Society has been glamorizing some of the most unexpected celebrities for years — serial killers. From the age of Jack the Ripper to now, there is some pretty complicated psychology why we just love serial killers.
Recently, the infamous Ted Bundy has been getting more and more attention. Netflix has created a series “Conversations with a Killer,” which is meant to dive into the killer’s mind. The first four-part series centered around Bundy’s interviews with journalists.
There is even a new film coming out about Bundy’s life with Zac Efron playing the lead role. 
The new Netflix series was supposed to be an interesting interview with Bundy, showing intelligent interconnections of his mind.
Instead, Bundy twists these interviews into a misogynistic explanation as to why he sees himself as the victim even among all his murders. Bundy ‘s charm and charisma were what made him so loved among all the fear. His charms were so great that he can even charm his interviewees to be overwhelmed by his aura.
Even though many may think Bundy was attractive and appealing, it is important that we keep fiction and reality divided. He was a twisted person who killed up to 30 women — people tend to forget what happened.
Bundy “abducted, tortured, raped and murdered at least 30 women, sometimes revisiting his deceased victims for more assaults. Let’s not romanticize it,” according to an article by reporter Monica Holland of the Fayetteville Observer.
She explains that even though Bundy has a way of producing miraculous charm, we should not put him in the spotlight for all that he has done. Bundy was a killer. Combined with his charm, the celebrity surrounding his kills often makes even more people love him.
Netflix even commented on the Bundy fascination.
A Tweet from the company’s account read, “I’ve seen a lot of talk about Ted Bundy’s alleged hotness and would like to gently remind everyone that there are literally thousands of hot men on the service — almost all of whom are not convicted serial murders.”
Even though we are interested in true crime, it is important to note that there is a big difference between an actual serial killer and a movie killer. Movies and series explaining serial killer phenomena have a hard time drawing a solid line of representation. Creators just want to make something that people are interested in watching. And they might not always take account of the romanization of serial killers.
We must remember that killers kill, just as producers should remember to produce content that shares the real story along with the narrative. Think of the lives involved the next time a “hot” serial killer pops up on the screen.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected]