This One Hit A Lil Too Close To Home ...

Hybristophilia – The Ultimate ‘Bad Boy’ Complex

*while this post focuses predominantly on women falling for serial killers, men can also experience this too, it is just less common*

With the new Ted Bundy movie screening at Sundance this weekend it seems like an appropriate time to discuss the topic of hybristophilia. Not heard of it? Well keep reading…

So this year Zac Efron is taking the lead role in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (yes, it is a very bad title), he plays one of America’s most notorious serial killers. Bundy committed over 30 brutal and sexually sadistic murders in the 1970’s before he was eventually caught (for the final time) and executed in Florida. Charming, handsome and charismatic he was far from what most people would picture as a deranged monster, rather he was the stereotypical “all American” boy.

The nature of his crimes were so shocking and disturbed that they sparked a huge public outcry for his immediate execution. However, a strange phenomenon occurred during his murder trial. Women were showing up at the court proceedings to express their support and profess their love for the killer. A bench in the courtroom was reserved for the “groupies” who would smile warmly at Bundy as he took the stand, giggling joyously if he glanced over at them. But why? Well, the term for this is hybristophilia – a paraphilia (think: paedophilia, necrophilia etc) that describes women who feel a strong sexual attraction to men who have done bad things. Like, really bad things. Murderers. Rapists. Armed robbers. Crazy right? Well, actually not so much. There is some psychological logic behind all this madness…

Why do they feel this way?

One of the first reasons that could be attributed to this is the basic animal instinct to feel safe and protected. In nature many animals pick their mates based on their predatory abilities, the ability to hunt and kill, the physical strength and violence needed to become an alpha male is what attracts female partners. Females naturally choose the strongest male to mate with. Transferring this logic to human behaviour works to a certain extent. But a man who kills women? That’s not strong? Well, no it is not. But the feeling of danger and fear combined with the branding of him as a predator may trigger a natural animal instinct in some women who will then perceive him as a viable sexual partner.

There is also an element of narcissism to hybristophilia. The idea that this violent, savage man with impulses to murder women would choose not to kill you, but rather to be in a relationship with you, well that must make you pretty damn special right? That was certainly a contributing factor to Bundy’s groupies. His victim profile was typically young, attractive, intelligent ladies. Many of the women who showed up to Bundy’s trial no doubt thought that if he was released (which was delusional as it was) that he would see them as more than he saw his victims, he would spare their lives because their lives were worth saving. That is also the premise of basically every vampire love story ever.

The last thing to mention is Nightingale Syndrome, which relates to Florence Nightingale and is used to describe when a doctor falls for a patient under their care. How is this relevant to women falling for serial killers? It boils down to the basic principle of wanting to save someone. Saving them from a physical disease or a mental one are really quite similar. Sometimes people see a severely damaged person and a strong desire to save them is triggered within. Doctors and patients, women and serial killers, no difference. Okay, well maybe a big difference.

New England Gothic

You’re walking in the woods in late autumn. A crow caws, somewhere. You step on something, and hear a sharp crack. You look down. It’s a bone.

The clocktower in the town square has been broken for as long as anyone can remember. One day, it rings.

The leaves are turning. Last year, the brilliant oranges and reds lasted well after they fell. Now, the leaves are grey. They crumble into ash when touched.

The ocean is cold, and unrelenting. The waves crash against the cliffs. A captain yells out to his crew, but there is no ship.

You have been walking in a graveyard for hours. Someone is watching you. You turn, but no one is there. You read the gravestone at your feet. Your name is carved into it. A rabbit darts in front of you, and you shiver.

The mountains stretch on for miles. Endless, repeating mountains, stretching so far into the horizon that it seems that once the mountains end, so does the world. 

You drive down the backroads at midnight. The trees are impossibly dark. Something runs in front of your headlights. It was a deer. It has to be a deer.

There are four churches on the same street. At five p.m. on the dot, the bells ring. They are deafening. 

The sunflowers have died. They stand all winter, bleak omens of what’s to come.

You are looking for witching stones in the river. Something shiny catches your eye, and you fish it out. It’s an iron cross. It’s cold. You toss it back.

dark academia playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0arpg4QrCy5HWOMooTKgrh?si=dJ-ysuXBTCCQVbii9rNyZw

hello there! any dark academia TV series/shows recommendations??

hello love! may i recommend: 

Dark Academic TV Series:

The Alienist 

Dark

Hannibal 

The Frankenstein Chronicles 

Dear White People (please watch. i’m still upset i don’t see people list this as DA) 

General ‘darker’ shows:

