Nubbins Sawyer

Nubbin Sawyer, sometimes known simply as the Hitchhiker, was a member of a family of serial murderers and cannibals. In 1973, Sawyer was responsible for robbing graves at the Muerto County cemtery in Texas, re-arranging the remains of the deceased and propping them up in bizarre positions. The other members of his family discouraged this practice, as it drew too much attention to their more horrific activities.

Returning from one of his outings one morning, he was seen hitchhiking down the road when he was picked up by five youths driving by in their van. They decided to pick him up and learned that he worked at a nearby slaughterhouse. Sawyer made an impression on the invalid Franklin Hardesty, whom he spoke to at length. During their uncomfortable conversation, he borrowed Franklin's pocket knife and cut open his own hand. He then took a photograph of Franklin with his Polaroid camera and demanded $2.00 for the print. When they refused to pay for the picture, Sawyer placed it onto a piece of aluminum foil, spread some powder on it, then lit it on fire. The group pulled off to the side of the road and kicked Sawyer out. As he struggled with them, he withdrew his own straight razor and cut Franklin across the arm. The van pulled away, but Sawyer ran after it. He managed to smear a bloody hand across the side of the van, forming a bizarre symbol.

Later that evening, Sawyer returned to the family farmhouse. His older sibling, Drayton Sawyer, had come home with one of the youths, Sally Hardesty, tied up in a burlap sack. Drayton admonished Nubbin for his actions in the cemetery and beat him severely with a broken broom handle in the driveway.

Sally Hardesty was brought inside the farmhouse where she was tortured at length by Nubbin, Drayton and their psychotic little brother "Leatherface". Under the direction of Drayton, Nubbin ran upstairs to collect their aging grandfather and brought him to the dinner table. They cut Sally's finger open and fed her blood to the grandfather.

Sally managed to escape and ran out of the house, but Nubbin chased after her. Hot on her heels, he slashed at Sally's back with his straight razor and followed her onto the highway. Sawyer was struck by an oncoming cattle truck and died instantly. His remains were collected by the family who held onto them for many years.

The surviving Sawyers eventually left Muerto County and set up shop inside an abandoned amusement park. Nubbin's skeletal remains were propped up at the dinner table as if he were a living guest. An accident involving a hand grenade destroyed the interior chamber and Nubbin's skeleton was destroyed as well.

Notes & Trivia

 * In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Sawyer is addressed only as the Hitchhiker. It is not until his cameo appearance in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 that he is provided with the name, Nubbin.


 * To prepare for the role of the Hitchhiker, actor Edwin Neal drew upon behavioral patterns of his nephew who suffered from dementia.


 * Edwin Neal is quoted as saying "Filming that scene was the worst time of my life... and I had been in Vietnam, with people trying to kill me, so I guess that shows how bad it was".