[powerpress]
Welcome back for another ridiculous episode of the Mantastic PODCAST. I’m Sean Kavanaugh and I’m here with my pal and co-host Allen Wilterdink.
John is a no show again but he’s in Australia so he gets a pass. I know I sure as shit wouldn’t be here if I had an Australian trip planned.
So you’re settling into wooden shoe country. How is the family Al.
You and I started yapping about serial killers after I mentioned I dressed up in a clown costume loosely based on John Wayne Gacy’s Pogo costume. Our listeners found out that you have a fascination with serial killers.
I am interested as well but I am quite certain mine is healthy interest, the verdict is still out on you pal.
So we decided to bring our friend Psychotherapist Stephen Lee back on to the show to see just how messed up you really are.
Hey Steve thanks for being on with us again.
It’s safe to say serial killers cast a certain spell over the general public. So we decided to talk about the ones that fascinate us, maybe we feel some sort of sympathy for a few and I know a few scare the shit out of me.
So why don’t we through a few names out there, I don’t want to say favorites because that is just effed up so I’ll say lets talk about the ones that for whatever reason really peak our interest.
Allen you go first bellzebub.
I think I would go with John Wayne Gacy. Seeing as he’s a local fella and the pride of Norwood Park.
This was one of those guys that had a classic dysfunctional upbringing but remained defiant through all of his legal issues and eventual death sentence.
He fascinated me for a number of reasons, probably the biggest reason is that he was able to so easily assimilate himself into a normal life is friggin scary.
I although he spent 18 months in the slammer for sexual assault he got out and was seemingly an upstanding citizen. The guy was a precinct captain, company owner, was involved in the Democratic party and was the Director of the Polish Constitution Day parade.
I know you know quite a bit about Pogo the Clown so why don’t you fill us in.
His picture which all of you can find readily is horrifying. Like nightmare shit that further reinforces our innate fear of clowns. Fuck Pennywise, Pogo is the real deal.
By the way Gacy was prolific. It is amazing that he got away with his behavior as long as he did. He remained an amazing asshole until his death by lethal injection. His last words were Kiss My Ass.
I think I can safely say we are all a little better off without him in the world.
The one who freaked me out the most was The Night Stalker Richard Ramirez. He scared the shit out of me. There were pictures of him where I saw complete malice, there is no other way to put it.
Just because we are kinda keeping score Ramirez was convicted of 13 counts of murder and 5 counts of attempted murder. So he wasn’t as prolific as Gacy but he was creative in his methods, he used handgun, knives, a tire iron a hammer and A MACHETE. His legend grew because of his affinity for Satanism.
The judge that upheld his death sentence said “Ramirez’s deeds exhibited “cruelty, callousness and viciousness beyond any human understanding”
He was also exposed to extreme violence and abuse as a child. His father beat the tar out of him and his cousin Mike Ramirez a decorated Green Beret shared pictures of rape, torture and dismemberment. There is an interesting fact Richard Ramirez sustained to pretty traumatic head injuries after the last at 5 years old he had epileptic seizures.
Jeffrey Dahmer was a different kinda of serial killer to me. In fact I’ve been rather sympathetic towards his legacy. He was charged with killing 17 but he was a real sick because he did some freaky ass shit for instance…..he ate a few of them he had sex with a few dead ones, kept body parts in his work locker and at home. However, after incarceration he seemed truly remorseful for his crimes he told the officers when he got arrested “for what I did I should be dead.”
I think we would be remiss of we didn’t include Ilene Wuornos in our mix of really effed up people. I’m sure most of you saw the movie Monster. A movie Charlice Theron played Wuornos and won an academy award for.
She was freaky good in fact after watching the special on Wuornos I thought Theron did an even better job portraying her. It was crazy. I have a funny story about Monster. So one morning my wife who is beautiful wakes up and about an hour later walks in and say I think I can make myself look like Charlize in Monster so proceeds to do a mean Ilene Wuornos and it was scary a little bit. So she wanted to come down here and do it for you but she’s working today.
One thing I will say about the movie is that they tried to portray her as a sympathetic character but in watching the documentary she was clearly in full control of her actions. She was cold blooded.
Hey Allen and Steve you want to take a quick break before we talk about some other really swell fellas? Awesome. Thanks for listening everyone and stay tuned for more of the Mantastic Podcast.
Albert Fish was a neat fella. He was quoted that he “had children in every state” No one ever knew whether he was speaking about rapes or canabilizism. He was another that had a real rough childhood. His whole family was racked by mental illness and he was placed in an orphanage until he was 10. He met a real good friend who introduced him to some real productive habits.
Drinking Urine
Eating Feces
That’s next level friendship.
Gary Ridgway (Green River Killer) –
If this dude wasn’t the king of all serial killers he was definitely on the court. He was convicted of 49 murders but confessed to double that many. He was real consistent in his killing style, he strangled mostly prostitutes. (I’m going to tell you after watching leaving Las Vegas and reading about Ridgeway I’m starting to feel like prostitution is not a good career choice.
In addition to killing his victims he has another real bad habit. He would dump them in forested areas and come back to have sex with them.
Allen I know you have some better detail on this than I.
BTK Dennis Rader
This one was another enigma. By all accounts he didn’t have a traumatic upbringing but did like to torture animals.
This is a message to all the parents out there. If you child likes to hurt animals it’s probably not a phase. Please take it seriously.
He was another that was well respected in the community. He was elected president of the Christ Lutheran Church and was also a Cub Scout leader.
His real claim to fame were the taunting letters he sent to police and newspapers from 1974 through 1979 Allen give us some more detail on his communication with police because he went dark for awhile.
Ed Guine
Richard Speck – this one holds a special place in my heart after seeing this fool in prison. He was the prison bitch, he had been taking hormones and grew boobs and had a great tattoo of a naked woman on his back. That’s life paying you back.
Ted Bundy
Paul Runge – This one is a bit weird because he was from my wife’s home town and we both had friends that knew him fairly well. We had heard back in the early 90s about a girl who escaped his house after being held captive there for a week. She was 14 years old. We were like WTF.
I want to mention an awesome novel written by Caleb Carr called The Alienist. Its set in 1896 and it features a group of investigators tracking a serial killer using new techniques like finger printing and abnormal psych and profiling. The sequel Angel of Darkness was equally good and Carr does an awesome job of recreating the time period in New York City. Hells Kitchen, the early gangs and Five Points neighborhood. It’s pretty cool because the novel blends fact with fiction and
Caleb Carr is a pretty messed up guy. His father abused he and his siblings and he is quoted as saying he was the only sibling that didn’t try to commit suicide.
There is only one thing that pissed me off about Carr. He wrote two incredible novels which were well received and although he wrote a few more he never revisited those character or the time frame again and I’d like to sock him in the eye for that.
