Also known as the “Bonnie and Clyde syndrome,” hybristophilia is a word not many people know or use in everyday language, but it’s an explanation for an intriguing phenomenon. Hybristophilia is a paraphilia involving attraction to those who commit crimes, from theft to murder.
This goes perfectly hand in hand with the public’s attraction to serial killers.
For years, women’s fascination with serial killers has made it into articles, movies and books. From Ted Bundy’s wife, Carole Ann Boone, to the numerous women who admired Richard Ramirez (one of whom eventually married him in jail), the list of women who idolize serial killers is seemingly endless.
The real question is, why do people fall in love with serial killers? How can they? After all, the murderers have committed heinous crimes. They are humans that killed other humans for pleasure, revenge, or other reasons still unknown to the public eye. What makes them so desirable?
In order to understand why people become infatuated with serial killers, people must understand that there are two main types of hybristophilia: passive and aggressive.
Passive hybristophilia is described as forming a delusion that they are unique, that “even though their lover may have killed numerous people, he would never harm [them.]”
In contrast, aggressive hybristophiliacs are “willing to do whatever it takes to get the murderer to love them,” which includes, but is not limited to, committing the same crimes the subject of interest committed–helping them in any way they can.
With the somewhat recent additions in the film industry, movies and television shows are showing more and more stories about serial killers, whether from real life or fictional.
A great example of one of Hollywood’s greatest movies starring fictional serial killers is the movie “American Psycho” (based on the book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis). The ending leaves viewers questioning if the main character actually committed the murders shown in the movie, which is one of the reasons the film is such a huge cult classic.
What connects “American Psycho” to hybristophilia is the fact that Christian Bale was cast as the lead, Patrick Bateman.
While every person is different in their preferences in what they see in a future/potential partner, there’s something thrilling about a handsome man portraying a psychopathic serial killer. On the flip side, it’s unimaginable and chilling that some people can be drawn not to the looks of a serial killer but to the crimes the person committed.
The same can be said for shows such as “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Extremely Wicked, Evil and Vile” (the last of which is based on the account of Ted Bundy’s ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth “Liz” Kendall). Critics have spoken about how casting of these shows usually contain attractive male leads.
Casting good-looking men to play serial killers might take away from the effect of framing the serial killers in a bad light and leave people defending what the killers did because they’re “hot” or “sexy,” which goes against morals that viewers might have had before.
What’s dangerous about TV shows starring charming actors is that viewers can also become desensitized to all the gore and bloodlust shown on screen. Shows like “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” show carnage beyond reason, but people look past it to stare dreamily at the actors’ faces. This can cause viewers to become accustomed to watching all the bloodshed, which might in turn lead them to defend the actions of the serial killer.
However, the end result of feeling an intense attraction to a serial killer could lead to drastic and terrifying results. Copycats are always popping up all over the place, some of the most famous being a part of the Columbine Effect and another notable one being the Zodiac Killer copycat, Heriberto Seda.
With hybristophiliacs, there are two types of people. Both are equally dangerous, though.
Those on the more passive side of the spectrum are dangerous to themselves, harming themselves by becoming desensitized to the heinousness of the crimes that serial killers commit, maybe even giving excuses to them. Meanwhile, those on the aggressive side are dangerous to the public, going out of their way to commit the same crimes their idols did.
All in all, the entertainment industry and the fictionalization of serial killers give women reason enough to believe that their fascination and admiration with the killers is justified, which goes against all morals that the public should hold in their hearts.
