Project (Blog) 1 (Edited)
Original: https://leilalane.wixsite.com/mysite
Richard Ramirez:
Richard Ramirez, also known by the media as the Night Stalker, was born in 1960. He was a serial killer, serial rapist, kidnapper, pedophile, and burglar. His cousin shared with him some of the horrible acts he committed while serving during the Vietnam War. Richard Ramirez enjoyed the stories his cousin told him. He used drugs at an early age and became interested in Satanism. He saw his cousin kill his wife during an argument. At a young age Richard went to live with his sister, and would go with her husband on “peeping tom exploits”. Richard raped and murdered a 9-year-old girl, and then went on to rape and abuse a fair number of people, and murder 15. He was married to a woman who divorced him when he was found guilty of raping and murdering the 9-year-old girl, and at the time of his death her was in a relationship with another woman. His crimes spanned from April of 1984 to August of 1985. He died in prison in 2013 of B-Cell Lymphoma.
Past Representation
Richard was considered incredibly attractive by women during his span of criminal activity. Women wrote to him (and he wrote back), came to his trials to support him, and even fought over him. The Night Stalker was being charged for multiple accounts of rape and murder, and yet he appeared to have groupies. It’s unclear whether it was because these women felt like they could “save” this Satan worshiper, or if it was because they endorsed what he did, or if it was because they thought he was innocent. He enjoyed the attention he got from these young girls and married a fan of his. There are videos of women blushing and talking about him like he is the lead singer in a band during his murder trials. He wasn’t glorified, but because of the fascination with him by young women, he gained popularity for being both terrifying and attractive. Teenage girls were so obsessed with him that he became known as the “Death Row Romeo”.
Current Representation
Recently the Night Stalker has become extremely popular in television and film. Multiple films and documentaries about the Night Stalker have come out from 1989–2021, and he has made an appearance in the horror show “American Horror Story”. It appears people romanticize him less now than they did during his trials. There has been fanfiction written about him and blogs created about him, and he does seem to still have fans on Twitter, TikTok, and Tumblr. However, overall it appears as though the Death Row Romeo has lost his groupies. People do consider him still one of the most attractive serial killers, which in it of itself is a weird comment to make, but it appears his “good looks” couldn’t erase the gory details of his murders. It appears the answer to the question why did women fantasize about Ramirez especially during his trials is a mixture of different reasons. It appears the combination of these girls having a potential savior complex, and the desire to understand something so incomprehensible such as these murders. Even after watching videos of Ramirez speaking and reading about his crimes, I still cannot fully comprehend the heinous acts he committed. The level of hatred one must have in them to kill people in such horrific ways is so foreign that these women may feel drawn to finding an answer. A lot of these men also played on the fact that they were considered attractive, it gave them the attention they wanted. Ramirez enjoyed that girls desired him and attempted to justify him even though he was guilty, so he played into their bad boy fantasy.
Ted Bundy:
Born November 24th, 1946, Ted Bundy was to put it in his own words “a cold-hearted sun of a bitch”. Ted Bundy was a skinny, white man who dropped out of law school to commit some of the most horrific acts committed by any serial killer. He admitted to 30 confessed murders in a last-ditch effort to save his life on death row, however, the actual total is considered to be much higher. Ted Bundy’s kills spanned between February of 1974 to February of 1978. He was caught and successfully escaped twice, once in June of 1977 for almost a week and once in December of 1977 for almost two months. Ted Bundy would kidnap, rape, and murder young women. He sometimes would perform sexual acts on the dead bodies and decapitate victims to keep mementos from his murders. The women he killed didn’t have a ton in common except they often were young, white, had straight hair, and a middle part. Ted Bundy was given the electric chair after being found guilty of these murders. He managed to marry a woman whom he proceeded to have a child with during his incarceration. Below are some of his victims.