Babylon Berlin 

Peaky Blinders

Not into it juts dark and interesting

Paraphilia Classifications

Attack Paraphilias

1 .Amokoscisia- arousal or sexual frenzy with desire to slash or murder

2. Anophelorastia- arousal from defiling or ravaging a partner

3. Biastophilia- those preferring to violently rape their victims 

4. Dippoldism- sexual arousal from abusing children

5. Pedophilia- sex with minors

6. Pyromania- arousal from deliberate or purposeful fire-setting

7. Sadism- empowerment and arousal derived from injuring others

Prepatory Paraphilias

1. Agonophilia- person who is aroused by partner pretending to struggle

2. Altocalciphilia- high heel shoe fetish

3. Alvinolagnia- stomach fetish

4. Anililagnia- arousal from older female sex partner

5. Autonecrophilia- imagining oneself as a corpse or becoming sexually aroused by simulated corpses.

6. Bondage- physical or mental restriction of partner

7. Dacryphilia- person who is aroused by seeing their partner cry

8. Erotomania- people who develop an unreasonable love of a stranger or person not interested in them

9. Exhibitionism- exposing body to inappropriate and nonconsenting people for arousal

10. Frottage- rubbing body against partner or objet for arousal

11. Gerontophilia- attraction to a partner whose is that of a different generation

12. Hebephilia- men aroused by teenage boys

13. Hyphephilia- arousal from touching skin , hair, leather, fur, or fabric

14. Kleptolagnia- arousal from stealing

15. Mastofact- breast fetish

16. Mixoscopia-orgasm dependent on watching others have sex

17. Necrophilia- sex with corpses

18. Retifism- shoe fetish

19. Scatophilia- arousal by making phone calls, using vulgar language, or trying to elicit a reaction from the other party

20. Somnophilia- fondling strangers in their sleep

21. Voyeurism- arousal by watching others without consent.

The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is arguably one of the most influential Gothic writers of the last century. He has become a symbol of horror and mystery not only in his work, but also in his death. On October 3rd, 1849, he was found delirious and wandering the streets of Baltimore, Maryland. A witness from the time reported that Mr. Poe was “In great distress and in need of immediate medical assistance” although nobody was quite sure what was wrong with him. He was rushed to hospital where medics worked around the clock to find a solution to the author’s state. After a short stay in hospital, Edgar Allan Poe died at 5 a.m. on the 7th of October.

Many theories surround his mysterious death, although none can be proven. Suicide, murder, the flu, syphilis, even rabies are all likely explanations as to how Poe died. Many newspapers reported that he had died from an “inflammation of the brain” after rumours from hospital staff emerged. One particularly dark theory dating from 1872 suggests that cooping was the cause of Poe’s death, a form of electoral fraud in which citizens were forced to vote for a particular candidate, sometimes leading to violence and even murder. To this day, his death remains unsolved.

The signs as famous conspiracy theories

Aries: Flat Earth/Illuminati/saved by the bell was made by the illuminati

Taurus: Shadow Earth/the moon is fake/hitler is still alive

Gemini: Aliens in the ancient world/Denver airport/last thursday

Cancer: MK Ultra/shark spies/AIDS was created by the government to weaken the population

Leo: Shadow government/Hillary Clinton is really a body double/HAARP

Virgo: The moon landing was faked/freemasons/fluoride in the water to cause sickness

Libra: Roswell 1947 crash/dinosaurs built the pyramids/FEMA prison camp coffins

Scorpio: Chemtrails/Michael Jackson was killed by the Iranian government/tsunamis are caused by governments testing nuclear bombs

Sagittarius: Reptilians/world war II was staged/the government knew the pearl harbor bombings would happen

Capricorns: Star gate/hollow earth/peak oil

Aquarius: Number stations/that one pageant kid that died continued on to be Katy Perry/Elvis is still alive

I love the four-horsemen. its such a cool take on the apocalypse. Bible did good

One. Famine is a teenage girl, sipping cappucino foam through the holes of her gas mask. Her eyes are hidden behind tainted black; when you pass her, you see the bright reflection of something red behind the glass. You saw it, but it did not happen. Two. Hundreds of people in the streets are bawling but one of them stays silent. He wears the oil-greased overall of the workshop around the corner. It reads Conquest. His teeth are razor sharp and glisten in the dying sun above. It reminds you of a butter knife. You blink and he’s gone. Three. Four men in posh busniess suits drop dead to the earth. A middle aged lady looks at you with a knife in her hand and a gun at her hip. Someone far away calls out for her. Her name is something British, but you’re sure they called her War. She throws her head back and starts to laugh. It chills you to the bones. Four. An old man smiles at you from a park bench while he throws rotten corn at the pigeons. You realize the pigeons are actually vultures. When you look at the old man again, Death looks back at you. It doesn’t matter. The world around you is already dead.

the four horsemen of the apocalypse, re-imagined as vigilantes in a post apocalyptic setting | r.m