#tw:serial killers

[coreytaylorslefteyespupil]

why clowns aren’t scary + how society makes serial killers and mass murderers pop culture

i’m first going to put a massive trigger warning here. the full list will be in the tags

in this day and age when you think of a clown, you don’t think of a sad circus clown or juggling; you think of clowns like pennywise from “it” or jojo the klownzilla from “killer klowns from outer space”, among other, similar things. or you think of juggalos like insane clown posse or twiztid. either way, clowns in modern pop culture are creepy or edgy or in a “gang”(by the way, juggalos are not in a gang). but this is a recent thing and clowns were never supposed to be scary.

clowns have been around since 2400 bc during the fifth dynasty of egypt, and since then they have become a staple of comedy and entertainment. the first clowns as we know them, though, were created during 1800s with characters like joey the clown and others became popular. from then on, clown characters like bozo the clown were non threatening and fairly funny. yes, some of the face paint was a little odd but there were no bad intentions. until the 1980s.

john wayne gacey was caught and put in prison for the murders and sexual assaults of 33+ young boys and men in 1978, and the media went wild. this was one of america’s biggest serial killer cases to date, so every news station, paper, and radio was covering the case and trial. one detail that stuck with people had nothing to do with the crime itself, though. it was the fact that, in his free time, gacey dressed up as circus clown named pogo the clown, or sometimes patches the clown, for children’s hospitals and charity events. this allowed the media to call him the “killer clown”.

this obviously went on to inspire many movies and books such as “killer klowns from outer space”, “31”, “terrifier”, “it”,” wrinkles the clown”, “stitches”, among others. on top of that, a whole season of “american horror stories” was based off of killer clowns. wether intentionally or subconsciously, all of these films and movies and books were, in some capacity, inspired by gacey. in fact, in modern media, we hardly see any content about clowns showing them in a good light, aside from the big comfy couch.

this is a prime example of the way that society takes crime cases, particularly serial killers and mass murderers, reports them to hell, then ends up placing them into popular culture. we should not see a pair of specific glasses and immediately think of jeffrey dahmer. we shouldn’t see a clown and think of john wayne gacey. we shouldn’t see a volkswagen beetle and think of ted bundy. i could go on. the way society chooses to report on certain incidents is important and they tend to go about it the wrong way. for example, the only reason we had the sandyhook massacre and the uvalde massacre is because the killers were inspired by columbine, and the way mass media reported on it definitely influenced those killers. another example would be russian serial killer alexander pichushkin, who was inspired by fellow russian serial killer andrei chikatilo. the list goes on. i’m not saying media shouldn’t cover crime cases, especially mass murders. they absolutely should. bringing awareness to a situation is extremely important. but what shouldn’t be done is capitalizing off of tragedy and reporting it constantly.

another thing i wanted to bring up here, which i mentioned briefly, is capitalizing off of tragedy and trauma. for example, netflix recently released “dahmer”, their second docuseries about jeffrey dahmer. for some background, the families of dahmer’s victims, as well as the families of other killer’s victims, have repeatedly asked for media to stop making movies and documentaries about the tragedy, as it re-traumatizes them. which is 100% valid and i 100% agree with that. but netflix disagrees, goes against their wishes, and pumps out highly produced documentary after highly produced documentary. then each of these documentaries hits the top ten things on the platform, so everyone watches it, talks about, allows netflix to make millions off of it, and re-traumatizes hundreds of families who have lost loved ones to the depraved people we choose to use as entertainment. it disgusts me and angers me so much and i can’t help but feel horrible for the families.

i am aware i went all over the place in this essay, and i am aware of how dark this is. but it’s something that i want to talk about even if only a few people see it. it is important to discuss these topics and the awful way media and people in general discuss these atrocities.

[puff-yy]

Puffyy,about that ship post...

...when did you learn too talk like that...like a serial killerrr 😰

oh boy,it all started when i watched Child's Play at age 4...

