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What an old book. I read that decades ago--40 years, or close to it.
Yes, he blended right in. I'm sick of hearing excuses over the years for that POS predator. He finally got what he deserved, but didn't take it like a man--had to be dragged by guards to "Old Sparky."
He fathered a child, too, a daughter, with that fool Carol Boone, who ultimately came to her senses, moved away with the girl, and changed their names.
Bundy had problems with women because his mother pretended she was his sister and let her parents pretend they were his parents. He developed a deep resentment against women because of his own mother.
Regarding his victims, didn't he typically whack them in the head at the outset, meaning they would be weakened because of his violence?
Sure, but how many people throughout history have had terrible upbringings and have had nasty skeletons in the closet growing up, without resorting to violence against another human being later on as they grew into adults?
There have been people with far, far worse childhoods than Ted had, but they never became vicious serial killers.
Clearly, something else was going on with that guy besides his upbringing.
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.
You forgot the "dark" part. That's the garbage that was being spread: Long, dark hair, parted in the middle. Hair which, coincidentally, looked like his ex-girlfriend's. While that might have been a favored hair style of the day, it certainly wasn't a "trigger" for TB.
The fact is that Bundy targeted females. His victims had black hair, brown hair, red hair, blond hair, long hair, short hair, bangs, straight hair, wavy hair, curly hair...They were short, tall, petite, medium-build (some were overweight)...it didn't matter.
Sure, but how many people throughout history have had terrible upbringings and have had nasty skeletons in the closet growing up, without resorting to violence against another human being later on as they grew into adults?
There have been people with far, far worse childhoods than Ted had, but they never became vicious serial killers.
Clearly, something else was going on with that guy besides his upbringing.
I agree. And so few become infamous serial killers. So he had a strange childhood - grandparents passed him off as their son because he was born out of wedlock. People did things like that back then.
The grandfather was reportedly a difficult person. His wasn't fond of his step father and thought he was low class.
Boo hoo.
On the positive side of things, he was blessed with a well above average intellect, good looks, superior verbal ability. He had the opportunity to graduate from college.
He could have taken all of these positive traits and had a good and productive life. I'd say he had more going for him than against him.
Instead he chose another path, as the judge said at is sentencing hearing.
It makes me wonder about the nature of evil. Did he choose to evil? Or did it choose him?
Ted Bundy was a "pretender." From an early age, he was described by classmates as socially awkward and inarticulate. He didn't have buddies or male friends as an adult, either, but a few women described him as "immature. He was also an animal abuser as a child.
As for his being good-looking, not where I'm concerned, but that's subjective. And his were among the ugliest teeth I've ever seen.
Last edited by Delahanty; 01-27-2018 at 07:15 PM..
Sure, but how many people throughout history have had terrible upbringings and have had nasty skeletons in the closet growing up, without resorting to violence against another human being later on as they grew into adults?
There have been people with far, far worse childhoods than Ted had, but they never became vicious serial killers.
Clearly, something else was going on with that guy besides his upbringing.
Sociopathy seems to stem from neglect in early childhood. I have no doubt that Bundy was neglected by a mother pretending to be a sister and her parents who could not accept that their young daughter gave birth out of wedlock. This wasn't just nature versus nurture, this was bad nurturing. This was neglect that turned into dysfunction and a mother who told her son the truth much too late.
You forgot the "dark" part. That's the garbage that was being spread: Long, dark hair, parted in the middle. Hair which, coincidentally, looked like his ex-girlfriend's. While that might have been a favored hair style of the day, it certainly wasn't a "trigger" for TB.
The fact is that Bundy targeted females. His victims had black hair, brown hair, red hair, blond hair, long hair, short hair, bangs, straight hair, wavy hair, curly hair...They were short, tall, petite, medium-build (some were overweight)...it didn't matter.
Bundy was looking for victims. Period.
It wasn't just his first ex-girlfriend. This was a woman from a very well positioned family who had class, and she dumped him. He was poised for political greatness if everything with that girlfriend went well. It didn't. He messed up, and he was resentful. How many similar looking girls and women did he murder after that relationship failed?
It wasn't just his first ex-girlfriend. This was a woman from a very well positioned family who had class, and she dumped him. He was poised for political greatness if everything with that girlfriend went well. It didn't. He messed up, and he was resentful. How many similar looking girls and women did he murder after that relationship failed?
An ex-girlfriend is just that--her status didn't matter. In addition, every in-depth study of Bundy mentions him as a suspect in the unsolved death of a neighborhood girl when he was a teen. He was also a peeping Tom as a teen. Long before the my girlfriend dumped me excuse came along. It makes a good movie, but it belies the facts of this case.
And "poised for political greatness?" LOL give me a break. This guy was no more than a toadie, a go-fer, and a chauffeur for a few low-level candidates. Again, it makes for great press. But thanks for the laugh.
It wasn't just his first ex-girlfriend. This was a woman from a very well positioned family who had class, and she dumped him. He was poised for political greatness if everything with that girlfriend went well. It didn't. He messed up, and he was resentful. How many similar looking girls and women did he murder after that relationship failed?
Seems like that is correct, that was the situation which triggered his resentment. But a regular resentful young man in that situation would go for some type of revenge that does not involve abnormal things like rape/torture/murder. In the case of Ted Bundy, there must have been something organically wrong with his brain to do what he did, ie, nurture may have triggered the violence, but it would not have triggered it if it hadn't been in his nature. What I think, though, is that a lot of men have the same type of anger/contempt towards women which Bundy had (nurture), only without this abnormality that completely disinhibited Bundy's behavior (nature). It would be interesting to study the brain of such people with fMRI (though Bundy is obviously not available for the study, but there are unfortunately more out there like him). Not that it diminishes his guilt - people with his kind of tendencies should seek psychiatric help rather than seek victims.
Sociopathy seems to stem from neglect in early childhood. I have no doubt that Bundy was neglected by a mother pretending to be a sister and her parents who could not accept that their young daughter gave birth out of wedlock. This wasn't just nature versus nurture, this was bad nurturing. This was neglect that turned into dysfunction and a mother who told her son the truth much too late.
What is suggested in Ann Rule's book is that he possibly had RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) that resulted from the fact this his mother left him in a home for a few months, after she gave birth to him, before returning to get him. Sometimes if infants don't get physical touching/holding they need after birth, it can cause brain development problems. However, Ann Rule did not refer to it as Reactive Attachment Disorder, but she was aware of the problem.
(RAD is a pretty controversial on the adoption forum, btw. I wouldn't bring it up there).
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