Books that inspired real-life crimes

[jw5]

It can be scary when life imitates art. But this happens many times, and for both good and evil. This is indeed the case for many copycat criminals who have used books as inspiration for their crimes. We have looked at films that inspired real-life crimes before, so now it's time to look at which pieces of literature have inspired killers, robbers, and terrorists, among others.

 

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'The Turner Diaries' -

William Luther Pierce's 1978 novel 'The Turner Diaries' is essentially a neo-Nazi's vision of a dystopian future, including a revolution and a race war. It is believed that the book influenced the rise of white supremacist violence in the US.

 

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'The Turner Diaries' -

Possibly the most infamous crime influenced by 'The Turner Diaries' is the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.

 

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'The Turner Diaries' -

Timothy McVeigh (pictured) and Terry Nichols used a truck bomb to kill 168 people and injure more than 680. In 2021, Amazon pulled the controversial racist book from its store.

 

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'Catcher in the Rye' -

J.D. Salinger's 1951 novel influenced one of the world's most famous crimes: the assassination of former Beatle John Lennon in New York City on December 8, 1980.

 

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'Catcher in the Rye' -

Mark David Chapman was the man responsible for the crime. He claimed to have been inspired by the book. Chapman was even reading it when he was caught by police at the murder scene.

 

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'The Vampire Chronicles' -

You might be familiar with some of the books in Anne Rice's novel series (many were turned into movies), such as 'Interview with the Vampire' and 'The Queen of the Damned.'

 

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'The Vampire Chronicles' -

In 2003, Allan Menzies from Scotland claimed to have been inspired by the books, which led him to murder his fried. In fact, he said that the character Akasha (pictured) told him to do it. Menzies died in prison in 2004.

 

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'The Basketball Diaries' -

Author and musician Jim Carroll published his memoir in 1978. 'The Basketball Diaries' was famously adapted as a film in 1995, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg, among others.

 

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'The Basketball Diaries' -

The story features a dream sequence in which Carroll opens fire on his English class. Sadly, this inspired a 14-year-old boy to gun down a school prayer group, killing three students in 1997.

 

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'The Basketball Diaries' -

But it gets worse. 'The Basketball Diaries' is quoted as a possible influence in the infamous Columbine School Massacre, which occurred on April 20, 1999, where a total of 15 people died (including the perpetrators).

 

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'A Clockwork Orange' -

You're probably more familiar with the 1971 movie adaptation by Stanley Kubrick, but the extreme level of violence in both the book and the film is well known.

 

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'A Clockwork Orange' -

In 2003, a gang influenced by the story committed a series of crimes in Barcelona, Spain. These included attacking homeless people on the streets.

 

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'Stranger in a Strange Land' -

It is speculated that the infamous Charles Manson was inspired by Robert Heinlein's 1961 novel. The book is about a man who was born on Mars to human parents but raised by aliens. He comes to Earth to preach his ideology: free love.

 

[jw5]

'Stranger in a Strange Land' -

While Manson claimed to never have read the book, his cult shared the same belief system and even some rituals (e.g. water-sharing ceremonies) and terminology (e.g. "grokking") found in the book.

 

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'The Secret Agent' -

Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel served as inspiration for a famous American criminal who operated in the '70s and '80s: Ted Kaczynski, aka "The Unabomber."

 

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'The Secret Agent' -

Kaczynski set off 16 bombs and killed a total of three people. He started in 1978, but was not caught and brought to justice until 1996.

 

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'Rage' -

Of all the books by Stephen King (this one published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), it was a short book from 1977 that caused the author the most problems.

 

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'Rage' -

The book was about a mentally-ill student who commits a school shooting. Back in the late '70s, this type of crime was not prevalent, but in the '80s and '90s several copycats emerged.

 

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'Rage' -

The book was pulled from print after it was found in the locker of a 14-year-old student who committed a similar crime in 1997.