Growing up, I was always attracted to the darker side of life. But not in the “black lipstick and bondage pants” way of many peers (I wasn’t cool enough for that). I simply loved reading about unconventional, morbid topics. In second grade I couldn’t get enough information on the Holocaust. In fifth grade R.L. Stine’s Fear Street books (which were incredibly violent for the YA genre) were most of what I read. From high school onward, I would stop reading classics to pick up true crime books I had already consumed several times over. It’s no wonder my poor mother eventually stopped asking about what I was reading, especially since serial killers became my main nonfiction interest.
I’d like to clarify that I don’t revel in the tragedy that stems from murderers; it’s the mystery behind the culprits. What makes someone commit such heinous acts? How can anyone even consider being so brutal to another human? I read these stories over and over to try and make sense of something I’ll never understand. Not having closure doesn’t sit well with me.
I also love a good mystery, and cases of uncaught killers are my “favorite” (for lack of a better term). While I have no expectations of solving any murders, it’s still intriguing to watch others perform mental gymnastics to try and piece together clues. (If you were wondering, the Zodiac case is the most interesting one to me for that reason.)
Coming down to it, I’m simply interested in the hows and whys of these crimes. No story is too gory, no murder theory too improbable. And while it’s morbid, I know I’m not alone. If I were, there wouldn’t be an entire site dedicated to murders (CrimeLibrary.com), and 48 Hours Mystery would cease to exist.
The reasons for others’ interest in crime isn’t that important to me, but I feel confident that most people have the same questions and desire for closure that I do. Either way, I know that I’ll probably find myself thumbing through my copy of The Cases That Haunt Us tonight, whether that’s weird or not.
Do you have any interest in murderers/serial killers? Do you think that people who do are odd?
guest
Me too.
Check out the youtuber mylifeafterbreakfast. She delivers profiles of serial killers.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mylifeafterbreakfast?blend=1&ob=video-mustangbase#p/u/0/K12LJYZjq04
guest
I haven’t watched too many shows/movies with characters that are serial killers (just American Psycho, Dexter, the Hannibal Lecter films… and a few more I’m probably forgetting) but I too find them interesting. I actually just bought the movie Zodiac so I’ll be watching that sometime before my winter break ends (:
orchid / 191 posts
I don’t think it’s weird at all. I’ve kind of done some research and looking into them. A lot of times, I can actually sympathize with these people, and quite frankly I hate people just as much as a lot of them.
I also have an absolute obsession with dictators like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, among other ruthless dictators of the sort. Quite frankly, I view them in a bit of a heroic light. Seriously. I don’t regard them as the supreme evil the majority of people seem to.
hydrangea / 90 posts
You should get in on the Lovelyish book club, reading The Devil in the White City. I just finished it and I was feeling so weird because my favorite chapters were those that followed H.H. Holmes, the alias of the real-life serial killer during the 1890′s Chicago World Fair. He is creepy, soulless, and absolutely fascinating.
guest
i think its a source of fascination for many. ive often thought about what great authors, inventors or artists they would make.
guest
I find unsolved crimes in general to be interesting reading. It’s only natural to be curious about things we can’t imagine ourselves ever doing.
guest
Same here. To be honest, I thought I was a little weird for liking these kind of things, because most of my friends are not. My ex was always like, “Why do you watch those kind of things anyways?”.
rose / 791 posts
Same! I love this kind of thing. I find it all really interesting
guest
Omg I was on a wiki rampage a couple weeks ago because I kept clicking links and links about serial killers and really famous murders… and then I watched dateline nbc over the weekend…
I think what scares me so much about this stuff is that a lot of the times there seems to be no reason as to why a killer targeted a person to murder… and the whole psychology of the killer… gahhhh…
daffodil / 1615 posts
Hahah I definitely thought I was alone on this boat for a while. I used to be obsessed with forensics when I was in 5th and 6th grade, and that kind of led to an interest in serial killers and crime. Some people thought I was kind of weird for being interested in such a topic, but my mom was actually pretty supportive and took me to the library and the bookstore to check out books about serial killers and the like.
guest
i’m the odd ball i get fascinated and scared of it at the same time
i just wanna know the story without seeing the gory part lmao
daisy / 543 posts
FINALLY, a post about this.
