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The only thing I remember or want to remember about Ted Bundy was how he made a fool out of the justice system and how he killed those poor girls at chi omega at florida state university . I was going to school at that time at yale and I had two friends who had sisters and a cousin at florida state university and they were scared to death and their parents making them come home to keep them safe . I find no value in reading about some sadistic nasty killer who is rotting in hell I pray .
Has anyone else here read this book about Ted Bundy by Ann Rule? She knew him during her lifetime as they worked together for a suicide hotline. I've read the book twice now. Wanted to get some thoughts from others.
Yes! I have been fascinated and terrified by Ted Bundy since I heard about him in the 1970s. I think what terrifies me the most is that he was smart and handsome. He didn't look like a dirt bag, the way many serial murderers do. He targeted 1970s college girls with long straight hair, parted in the middle. I fit that description.
Bottom line - if I'd had an encounter with Bundy, I may well have been charmed by him, and gotten into his tan VW Beetle. And never emerged alive.
So yes, Ted Bundy scares the snot out of me. The first book I read about him was "Stranger Beside Me". I think it ranks among Ann Rule's best true crime books. Another good one by Rule is "Small Sacrifices", which is about convicted child murderer, Diane Downs.
I read it quite a while ago, but I do remember that it was chilling. I remember Rule wondering if the amount of people he saved on the suicide hotline equaled the amount that he killed.
What a paradox!
If you are interested in Bundy, an even better book about him is "Only Living Witness". Don't get me wrong, "Stranger Beside Me" is an excellent book about Bundy. However, the other one was even more disturbing.
Really, everything about Bundy is terrifying and disturbing.
You might also be interested in the movie that was made about 20 years ago, staring Mark Harmon.
Also, you may be aware that they are making a new movie about Bundy which will feature Zach Efron.
I read the book again recently and it's pretty much the same old Bundy story. Ann did work with him and was lucky enough to not be a victim because of her age and physical appeaqrance. I think she had a soft spot for Ted and that's alarming. He's still probably the worst of the worst.
I completely agree. Ann Rule did amazingly have a "soft spot" or dare I say, a mild crush on Ted Bundy. And, that nuanced emotion did effect the book in an interesting, but alarming way. It also colored the way that she presented him. As a psychological study about how a narcissistic psychopath can manipulate an ordinary person, it is a testament to how manipulative, superficially charming, and dangerous these individuals can be.
This is why I prefer "Only Living Witness". Bundy exerted no charm at all on these male authors.
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Originally Posted by sheena12
I completely agree. Ann Rule did amazingly have a "soft spot" or dare I say, a mild crush on Ted Bundy. And, that nuanced emotion did effect the book in an interesting, but alarming way. It also colored the way that she presented him. As a psychological study about how a narcissistic psychopath can manipulate an ordinary person, it is a testament to how manipulative, superficially charming, and dangerous these individuals can be.
This is why I prefer "Only Living Witness". Bundy exerted no charm at all on these male authors.
She had a soft spot for him because her younger brother committed suicide. That's why she was volunteering at the suicide hotline where he was working part-time.
That doesn't make sense. Sure, that explains why she did volunteer work at a suicide hotline, but not why she had a soft spot for Ted Bundy. He wasn't suicidal.
That doesn't make sense. Sure, that explains why she did volunteer work at a suicide hotline, but not why she had a soft spot for Ted Bundy. He wasn't suicidal.
I didn't make that very clear.
She had a soft spot for him because he reminded her of the younger brother she had lost and that is how she related to him, as a younger brother.
If you are interested in Bundy, an even better book about him is "Only Living Witness". Don't get me wrong, "Stranger Beside Me" is an excellent book about Bundy..
Sheena.. In additon to Stranger, there was another first-hand Bundy biography (authored by a Bundy ex-girlfriend). It's titled Phantom Prince (Elizabeth Kendall). It's out-of-print, & used copies are expensive, but..
I read it about a decade ago.. Kendall is a pseudonym used by the ex.
Peace ~
Sheena.. In additon to Stranger, there was another first-hand Bundy biography (authored by a Bundy ex-girlfriend). It's titled Phantom Prince (Elizabeth Kendall). It's out-of-print, & used copies are expensive, but.. ~
I read that book many years ago. Too bad I tossed it out, it's worth something on amazon now, I think.
Has anyone else here read this book about Ted Bundy by Ann Rule? She knew him during her lifetime as they worked together for a suicide hotline. I've read the book twice now. Wanted to get some thoughts from others.
I did, a long time ago. I remember it was a good book, but I don't remember a lot of the details. I've seen so many movies about Ted Bundy, and I read this book, that I can't keep straight what I remember comes from what.
I've read several of her books. I liked them all. But I like true crime books, anyway. I've read a lot of them.
Last edited by bpollen; 01-26-2018 at 10:55 PM..
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