Ted Bundy and the Myth of the Charming Serial Killer

Ted Bundy and the Myth of the Charming Serial Killer

This article relates to Bright Young Women

Jessica Knoll's Bright Young Women, a fictionalized take on the crimes of Ted Bundy, portrays its Bundy-inspired killer as an unimpressive man sensationalized as a charming genius. This echoes real-life critiques of the way Bundy has been cast by the media and law enforcement over the years.

Bundy was one of the twentieth century's most notorious serial killers, carrying out a spree of crimes in the mid-to-late 1970s. He ultimately confessed to the murders of 28 women and girls and was executed in 1989 after being sentenced to death in two separate cases.

It could be argued that the media climate was poised to sensationalize Bundy's story from the start. His murder trial was the first in the United States to be nationally televised and came at a time when the FBI was emphasizing its new behavioral sciences unit, focused on criminal psychology. News outlets touted the fact that he had attended law school and chose to be on his own legal team as a sign of his intelligence. In fact, Bundy was a law school dropout with mediocre LSAT scores.

In an essay for Refinery29, Ashley Alese Edwards argues that it was Bundy's privilege as a white man that helped him win favor with the media and courts, despite growing visibly belligerent when representing himself. Though Bundy ultimately lost his case, the judge took a conciliatory tone, repeatedly calling him "young man" and "partner." Edwards writes, "because Bundy, with the help of the media, was seen as just a young man who may have lost his way, he was allowed shocking levels of leeway that were unlikely to be afforded to men of colour, particularly those who are Black."

Much has also been made of Bundy's looks and supposed charm. A few years ago, the film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was criticized for glorifying him, with handsome High School Musical star Zac Efron cast in the role and a script that emphasized Bundy's charm without showing the true grisliness of his crimes. But Bundy lured his victims by putting forth a pitiable image, or by impersonating law enforcement. He played on the way women are socialized to be kind. Carol DaRonch, who escaped Bundy's clutches after being kidnapped by him, has recalled that she found him "creepy" when he approached her, rather than being impressed or flattered. And police have even said it was actually Bundy's nondescript, "chameleon-like" looks that helped him evade capture for so long.

Though true crime fans have long been fascinated with Bundy, books like Bright Young Women, along with modern criticism, demonstrate that the way we talk about him is changing.

Filed under Society and Politics

This "beyond the book article" relates to Bright Young Women. It originally ran in October 2023 and has been updated for the August 2024 paperback edition. Go to magazine.