I’m obsessed. my family doesn’t understand it at all. I don’t have any friends either so I just stay in my own little world on the internet where I find I’m not the only one. the zodiac is also my favorite unsolved case. I also have a strange liking to Jeffrey Dahmer who I’ve been researching on a psychological level for years. I have many books. I’ve watched every documentary and interviews. I follow a lot of murder/serial killer blogs. Anything you can think of, really.
guest
I’m with you! I’ve always been fascinated with all of that. Good thing I’m not alone.
guest
I LOVE crime shows, especially Criminal Minds. You should check it out. The serial killers are soo sick and twisted, and based on real life criminals. You go with the team to try and figure out the killers. Its a really good show.
guest
i used to spend hours on crime library. my favorite class throughout high school was definitely forensic science. that’s the class that got me into murderers and whatnot. now though…i think i’ll pass on it lol. while it’s interesting it’s also frightening to me to know what people are capable of. no child is too young, no person in this entire world is safe from them….it’s awful and frightening and these days i prefer not to make myself more paranoid. i don’t want to end up sleeping with my gun.
daisy / 505 posts
I think it’s really common for the reasons you listed.
I’m fascinated by sociopaths (same thing as psychopaths), and so through that I’ve read about a number of sociopathic serial killers like Ted Bundy, and followed closely Van der Sloot’s trial. The absence of empathy and emotion is so far removed from the rest of our realities, and anything unknown stirs up curiosity. I like to read studies done on psychopaths, not necessarily murder, but it’s along the same lines.
And then I watch Dexter which I know is something completely different. I don’t find the above entertaining necessarily, just interesting. So Dexter’s a self-indulgence but a very entertaining one!
daisy / 505 posts
@ashleyd857 - Great recommendation! We had to read that in my Homicide class a year back; an excellent work of nonfiction! It was really fascinating – even my mom read it when I took it home! haha
guest
What did you think of Helter Skelter?
ranunculus / 3457 posts
@StatelessPilot@revelife - Dictators are often, even if most people won’t admit it, highly efficient leaders. I live in Moscow… Russians themselves see Stalin as a hero.
I’m so fascinated by this subject I wanted to be a forensic psychiatrist for the longest time.
guest
you are not alone! I remember one time spending about 2 hours researching serial killers. I just find it fascinating about their lives, what lead them up to the crime, how they got caught. Even more fascinating to me is female serial killers. I even did a whole paper for my class on psychopaths!!
Anybody seen the movie Dahmer? It’s pretty good. Thought based on dahmer’s crime I like the spin they take on in. Nobody knew what was really going on in his head except him, so this film makes you wonder.
guest
gahh damn u lovelyish..i just wasted more time researching dahmer!
is it weird that I was looking at crime scene photos?..it makes me feel weird…
guest
I don’t think it’s weird at all. It’s whatever you’re interested in. I find that kind of stuff interesting too.
guest
It’s not weird at all. I always have in an interest in the psychology of people. You should watch Dexter, if you don’t already, since the whole show is about being in the mind of a serial killer.
orchid / 176 posts
Totally with you on this! My friends and I have been keeping up with the deets on the Long Island serial killer case, and I love reading about historical serial killers. Oh, and Fear Street – YES. (Also the terrible but enjoyable movie Copycat??)
orchid / 191 posts
@MoonFaeEyryan@xanga - Well, it only makes sense that they do. If it wasn’t for Stalin, Russia would have never become a super power. We would never have had the technological advances, we’d have never had the space race, we’d never have put man on the moon. He might have been a ruthless killer but if it wasn’t for him, we’d be living in a much less advanced global society than we live in today.
guest
I think we all have a bit of fascination toward the subject. My parents think I’m weird, but my sister is just as into it as I am.
guest
I could have written this post, and all the comments, lol. I’m obsessed with true crime, especially serial killers. If I had my life to do over I would definitely have gone into forensic pathology; alas, back in high school I pretty much avoided science. :( Anyway, I also have chronic insomnia and can spend up to 6 hours at a time doing nothing but researching serial killers and true crime on the Internet. I’ve done so much research on true crime that whenever I sit down to watch an episode of Law & Order I recognize the real crime it’s loosely based on almost immediately, lol.
guest
There is a certain draw to things like that, things we should run away from. I’m right with you, as I can see other people are on this website! We human beings are curious by nature, and our curiosity is easily provoked by things we aren’t supposed to be curious about
you should check out listverse.com, they have a lot of interesting lists of “top ten serial killers” or “most evil people in human history” type stuff.
guest
I loved the fear street books by R.L.Stine. Nowadays, i don’t really read books about murderers/killers anymore but i’m into horrors & thrillers. My sister always complained about my taste in movies & books. I don’t think it’s odd, it’s just a taste.