The Witness : the screams
Re: the screams
Same with me. A stranger grabbed me by the hair and dragged me down the street. I screamed for help so loud my voice was hoarse the next day. I was rescued by a man who pulled over in his car and fought the attacker off. Could have turned out different if he had kept driving. There are still many good samaritans in the world I'm personally thankful for. I wish it had turned out better for Kitty and his other victims. That screaming scene was hard to watch. Very powerful documentary.
Re: the screams
It was horrible. It reminded me of an incidence when I was attacked. There is a difference between screaming out of fear or pain. I screamed out of pain and the people shut their doors in the hallway of the building I was in in SAN Francisco. I was not in my apartment building. I screamed from the pain of my tail bone cracking against a concrete floor. The scream from the physical trauma, of feeling in real time a blow that you know is disabling, is different than horror screams.
It's where the blood curdling sound comes from.
It's where the blood curdling sound comes from.
Re: the screams
I disagree. Maybe for you that's why you screamed. In my incident I was in pain too as he actually grabbed me and a friend by the hair on the scalp and smashed our heads together repeatedly until we fell to the ground. The bashed head, hair ripped out by handfuls, and road rash were all painful but I could handle that. I've been in worse pain in my life and just quietly sobbed and moaned because screaming wouldn't help the situation when you already have doctors there helping. Pain screams can be stifled.
But when you're being dragged to an
unknown fate by a stranger through the
street in the middle of the night that
requires loudest screams for help you can muster. That's where my bloodcurdling scream cane from. Fear and a desperate
need for someone to please help.
Not saying you didn't scream out of pain but I think in reference to this movie that while yes she was in pain, the fact that she wasn't just screaming wildly, she was screaming specific words like somebody help me please. That's deliberate. It's not just the shock of the pain. That comes from fear.
But when you're being dragged to an
unknown fate by a stranger through the
street in the middle of the night that
requires loudest screams for help you can muster. That's where my bloodcurdling scream cane from. Fear and a desperate
need for someone to please help.
Not saying you didn't scream out of pain but I think in reference to this movie that while yes she was in pain, the fact that she wasn't just screaming wildly, she was screaming specific words like somebody help me please. That's deliberate. It's not just the shock of the pain. That comes from fear.
Re: the screams
i too screamed out of fear for my life. The injuries i sustained (broken nose, broken bones in the foot, crushed ankle, black eyes and damage to my cornea) all hurt in the first instance but then i couldn't even feel the blows he was dealing me, or rather that I could feel them, but it was more like pressure. my nose was already broken and blood gushing so the punches and kicks were kind of numb, it was my fear that was producing my scream which was so loud because it was about survival.
sorry to hear that others here were attacked but glad that we all survived to tell about it
sorry to hear that others here were attacked but glad that we all survived to tell about it
Re: the screams
there are good samaritans, like the ones who saved me, but also that night after i was taken out of the apartment building, we looked for help (no cell phones) and went a block away. there was a younb man crossing the street. I very calmly (because I was in shock) asked him for help, and he shook his head and looked at me with disgust (I was covered in blood from my injuries) and very quickly walked away. I can't describe the feeling of that. But, luckily the man i was with helped me to a deli where the owner let me call the police and also stayed with me and gave me water while we waited for the cops and the ambulance.
I'm so glad to hear that some guy saved you too!
I'm so glad to hear that some guy saved you too!
Re: the screams
I'm so glad to hear you were rescued
It's most people's worst nightmare to be grabbed by some psycho and thankfully I've never experienced the horror of that myself but I've always wondered if I'd be able to scream or not. Could your voice fail you through sheer terror? I've always worried I'd be paralysed with fear and be dragged off somewhere before I could shout for help but it's a relief to read you and the other girls on here say you were able to scream loudly.
It's most people's worst nightmare to be grabbed by some psycho and thankfully I've never experienced the horror of that myself but I've always wondered if I'd be able to scream or not. Could your voice fail you through sheer terror? I've always worried I'd be paralysed with fear and be dragged off somewhere before I could shout for help but it's a relief to read you and the other girls on here say you were able to scream loudly.
Re: the screams
thank you. You know what's weird? before the attack i often dreamed that I was being attacked or chased and i would try to scream in the dream and no sound would come out. In reality it happened that I screamed out of sheer terror and fear for my life. As i said, i didn't know i could produce a sound like that. Since then I have never had the dream again. So, i think in situations like that when you are incapacitated (as in my case as he beat me to the ground so quickly and severely i even have a block in my memory about it) and the only way of escape is to scream and hope someone will hear you, you are capable. hopefully you will never have to find that out!
Re: the screams
I found this scene extremely moving, but I was left wondering what the purpose of the reenactment was. I thought perhaps they were going to try to do some acoustical analysis or something along those lines to try to determine what people in their apartments might have heard. But they didn't follow up on this at all.
