In a jaw-dropping essay for People, actor Jack Merrill shared a harrowing experience that would make even the grittiest “Law & Order” episode look like a rom-com. The now 65-year-old actor (yes, the same one from Grey’s Anatomy) opened up about a traumatic run-in with one of history’s most infamous serial killers—John Wayne Gacy—back in 1978, when Merrill was just a scrappy 19-year-old trying to survive Chicago’s night scene.
“Need a Ride? How About a Nightmare Instead?”
Picture it: Chicago, late at night, Merrill walking home minding his own business. Enter Gacy, rolling up like some sketchy Uber driver with zero stars. “A guy pulled over and asked, ‘Wanna go for a ride?’” Merrill recalled. Classic. But instead of offering gum or asking if the air conditioning was good, Gacy pulled out a brown bottle. “He asked if I’d done poppers before,” Merrill wrote. Spoiler: That was not the kind of invitation anyone hopes for.
Next thing Merrill knew, there was a rag full of something foul-smelling jammed in his face. “I passed out and woke up… in handcuffs,” he said. Yeah, not exactly the scenic route home. “I saw the exit for Cumberland near the airport and thought, ‘Well, this is a weird detour.’ Then—bam—we’re at his house.”
#When Airbnb Goes Horribly Wrong
Merrill soon realized this wasn’t just any house. “The house was dark. Like, horror-movie dark,” he said. “It screamed ‘trap.’” And if the creepy vibe wasn’t enough of a giveaway, Gacy went full evil-genius and whipped out a DIY torture device with ropes, pulleys, and all the bells and whistles. “He put it around my neck so if I struggled, I’d choke,” Merrill explained.
Now, most of us would be screaming for our lives at this point, but not Jack. “I didn’t freak out. Didn’t yell. I knew if I fought, I wouldn’t stand a chance,” he said. This was not the time for theatrics—just straight-up survival mode.
Then came what can only be described as the world’s worst sleepover. “He raped me in the bedroom… stuck a gun in my mouth at one point,” Merrill wrote. And just when things hit peak nightmare, Gacy—like a deranged host whose party went on too long—suddenly got tired. “All of a sudden, he said, ‘I’ll take you home.’” Oh, how thoughtful.
The Worst Goodbye Gift Ever
After dropping Merrill off at 5 a.m. like some twisted car service, Gacy left him with one parting gift: his phone number. “He told me, ‘Maybe we’ll hang out again.’” Um… no thanks. Merrill promptly flushed that number down the toilet where it belonged and took the longest shower of his life.
At the time, Merrill had no idea that the strange man from his worst night ever was actually the John Wayne Gacy—a guy who didn’t just abduct people but also murdered 33 young men. It wasn’t until months later, when he saw a headline about bodies being discovered in a suburban home, that it all clicked.
Finding Healing—And Not Through Yelp Reviews
“I never called the cops back then,” Merrill admitted. Instead, he poured his pain into acting, finding therapy through the art of pretending to be other people. “Acting forced me to express myself. There’s honesty in it, even when you’re faking it,” he said.
He also found peace through love and acceptance, thanks to his long-term husband. And now, he’s taken that traumatic experience and turned it into art with his one-man show, The Save, currently playing at Los Angeles’ Electric Lodge. Talk about turning lemons into theatrical lemonade.
“I’m proud of my journey,” Merrill wrote. “I took something awful and turned it into something meaningful.”
As for Gacy? Well, the infamous killer was finally caught, found guilty on 33 counts of murder in 1980, and took a permanent timeout in 1994 when he was executed.
Moral of the story? Always decline late-night rides from sketchy strangers. And if they offer poppers? Run. Fast.