[dadbodosamu]

my blog is getting too soft… bout to go crazy and write yandere serial killer cannibal osamu who feeds you onigiri filled with the guys that you flirt with and gets off thinking about all the times you’ve complimented his cooking

[tteokdoroki]

So i just noticed u write for TR now? Any wips atm??

a little bit !!! i have a very long mikey horror (?)based serial killer fic FOR MIKEY that’ll come out eventually but for now that’s all 🥺

[the-tessacampbell]

closed - @scthcartcr

location - dog park

Tessa laughed as Archer pulled on his leash a bit, his tail nearly breaking as it wagged in excitement the closer they got to the park. “I know, bud. I know. Calm down. We’re getting there.” Tessa half-soothed as they walked up to the gate, trying not to spill her travel mug full of coffee. Once inside, she popped off his leash and watched him take off like a rocket, sprinting and sniffing, happy to play after being cooped up in the house. Sinking down onto one of the benches, she didn’t pay much attention to who else was already there. They owned a dog, obviously and Tessa couldn’t think of a serial killer who’d had a dog. Sure, there were probably SOME serial killers who had pets, but it couldn’t be very many. Dogs could smell evil... maybe. Was that a thing? That had to be a thing. Unless it wasn’t. Surely it was, there were dogs who found bodies, and could tell when someone would die, and find drugs- 

“Do you think evil has a smell?” Tessa asked, turning slightly to the person beside her. It was random and definitely not a typical way of striking up a conversation, but her thoughts had been too loud to keep in her head. She was aware that she kind of sounded like a serial killer now, so she just sipped her coffee and waited before she said anything else that sounded weird.

[brianamarielewis]

What’s the scariest dream you’ve ever had?

I once had a dream that there was a serial killer in my house that was trying to kill me and my entire family. I ended up escaping and running into the marsh behind my house and I woke up when I heard footsteps close by. 

[thorinsbeard]

100 day writing challenge: No Time

He sat down in front of the gravestone, the bunch of flowers clutched tightly in one hand. It had been a long time since he'd even come near these parts. Not since then, because every time he walked along these streets, every time he went into the city, he saw the offices, he saw the sights that had been there when it all happened. He closed his eyes, breathed in and remembered. 

*

Time was relevant to him. It was the reason he quit his job, the reason he left his position. That, and the crucial mistake he made on the last case they did. He thought he had time, to save her. He hadn't been expecting the phone call that night. 

It started off an ordinary day, nothing special. No cases, and then she called. Sarah. An old friend, well, maybe more than a friend. A lot more. That was why he wanted the flowers. For someone as beautiful as that, wasn't it all she deserved. He wanted the flowers to be perfect, along with the date. 

Until the phone rang. The voice on the other end chilled his bones. It was a voice he knew well, a voice that would haunt him for the rest of his days. Him. The serial killer he'd worked so hard to catch, the one who got away by pure manipulation. He was back. 

'Tell me, what is your fascination with birds?' No. Not that voice, not his apartment. And worse news, he had his friend, his date for that night. He almost dropped the phone, barely able to cling to his sanity, before he regained his composure. 

"Don't hurt her," he said. He dropped the flowers, and took off, to his car, before he got inside it. His heart raced, his fear built up. He knew exactly what he would do to her. He'd never forgiven him for chasing him, for letting his mad girlfriend disappear. 

He raced to the apartment, as fast as he could. There was no time to stop, no time to think. Shakily, he came to the apartment, and forced the door open, gun pointed. There was blood everywhere. All over the bed, all over the floor, like it had erupted. His eyes darted to the bed. She lay there, wide-eyed, looking up unseeing, but he couldn't deny the fright in her eyes. 

Anger, built up inside him. He didn't think, he bolted out of his apartment, down the stairs, after him. He knew that he'd still be around here, he wouldn't want to miss the panicked, furious look on his face. Looking around, he saw him and ran after him, still covered in his girlfriend's blood. The bastard got into a car and drove away, so he did the same. Until he lost him. 

*

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't have time. If I'd known he was around, I never would've let you anywhere near that apartment." He tried to smile, the curves of his mouth wouldn't turn up, "I was too late. He hurt you, and other people. He's gone now. Thank god for that." There was no way she could answer him,  no way he could get her back, but he could do one thing, "I tried to come back here after I left the job," he said, "I could never quite manage it. I just kept driving, and driving until I couldn't go any further. No matter where I went, it still haunted me. But I can do this," he said, "these are the flowers I meant to give you that night." He thought of the killer's comment about his fascination with birds, "and I think I finally figured it out," he said. Gently, he lay the flowers down on her grave. Bright, yellow flowers, that contrasted the darkness, of the gravestone, "because birds can fly away. Birds are free. Maybe one day I will be too." 

[trotzkys]

that gif set is really nice and all but charles manson isn't a serial killer.

Well, he's usually handled as such, but I can see why he might not fit in that definition. I can change it on the original post but I don't know if it helps much.

Thanks for the correction, anon.