other]] ([[We Are Who We Eat|2006]]) and [[Hunx and His Punx]] ([[Too Young to Be in Love|2011]]). [[The Go-Betweens]]' 1988 sixth album was titled ''[[16 Lovers Lane]]'', and the 1992 [[Lovers Lane (album)|debut album]] by [[M.C. Brains]] was similarly titled.
+*Films titled ''Lovers' Lane'' have been released in [[Lovers' Lane (1924 film)|1924]], [[Lovers Lane (1999 film)|1999]], and [[Lovers Lane (2005 film)|2005]]. Episodes of the [[television series]] ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'' (in 1964), ''[[Roseanne]]'' (in 1988) and ''[[Cold Case]]'' (in 2004) also had this title.
-*Films titled ''Lovers' Lane'' have been released in [[Lovers' Lane (1924 film)|1924]], [[Lovers Lane (1999 film)|1999]], and [[Lovers Lane (2005 film)|2005]]. Episodes of the [[television series]] ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'' (in 1964) and ''[[Roseanne]]'' (in 1988) also had this title.
 ==See also==
+{{Commonscat|Lovers' lanes}}
 * [[Gropecunt Lane]]
 * [[Lover's Leap]]