Re: the screams
the reenactment was done to see just what could be heard from the apartments. THis is what bothered her brother the most that people could hear her screaming and didn't do anything about it. he wanted to see/hear for himself exactly just how much could be heard from those apartments
Re: the screams
Right, but they didn't do that. The whole time it only shows him sitting on the street, and the camera is on the street, if I remember correctly. I was anticipating they would show the point-of-view - sonically speaking, at least - of the apartments - which they didn't do, or didn't show. But I'm sure it would have been challenges in getting access to the inside of the apartments.
Re: the screams
oh i didn't remember that. I thought he was inside the apartment building. I could've sworn there was a shot from inside the apartment when the actress was screaming but I'd have to watch it again.
Re: the screams
Worth remembering
Callers would have to identify themselves to the Call Receiver.
They would be interviewed by detectives.
They would be subpoenaed to testify in court.
Their names and addresses would be published in the papers.
Also worth considering, at the time you call the killer(s) is still at large. Could be a serial killer ( like Mosely ) with nothing to lose, or organized crime, or cheap thugs / drug addicts
At 3:30 AM in the winter, when your not even sure what you heard, and have to go to work in a few hours, some night just go back to bed and let someone else call the precinct.
Callers would have to identify themselves to the Call Receiver.
They would be interviewed by detectives.
They would be subpoenaed to testify in court.
Their names and addresses would be published in the papers.
Also worth considering, at the time you call the killer(s) is still at large. Could be a serial killer ( like Mosely ) with nothing to lose, or organized crime, or cheap thugs / drug addicts
At 3:30 AM in the winter, when your not even sure what you heard, and have to go to work in a few hours, some night just go back to bed and let someone else call the precinct.
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Re: the screams
Agreed. The reenactment was in poor taste
Re: the screams
The re-enactment, if nothing else, served to find out if after all these years and all the notoriety of the case, anything has changed. Nope. Right there, in the exact same place (which I live about 10 blocks from), no one came out to help, no one called the police, and one person if I recall correctly, told her to keep the noise down.
To me, part of this "apathy" stems from the same reason no one calls the police when a car alarm goes off. We're so used to the sound that we're immune to it. Car owners take no care to ensure that their alarm is shut off quickly when there's no emergency. They just let it go on and on, so it's just considered a nuisance to neighbors.
Every day I hear bloodcurdling screams being unleashed by children both inside and outside, and do I take action? No, because parents allow their kids to scream like that constantly so now none of us bothers to respond. Responsible parents should teach their children that shrieking as if they're in terror is not part of "playing," and that if whatever they're doing is so traumatic that they need to scream like they're being killed, they will not be allowed to do it anymore. It's important that they understand that if they continue to scream their heads off all the time, no one will pay attention when they really need help. "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" should be read by every child. Older people are not much better, roaming up and down the streets shrieking.
We've all gotten to the point where everyone is always so loud and attention seeking that we just block it out. Perhaps if everyone made an effort to recognize that screaming like you're in a horror movie is only appropriate if you're in danger, instead of doing it just because it's snowing outside, or you're playing with your dog, or you didn't get exactly what you wanted at the time you wanted it, people would actually be alarmed when they DO hear screams, knowing it could ONLY mean someone needs help.
To me, part of this "apathy" stems from the same reason no one calls the police when a car alarm goes off. We're so used to the sound that we're immune to it. Car owners take no care to ensure that their alarm is shut off quickly when there's no emergency. They just let it go on and on, so it's just considered a nuisance to neighbors.
Every day I hear bloodcurdling screams being unleashed by children both inside and outside, and do I take action? No, because parents allow their kids to scream like that constantly so now none of us bothers to respond. Responsible parents should teach their children that shrieking as if they're in terror is not part of "playing," and that if whatever they're doing is so traumatic that they need to scream like they're being killed, they will not be allowed to do it anymore. It's important that they understand that if they continue to scream their heads off all the time, no one will pay attention when they really need help. "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" should be read by every child. Older people are not much better, roaming up and down the streets shrieking.
We've all gotten to the point where everyone is always so loud and attention seeking that we just block it out. Perhaps if everyone made an effort to recognize that screaming like you're in a horror movie is only appropriate if you're in danger, instead of doing it just because it's snowing outside, or you're playing with your dog, or you didn't get exactly what you wanted at the time you wanted it, people would actually be alarmed when they DO hear screams, knowing it could ONLY mean someone needs help.
Re: the screams
Since 9-1-1 and cell phones, I believe it is more likely now that the Call Receivers would be over-loaded.
Re: the screams
Did you miss the part where they alerted all the tenants in advance that they were going to do that?
the screams