Although fanciful tales of so-called "needle men" or white slavers, who supposedly injected unsuspecting young girls with morphine before carrying them away into a life of prostitution, had been around since the 1930s, the legend probably has its roots in a 1989 incident where ten teenage girls were arrested and later charged with stabbing numerous women with pins in the Upper West Side area of New York City.
Meskipun kisah-kisah yang disebut "pria jarum" atau budak-budak kulit putih, yang menyatakan tentang penginjeksian gadis-gadis tak muda tak bersalah dengan morfin sebelum membawakan mereka ke dalam kehidupan pelacuran, telah ada sejak 1930-an, legenda tersebut diyakini telah berakar pada insiden 1989 di mana sepuluh remaja putri ditangkap dan kemudian didakwa karena menyerang sejumlah wanita dengan jarum suntik di kawasan Upper West Side, New York City.