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Why Serial Killers Become Media Celebrities · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: All right, buckle up, everybody, because today we're taking a
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  deep dive in something oh kind of creepy but also
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  super fascinating. We're talking about our obsession with serial killers.
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  Speaker 2: Ooh yeah, it's a good one.
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  Speaker 1: It is, right. So we've got some excerpts here from
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  like a legit academic text all about this, and of
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  course our expert is here to help us break it
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  all down.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it really is amazing, Like you just say
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  serial killer and everybody everybody's interesting.
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  Speaker 1: It's true, like it's dark, we know that. But why
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  are we so captivated by these well, these celebrity monsters.
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  I think the text calls them, which I gotta say,
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  kind of perfect, right.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like the worst of humanity, and yet we're
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  glued to it.
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  Speaker 1: Total paradox. Yeah. So the text says that a lot
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  of people they call this a guilty pleasure, this interest
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  in serial killers. But it's got to be more than that,
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  don't you think.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, way more. It's like primal survival instinct kind of stuff. Really, yeah,
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  think about it. Serial killers they just they don't follow
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  the rules, right, They blend in seem normal, So it
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  messes with how we normally sense danger.
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  Speaker 1: So maybe by learning about them, we're like unconsciously trying
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  to protect ourselves, like spot those red flags, bingo.
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  Speaker 2: Our brains want to make sense of the senseless, find
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  the pattern in the chaos.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, that's the fear part, but there's also like the intrigue. Right.
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  The text even compares it to Get This Monster movies.
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  Speaker 2: Huh. Yeah, both are like a safe dose of fear
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  a thrill ride, but you're not really in danger. Statistically,
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  you're more likely to get attacked by a shark than
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  meet a serial killer.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, but everybody knows about shark attacks. It's the randomness, right, Yeah,
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  anyone could be a target. That's what makes it so
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  scary for sure.
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  Speaker 2: And it's not like a one time thing. Unlike most murders,
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  which are you know, heat of the moment, crime of passion.
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  Serial killers they have this drive to keep killing. It's insatiable.
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  Speaker 1: So it becomes this puzzle, this mystery we want to solve,
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  not just who did it, but why? Why would they
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  do such a thing? Again and again, perfect.
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  Speaker 2: Example Jeffrey Dahmer. Everyone wanted to know what made him tick. Why,
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  Like if we understood the why, maybe it wouldn't be so.
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  Speaker 1: Terrifying, like understand the monster and maybe it's less of a.
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  Speaker 2: Monster, or and this is where it's really interesting, maybe
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  it makes us see ourselves a bit. The text says,
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  it's like they're a dark mirror. We all think dark
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  thoughts sometimes, right, but they act on them.
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  Speaker 1: WHOA, that's a chilling thought. Makes you think, what would
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  any of us do under pressure? Where's the line between
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  thinking it and doing it?
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  Speaker 2: And that leads us to a huge ee question, the
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  empathy paradox. How can we even feel empathy for people
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  who do such awful thing?
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  Speaker 1: That's what's so fascinating, right, Oh, we repulsed, drawn in.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: It's like you can't have one.
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  Speaker 2: Without the other exactly. This push and pull, the repulsion
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  and the fascination, that's what keeps us coming back for more.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so we've we've talked about why we're so drawn
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  to serial killers like that deep down need to understand
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  the darkness. But it goes beyond our own heads. Right.
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  It's everywhere.
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  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, totally true crime. It's huge, documentaries, podcasts like
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  this one, even tea shows and movies.
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  Speaker 1: Right, It's like everywhere you look, and it's interesting, how different.
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  I guess mediums I don't know, tap into our fascination
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  in different ways. Like with documentaries, you kind of feel
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  like you're there, yeah, you know, seeing the evidence of
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  the investigation.
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  Speaker 2: It's real, raw, immediate. You're not just watching, you're like
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  solving the puzzle with the detectives. The tension, it's.
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  Speaker 1: Palpable, and they really play that up some of them,
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  like building the suspense, making you feel like almost part.
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  Speaker 2: Of the story exactly, our inner detective comes out. We
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  want to make sense of the chaos, put the pieces together.
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  But then with fiction, it's more like we're exploring those
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  dark themes but at a safe distance.
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  Speaker 1: Right right, like a controlled experiment. You get the thrill,
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  the fear, but you know it's not real.
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  Speaker 2: And the text it calls them celebrity monsters, which I
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  think is brilliant. It's wild how people who do such
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  awful things become well famous in.
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  Speaker 1: A way totally, we're just drawn to their stories, even
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  if it's like a mix of discuss and fascinations, you
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  know what I mean?
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  Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, But that's well, that's where it gets tricky,
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  this whole celebrity thing. It can be well harmful even.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, like how so well, it can lead to.
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  Speaker 2: Like romanticizing them almost we get so caught up in
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  the psychology the chase that we forget you know, the victims,
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  the real people whose lives were destroyed.
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  Speaker 1: Ugh, that's so true. For every big case, every headline,
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  there are families, communities who are suffering.
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  Speaker 2: Right, So it's a balancing act, isn't it. It's okay
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  to be fascinated, but we got to remember the real
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  cost of these crimes.
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  Speaker 1: So as you know, people who make content and people
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  who watch it, what do we do? How do we
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  explore this stuff responsibly?
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  Speaker 2: I think first, just be honest about our own fascination,
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  like why are we drawn to this? And be careful
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  not to you know, make it all about the violence,
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  the spectacle, and.
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  Speaker 1: Never forget these are real people, not just characters in
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  a story.
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  Speaker 2: You got it, which actually brings up another big concern
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  copycat crimes.
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  Speaker 1: Oh wow? Yeah, Like, are we inspiring more violence by
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  focusing on these killers giving them attention?
