I always thought is was the hidden face. I never liked masks as a kid either.
The creepy clown kinda stuck with me tho’. Probably because of movies. And that Chucky doll. Gahhh!
True, masks have a similar effect on me and the clown face is just a mask made of paint.
Isn’t it true(I’m asking) serial killers do live double lives?
Sunday school teacher/prostitute killer. Kinda thing.
Nothing gets non-serial killers to figure out serial killers
This is incorrect.
I don’t think that Gacy lived in a particularly rough part of the Chicago area. Technically, he lived in “Norwood Park Township,” which is a small area that’s mostly surrounded by the city of Chicago, but not actually part of the city, near O’Hare. At least at that time, I think it was a working-class neighborhood, and not particuarly known for violent crime.
This is a photo of police outside of Gacy’s house in 1978.
I mean, I wasn’t alive yet, but I get the impression that big cities in general were a lot rougher, dirtier, and crime-ridden in the '70s than they are today, and for the most part he was trolling for victims near downtown.
Are you for real?
I’m editing my original comment, but I feel like it’s a generalization.
Like I said, I wasn’t there. But when I read about how places like Chicago or Seattle were in the '70s, and I compare them to the cities I’ve been to in this day and age, it just sounds like things have gotten much better than they used to be. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the country today that could compare to say, Cabrini Green at its height.
The crime of picking young men up for his criminal intent was not done in a upscale Martini bar, is what I meant.
From the wiki cite:
Offering this to show that his clown stuff was not completely divorced from his sociopathic side. I’d guess this was just coincidence and not part of his psychopathy. For some reason he was dressed as the clown when he got the urge to commit one of his horrors. But I think it’s fair to say that the clown bit was not completely compartmentalized from his murdering, raping evil side.
That nit aside, I think the “Clown Murderer” tag is primarily because it’s such an unusual combination, even if largely disconnected in his practice. It would be like discovering, for example, that a ballerina was the serial killer a city was looking for. She’d be the “Ballerina Killer” in the headlines even though her profession was completely disconnected from her murders. If the killer was a factory worker, that’s not going to be memorable or part of his moniker.
“Killer Ballerina” I would think. “Ballerina Killer” would be someone who kills ballerinas.
Hmmm🤔
I know that feelin’
Gacy’s prison paintings included clowns, that adds to the association.
Due to this thread, I read the Wikipedia page about Gacy.
Damn, the man was a hard worker.
He built a successful construction company from scratch. Before that he successfully managed several businesses. He could put in 12+ hour days, easy.
Then you add in the crusisng, the gay sex, the torture and murder. This man had a motor that didn’t slow down.
A total fucking monster, of course.
But if you were looking for a serial killer to take a lesson from, you could do worse than following Gacy’s lead on work ethic and business acumen.
For your viewing pleasure:
Svengoolie has “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” on tonight. (MeTV)
Enjoy.
(Pop the corn, Ivy.)
If you (or anyone) wants to learn more, this documentary was really good.
OP, you’ll be happy to know that Gacy agrees with you. He specifically answers no in the video below, when asked if he used his clown costumes to attract victims. He laments that clowning had received a bad reputation because of its association with what he did.
If only he would have used it for niceness instead of evil!
While we’re doing musical references in good taste, there’s Chicago DJ Steve Dahl’s Pink Floyd parody.
Hey! Gacy! Leave those kids alone
…
All in all, it’s just another kid in the crawl