by Selene Ashewood ’22

Ted Bundy was an infamous killer of the 70s, known for often targeting college girls and partaking in necrophilic acts and following his crimes; in 1989, he was executed.

 But wouldn’t he have been a great boyfriend? Wouldn’t you have liked to be enchanted by him even if it ended in your own murder? Thousands of Twitter users sure think so. There’s been a brewing community called “Ted Nation” that expanded after Zac Efron’s starring role as Bundy in the movie, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile”. But make no mistake, this is no glorification of the “High School Musical” star’s performance. Rather, this is an obsession of the real man who committed real acts of violence. 

This may not seem all that new, considering that back when Bundy was alive women would often line up outside the courthouse during his trials. But their support came from denial of him being guilty, which is much different from current supporters who know the horrifying extent of everything he did. 

 The current supporters originated on Tumblr, where they would write out their romantic and occasional sexual fantasies of Bundy through fan fiction. Or if one took the more educational route, write complete essays on why he deserved to be declared innocent. After 2017, “Ted Nation” branched to Twitter as well. And in the tradition of joining Twitter, they came with a list of things to get offended over. The group laughably considers the words “electric chair,” in reference to Bundy’s death, a slur. They labeled it “the e-slur.” Adding to their stupidity, most of these rabid fans are oblivious to the fact that half of their mutuals are trolls; often getting into feuds with other serial killers’ fan bases, as covered by Rolling Stone in their article Ted Bundy and “Charles Manson Fans Are Deep in a Twitter Feud.” The difference between Ted Nation on Tumblr and Ted Nation on Twitter is the lust. Bundy super fans, or “stans” of Twitter, are confined to 280 characters but still make their tweets as TMI as possible, where un-ironic fan accounts named things like “ted bundys slave” explain their fantasies. These desires often center around threatening situations where Bundy is in control, and are written with graphic detail.

 There is a complete difference between people interested in the psychology and stories of serial killers and people who want to sleep with them. The group of sane people who enjoy researching the topics out of sheer curiosity are called the True Crime community. The accounts dedicated to stanning murderers often try to label themselves the same thing. But make no mistake, they aren’t one in the same. Those who glorify these monsters are attention seeking or genuinely sick.