Past Representation
Ted Bundy began his murder spree almost 46 years ago, and it’s hard to imagine how people 46 years ago reacted to the heinous acts he committed. While the overall reaction to his murders was shock and anger, there was this fascination with him. In particular with young women. Young women came to his trials, wrote him letters, sent him naked pictures, and talked about him like he was a celebrity. Ted Bundy was charming, in that sort of “white privilege politician” sort of charming. That was why he was able to escape initially, they were letting him walk around unhandcuffed and no one was watching him, so he jumped out of the window. People trusted him. The women who wrote to him and came to his trials were frightened by him somewhat, but some of them didn’t think he seemed like the type, and even those who did realize he was guilty still giggled and smiled when talking about him. He was considered handsome and interesting while also considered psychotic and dangerous, and it seemed like the danger didn’t stop people. To the media, in the 1970s Bundy was an attractive madman.
Current Representation
You would think that the fascination with a serial killer from 40+ years ago would have died down, but it didn’t. Movies, documentaries, books, articles, all have been and continue to be written about Ted Bundy. Two films about him came out in 2019, one a documentary and one a movie with Zac Efron playing the lead. Ted Bundy’s name is consistently near the top of “Top 10 Hottest Serial killers” lists. He managed to escape from prison twice and yet one of the biggest topics that were brought up upon release of the films was Bundy’s attractiveness. A lot of articles and videos would mention how they didn’t excuse his actions but how they couldn’t deny his attractiveness. It seems like whatever it is that draws people to these men is not a “new” thing, it is common and part of the reason the men got away with what they did. Bundy was different from Ramirez in that he had the advantage of white privilege, so part of the reason women may have found him appealing is because he held himself in a way that appeared to be smart, approachable, and charming. Ted Bundy was so appealing that when he was found guilty the judge said “I say that to you sincerely; take care of yourself. It is an utter tragedy for this court to see such a total waste of humanity, I think, as I’ve experienced in this courtroom.” “You’re a bright young man. You’d have made a good lawyer and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. I don’t feel any animosity toward you. I want you to know that. Take care of yourself.” There was something about the man that despite the disgust people had, they found him intriguing. Whether it was because of their inability to comprehend his crimes, them finding him attractive, or because they thought he was innocent, Ted Bundy has continued to catch people’s eye.
Charles Manson:
Charles Manson was a cult leader born in 1934. He formed what is now famously known as the “Manson Family”. He executed the murders of nine people, not by killing them himself but by having his followers execute the murders. The murders included actress Sharon Tate. He was originally sentenced to death it was changed to life without parole because of California’s change in death penalty rules. He died in 2017 at the age of 83. Manson also wrote and performed music. He had this idea that a race war was destined to happen.
Past Representation
Charles Manson is different from other killers. Not just because he didn’t do the killings, but because while other killers gained fans during their trials, he already had fans. He was the leader of a fairly large cult in California, a cult full of young women who loved Manson and did what he wanted. These women who were on trial for murder, walked into the courtroom with smiles on their faces because they believed they had done what Charles asked. They were quite pleased with themselves. He encouraged his followers to kill the people that they did, and they listened. Other members of the family waited outside the courtroom and drew on their foreheads in support, Manson was talked about negatively through media and in the press, but he already had plenty of positive attention from his groupies who still supported him when found guilty.
Current Representation
Charles Manson still has followers. People who still believe in his message and who find him attractive and believe he was wrongfully imprisoned. People who like his music and who wrote to him while in jail. Some of his original followers from the cult still struggle to believe that what he did and what he was doing was wrong, but some have managed to work through the psychological damage he put them through. Charles Manson has been the subject of many books, movies, and in tv shows. Most recently he was in Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. The thing that is different about why women may have been fascinated by Manson is that people want somewhere to belong. That’s why cults are appealing. Because they make you feel seen and heard and welcome, and you don’t fully realize how wrong everything is. Charles Manson did not invent cults, there are still cults occurring to this day. Charles Manson believed he was a powerful leader and important, and he managed to convince others that he was. A quote from a former Manson girl in an article discussing Charles Manson and his Cult was: “Charlie never pretended that, you know, anybody was the one and only,” Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme told producers of “Manson: The Women” a documentary special on Oxygen. “Some people thought he played favorites, but I don’t think so. He had a different relationship with each of the women and he was honest about it.” This could give some insight into exactly how he managed to make people feel so special, and why girls still wanted him to notice them.