# Why do serial killers have fans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948 "2014-09-09T11:33:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/1 "2014-09-09T11:33:52Z")
There have been cases of serial killers in prison being sent letters by “well stacked” women asking if the serial killer could rape and kill them. Other times, mothers have offered in letters to give famous child molesters and child killers their little girls to be molested and killed. Why does this happen? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/2 "2014-09-09T11:43:19Z")
Does this happen?? The first one I have heard of (but haven’t been sure if it was a real phenomenon or just a trope). The second I’ve never heard of happening. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/3 "2014-09-09T11:47:12Z")
IMHO: There’s a view of masculinity that says men are supposed to be aggressive, violent, controlling; serial killers would be the ultimate extreme of that ideal of manhood. The ultimate “bad boys”. And just as many women are attracted to “bad boys”, there’s a fringe of them that are attracted to the hyper-exaggerated version of the bad boy archetype exemplified by serial killers. I’ve heard of a lot more of them wanting to marry them than get killed by them, though. In other words it’s a fairly normal tendency that these women have taken to self destructive extremes. ---
**Author:** ![AbigailLemberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@AbigailLemberg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbigailLemberg)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/4 "2014-09-09T11:49:08Z")
Yeah…i have heard a lot of these happening around us and this is way too shocking., But something which we can’t really help with! I personally have an opinion that, these people definitely are not normal! Only mentally sick people can think this way. This is something which should be treated. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/5 "2014-09-09T11:57:49Z")
When I was in my 20’s, I briefly dated a girl who was obsessed with SKs. She even showed me the stack of letters she had received from them from jail. (That was her 'hobby", she would write them in hopes of a return letter.) But as far as I know, she never asked to be murdered by them. That’s taking the crazy up a level further than I knew it could go. Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/6 "2014-09-09T13:11:54Z")
Well, without air conditioning… ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/7 "2014-09-09T13:29:22Z")
Probably to be “famous” as one of the victims ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/8 "2014-09-09T13:29:51Z")
It strikes me that the OP’s definition of aberrant behavior is “things I’d never do”. “The grace that saves us from psychiatric diagnosis is nothing more than the sheer good fortune that millions of others happen to share our delusion.” _– Cordelia Fine_ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/9 "2014-09-09T13:36:53Z")
To kill Koreans in their sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/10 "2014-09-09T13:47:51Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > IMHO: There’s a view of masculinity that says men are supposed to be aggressive, violent, controlling; serial killers would be the ultimate extreme of that ideal of manhood. The ultimate “bad boys”. > > And just as many women are attracted to “bad boys”, there’s a fringe of them that are attracted to the hyper-exaggerated version of the bad boy archetype exemplified by serial killers. I’ve heard of a lot more of them wanting to marry them than get killed by them, though. > > In other words it’s a fairly normal tendency that these women have taken to self destructive extremes. You see milder versions of this in attraction to extremely violent fictional characters, too. I recently heard a woman talking about how attractive she finds The Hound from Game of Thrones. Another once described Patrick Bateman as her perfect man. I have no doubt these women would be repulsed by a real life Hound or Bateman, but I nonetheless found it strange. > [@TriPolar](#): > > To kill Koreans in their sleep. Sneaky serial killers! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/11 "2014-09-09T13:50:04Z")
Here’s an [article](http://nypost.com/2013/12/03/the-women-who-fall-in-love-with-jailed-killers/) on women who marry life prisoners. On some level, I assume it’s driven by a crippling fear of intimacy. Fun fact: One of the Menendez brothers has been married not once, but twice, behind bars. His first wife left him after she discovered that he was cheating on her. I.e., he was writing to other women. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/12 "2014-09-09T15:04:12Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It strikes me that the OP’s definition of aberrant behavior is “things I’d never do”. “things I’d never do” i.e. asking to be raped and killed and asking someone to molest and kill your daughter. If \*\*not \*\*wanting to do those things is aberrant behavior, then… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/13 "2014-09-09T15:06:50Z")
I’ve patterned my life on Dexter. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/14 "2014-09-09T15:08:31Z")
**Why do serial killers have fans?** > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by TriPolar > To kill Koreans in their sleep. > [@Bozuit](#): > > . . . Sneaky serial killers! [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death), for anyone who didn’t catch the pun. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/15 "2014-09-09T16:08:44Z")
Poor air circulation? StG ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/16 "2014-09-09T18:01:41Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’ve patterned my life on Dexter. I actually wouldn’t mind having him as my next door neighbor. ---
**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/17 "2014-09-09T18:47:56Z")
I had a friend from high school who kept “dating” guys in prison. Once they’d get out, they’d live together for a few months, he’d move out, and she’d find a new prisoner. She had really low self-esteem and I think she thought she didn’t deserve any better. She’s stopped dating prisoners now, but has been in three abusive marriages. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/18 "2014-09-09T19:08:10Z")
To keep them from overheating when you over-clock them. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/19 "2014-09-09T19:13:18Z")
According to a special I watched on the Investigation Discovery channel, it goes both ways. Any woman half way decent looking who gets her murder trial on TV immediately will gain a following of men willing to do anything for her. I know [Susan Smith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Smith) was one of the cases they mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948/20 "2014-09-09T19:17:19Z")
I think it’s celebrity fame syndrome. Some people are just attracted to fame, even if the famous person got fame by doing something horrible (i.e., murder.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-serial-killers-have-fans/697948.md?page=2)