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Happy Saturday! Today was a tough one as I could not think of what I wanted to share with y’all as I partake in this A to Z Challenge. But I reckon there really aren’t that many more perfect Ts to mention in connection to sexual assault so today I bring you Ted Bundy and his many portrayals in literature and film. Also – I ask the question “why the fascination with serial killers?”
The Who
Ted Bundy is best known as one of the most infamous serial murderers and rapists who confessed to 30 homicides and yet common opinion is that he has left behind a body count of upwards to 100.
The Fascination:
He has been both revered and vilified in the press and media and somewhere in between. Today I am focusing on two of the most famous portrayals of Ted Bundy.
The Deliberate Stranger (Mark Harmon)
The most famous film, The Deliberate Stranger, starred Mark Harmon as Bundy.
Trivia: Girls were falling in love with Harmon’s handsome and charismatic portrayal so much that they began to send love letters to Bundy in prison!!
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| Mark Harmon as Ted Bundy. 1986. |
Ann Rule:
In Ann Rule’s The Stranger Beside Me he is described as a man next door who was able to pull the wool over the author’s eyes for long periods of time before she discovered him to be the “Ted” she was researching. It is considered the most definitive account of Ted Bundy’s life and crimes.
Trivia: Ann Rule worked alongside Ted Bundy on a suicide crisis phone line where she heard Ted save lives.
Let’s Talk:
Have you done any research about Ted Bundy? What is your favorite film or book on the subject? Why do you think women (and men) are so fascinated with serial killers and start corresponding with men behind bars?
It's frightening how he conned women and then murdered them. I've never read Ann Rule's book, but it sounds like an interesting read.
~Katie
TheCyborgMom
Definitely a good read to see him from her perspective.
He was a master manipulator. I've seen interviews with Ann Rule and I really need to buy that book.
@Kathleen01930
Meet My Imaginary Friends
#AtoZchallenge
🙂
I remember an interview he did shortly before he was put to death. He seemed very afraid to die, interesting because oh all he was capable of doing. I need to read that book.
Betty
Enjoy the book. It is hard to put down.
I haven't done research, but I saw a documentary. It creeps me out endlessly. Partly because even after knowing what a monster he was, women still found him attractive, and partly because he shows how anyone can be a psycho killer without "looking" like one. Creepy creep creep.
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
The Multicolored Diary
MopDog
Creepy creepy. I do think though that the movie makers didn't have to cast such a handsome man in the role 😮 But then again Bundy wasn't a bad looker either. You never know.
So creepy and so scary.
Indeed. 🙁