Books that inspired real-life crimes

[jw5]

'American Psycho' -

You're probably more familiar with the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 book, starring Christian Bale.

 

[jw5]

'American Psycho' -
Real-life killer Rurik Jutting claimed to be the real American psycho. Not only was it allegedly his favorite book, he also idolized the serial killer in the story: Patrick Bateman.

 

[jw5]

American Psycho' -

Like Bateman, Jutting also worked in finance and he too was a violent killer. He murdered two women in Hong Kong.

 

[jw5]

'Foundation' -

Isaac Asimov's science fiction book series from the '40s and '50s tells the story of a hero who forms a secret society to rebuild the world after it collapses. Then, when he dies, the secret society turns into a religion.

 

[jw5]

'Foundation' -

In 1984, Japanese guru Shoko Asahara established a doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo (which translates to "supreme truth"). He too formed a religion-like group and tried to 'save' them from the apocalypse.

 

[jw5]

'Foundation' -

The cult was responsible for the Tokyo subway sarin attack on March 20, 1995. The attack injured more than 5,000 people and killed 12. Asahara and other members of the cult were sentenced to death and executed by the Japanese government in 2018.

 

[jw5]

'The Collector' -

John Fowles' 1963 book 'The Collector' is about a young man who stalks and kidnaps a female art student and keeps her in the cellar of his farmhouse. The character is a butterfly collector and decides to add this woman to his collection.

 

[jw5]

'The Collector' -

The book inspired serial killer Robert Berdella, better known as "The Kansas City Butcher" and "The Collector."

 

[jw5]

'The Collector' -

Berdella claimed to have watched the movie adaptation of the story when he was a teen. Indeed, the modus operandi of his crimes was very similar to that of the character in Fowles' book. Berdella held his victims captive and photographed their torture before killing them.

 

[jw5]

'Jack Sheppard' -

William Harrison Ainsworth's novel, published in 1839, not only became a best seller, but it also served as inspiration for a number of copycat criminals.

 

[jw5]

'Jack Sheppard' -

The romanticized true story of Jack "the Lad" Sheppard, an 18th-century thief who was a skilled prison escapee, was a hit in Victorian-era London. Numerous crimes were linked to the book at the time.

 

[ginfreely]

The world is a scary place with my psycho criminals indeed.