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  Speaker 2: It's definitely possible. There have been cases where people have
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  you know, said they were inspired by certain serial killers.
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  It's the power of well, the media, It shapes how
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  we see things.
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  Speaker 1: So how do we balance that, learn, explore, but not
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  potentially cause more harm.
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  Speaker 2: It's tough, but I think it starts with responsible storytelling.
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  Focus on the victims, don't glorify the killer, and really
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  think about like the potential impact what we're putting out there.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe it's about shifting the focus a bit less on
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  the killers themselves and more on like the bigger picture,
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  the things that contribute to violence, you know, or the
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  stories of the survivors.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely less celebrity monsters and more understanding, which actually brings
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  us back to that empathy paradox we were talking about, right.
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  Speaker 1: Because if we want to make things better, prevent this stuff,
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  we need to understand all sides, right, even the minds
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  of the people who do these terrible things exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And the text gets into this. It says, as humans,
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  we tend to empathize with well, everything good or but
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  with serial killers it takes different forms. Oh okay, interesting,
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  like how so, Well, for some people it's more intellectual.
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  They're trying to understand the why, the motivations, the background,
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  putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Almost so it's.
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  Speaker 1: Like a morbid curiosity trying to make sense of something
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  that doesn't make sense.
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  Speaker 2: I think there's some of that, yeah, But then for
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  others it goes deeper. They start to see the killer
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  as well human, not just a monster, but a person
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  with their own experiences pain.
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  Speaker 1: Even that's where it gets really tricky though, because even
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  if we see their humanity, it doesn't excuse what they did.
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  Speaker 2: Right, of course not, but it does make them less
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  I don't know, one dimensional less pure evil. And that's
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  where the text idea of the dark mirror comes back in.
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  Seeing ourselves in them, even their darkest parts, makes us
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  face the darkness in all of us.
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  Speaker 1: Oh wow, that's heavy. It's like there but for the
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  grace of God go I makes you think the line
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  between good and evil Maybe it's not as clear we think.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a sobering thought. Most of us will never
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  act on those dark impulses, thank goodness, but exploring these
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  cases it makes us acknowledge that that darkness is part
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  of being human.
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  Speaker 1: So what does all this mean for you? For us?
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  For people listening watching true crime trying to understand these
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  celebrity monsters, what are we supposed to take away?
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  Speaker 2: I think we need to be aware, be critical. It's
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  about understanding the whole picture, the ethics, the potential downsides
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  of this fascination. Be curious, yes, but don't celebrate these
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  people or their crimes.
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  Speaker 1: Use these stories to learn about ourselves, our society.
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  Speaker 2: Even exactly, and maybe realize that there's a line between
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  fascination and obsession. Know when to step back, to take
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  a break from the darkness.
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  Speaker 1: You know, such a good point. Okay, Well, on that note,
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  I'm curious from your perspective, when you're you know, deep
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  in these cases, what stands out to you, like the
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  common threads, the patterns.
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  Speaker 2: You know. It's funny you should ask that, because one
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  thing that always gets me is just how different these
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  killers seem on the surface compared to you know, the
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  monster side. The text even talks about how like a
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  lot of them are described as charming, charismatic. People actually
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  liked them, right, It's like.
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  Speaker 1: The whole hiding and plain sight thing, and it's almost
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  scarier to think that someone could be that messed up
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  but seems so normal exactly.
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  Speaker 2: It's like this insane level of I don't know, compartmentalization,
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  Like they can be totally normal on the outside while
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  on the inside it's all these dark thoughts, urges.
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  Speaker 1: So they're basically leading a double life.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, kinda. And it's not just in their everyday life,
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  it's in the crimes too. So many of them are
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  like super meticulous planners. They pick their victims carefully, think
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  everything through, try to avoid getting caught. It's chilling how
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  calculated it all is.
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  Speaker 1: Which makes you think it's not just pure madness. Right.
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  There's a method to it all, a reason, even if
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  it's a twisted one totally.
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  Speaker 2: And that's why understanding there why their motivation is so important.
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  Is it power control, some messed up need for like fulfillment.
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  Figuring that out is key to catching them and hope
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  stopping it from happening again.
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  Speaker 1: So is there any way to you know, see it coming,
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  like warning signs, red flags that someone's heading down that path.
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  Speaker 2: Sadly, there's no like one size fits all profile, but
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  the text does mention that a lot of them have
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  similar stuff in their past trauma, abuse, you know, being
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  exposed to violence when they were kids.
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  Speaker 1: So it's not like destiny, but those things can make
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  someone more vulnerable for sure.
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  Speaker 2: And this is where I think that empathy paradox comes
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  back in, Like, if we understand their background, the psychology
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  of it all. Maybe we can actually, you know, intervene,
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  create support systems and prevent some of the stuff from
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  happening in the first place.
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  Speaker 1: Right, it's getting to the root of the problem, not
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  just reacting.
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  Speaker 2: After the fact exactly. And it's about remembering that, you know,
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  even the most monstrous people they were once kids too.
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  They were shaped by things that you know, left scars
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  and holding them accountable is super important, of course, but
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  so is understanding how w they got there.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like a reminder that even with the worst
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  of the worst, there's a story there, a whole bunch
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  of stuff that made them who they are.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely and while we might never completely get what goes
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  on in the mind of the serial killer, I think
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  trying to understand is important, not just for understanding evil,
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  but for understanding ourselves. You know.
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  Speaker 1: Well, that's a really great point, and I think that's
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  a perfect place to wrap things up. So to everyone listening,
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  we hope this deep dive has gotten you thinking, asking questions,
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  maybe even feeling a bit uncomfortable. That's okay, But what
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  we really hope you take away from this is that
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  learning about human behavior, even the dark stuff, can actually
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  help us build a better, safer world,