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The commonly held explanation behind this phenomenon is that these stories help us to manage and process our own fears. If we can observe how others have suffered and can recognise patterns in their stories, then we can learn from their mistakes. There is a kind of reassurance that can be derived from reliving peoples traumatic stories through the disconnected comfort of a television screen.
Most of the general public would not be able to fathom the desire felt by these criminals to hurt or kill those more vulnerable than them. Often the lack of motive behind some of the most famous crimes is the most terrifying thing; the idea that people we pass on the street could be wishing to harm us and we would have no way of knowing it. This causes people to want to dissect the psychology of these murderers to attempt to find a root cause to their depravity.
This desire to rationalise is partially biological, we are wired to make sense of prospective threats, it is engrained in our psyche. To assess danger and discover ways in which to avoid it is an evolutionary survival instinct. The fact that women are the primary consumers of true crime opens up some fascinating discussions.
Statistics show that from Spotify’s podcast metrics we can see that the female audience of true crime podcasts rose by 16% in 2019. There are elements of fear, attraction, survival instinct, obsession, and interest in the macabre. It is rare that you will see a successful documentary series based around a burglary or theft.
The highest grossing are in fact those that include male killers murdering female victims. Another interesting phenomenon is women becoming inexplicably attracted to infamous murders and criminals. This is called Hybristophilia or Bonnie and Clyde syndrome.
While most would assume that this behaviour is rare, it is actually unexpectedly common. Criminology lecturer at the University of Montreal, Dr. Philippe Bensimon, suggested that over 4% of employees in the Canadian judicial system exhibit symptoms of this paraphilia after being in close contact with a large number of convicts.
There is no concrete reason why this peculiar attraction forms, but it is instead a culmination or a range of different factors; genetic, environmental, and social. Women who have had negative experiences with aggressive men, particularly in their childhood, may form an unhealthy attraction for violent men in their adult lives. This can be directed towards predators and murderers in extreme cases.
Interestingly, the romanticised aspect of crime is not a recent occurrence hailing from the new age of social media. News outlets had documented the spectacle of dozens of women pinning after serial killer Ted Bundy in the courtroom, posting him marriage proposals, and even sending him nude photos of themselves. In the case of Ted Bundy, a relatively average looking man, the overwhelming outpouring of love and desire shown towards him was baffling for many at the time.
Ted Bundy had a clear victim profile, he exclusively targeted young women with long, straight, brown, middle parted brown hair, and hoop earrings. Many women attempted to imitate this look appearing at the courthouse hoping to catch Bundy’s attention, wanting to present themselves as a desirable victim. One woman interviewed at the scene even admitted to dying her hair brown to better fit Bundy’s victim profile.
Another prominent instance of this happening is the case of Richard Ramerez or “The Night Stalker”. Ramirez murdered 13 people, raped women, and molested children, but despite these facts, one of his admirers was quoted by KRON4 in San Francisco at his sentencing trial saying “I know that he’s a nice person” and another was quoted saying that “I think he’s cute”. The Los Angeles Times also reported that there was a women allegedly wearing a “skin-tight black spandex jumpsuit” present in the courtroom who exchanged flirtatious waves and smiles with the murderer.
Ramirez later went onto marry one of these obsessive fans while incarcerated named Doreen Lioy, after she wrote seventy-five letters to him in 1985. Another factor of this inexplicable obsession is the role that the media plays in sensationalising murder stories and the perpetrators behind them. Murders are often given dramatic nicknames similar to those of villains in superhero stories, this adds to the exaggeration of their personas as mysterious individuals.
Allowing people to subconsciously view their crimes as fantasy rather than reality as the focus is shifted of the victims onto the criminals. But while an interest in crime can be healthy for some when processing their fears it can also dangerously warp peoples perspectives of healthy relationships and appropriate actions. At worst you can look to the extremes where murderers have been inspired by “famous” killers and attempt to imitate their actions.
The amount of content accessible can fuel their obsession. And slightly less extreme, people can subconsciously begin to minimise the actions of the criminals as the line between entertainment and reality is blurred. Another consequence of this is how the “court of public opinion” can go on to influence and pervert the court of justice.
As real life tragedy is turned into entertainment people can begin to view real people as characters in a television show. This can lead to online witch-hunts and conspiracy theories, which can be detrimental to the wellbeing of these alleged “suspects”. The allegations are often baseless and are directed towards those who are closest to the victims e.
g. parents and spouses, and there is usually very little regard for their mental wellbeing. The effects of a fascination with crime is a highly complex issue, and there is no solid answer on the correct stance to take.
But I feel no matter your opinions on the issue, the most essential thing is that the victims are brought to the forefront of the discussions and treated with dignity and respect..
