Everyone knows “famous” serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy etc. But over the past couple of years, there has been a ridiculous growing “fanbase” for serial killers. America has treated these people as “celebrities” and household names  due to the amount of exposure that these people have received through movies, documentaries, social media, etc. This has led to an unhealthy glamorization of serial killers.

On the social media website Tumblr, there is a group known as the True Crime Community. There are many teenagers who joined the group that glamorizes the Columbine school shooters. These group of people call themselves “Columbiners.” It is disgusting and thoughtless to glamorize serial killers. It is unhealthy to view these people as “idols” and “role models”. This ideology can easily influence vulnerable people. On the website Red Bubble, there is merchandise based on the Columbine school shooting. How can people create and buy this merchandise? These distasteful clothes and objects place the wrong people in the spotlight and it ignores the victims’ families who can use the spotlight to raise awareness. Sometimes, so much emphasis is placed on the serial killer when it should be about the victims and families of the victims. A problem that contributes to this issue is Hollywood casting young and attractive men to play serial killers or murderers in movies or on a sitcom and vice versa. This leads to young impressionable people to “like” the serial killer and completely ignore the evil acts this person has committed.

The growing “fanbase” for these serial killers needs to be stopped. It creates a false perception of these people. These serial killers are not good people no matter how “attractive” or “funny” they are.