Commercialization of Murder and “Murderabilia”

What draws people to consume media based around the crimes of others? Is it a morbid curiosity? Paranoia? Is it an attempt to prepare for the worst case scenario?
First of all, let’s talk about how producers are making money off of murder mystery shows. It’s actually pretty straight-forward, they function just like any other show, making money off of the commercials they have spliced into their show. They also have an online shop, though they don’t sell anything related to any specific murders, but more generally for their brands: “Dateline”, “48 hours”, and “Wives with Knives” to name a few.

There are also, however, things that are specific to murderers themselves that can be bought and sold. You could buy some personal items that used to be long to Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) or Charles Manson, and not for cheap either. eBay even had such an issue with things like this that they banned the selling of “murderabilia” until 100 years had passed after the crime, allowing items related to Jack The Ripper to be sold on the site. This only encouraged other websites to be created specifically for the purpose of buying and selling murder merch.

Psychologists believe that people like murder, and those that commit it, because of the part of our brain that enjoys being scared. People buy Wayne Gacy’s art for the same reason that they go and see a scary movie or go to a haunted house. There is something strangely nice about being afraid, and what could be more scary than trying to delve into the mind of a murderer? Nothing demonstrates peoples’ love of fear more than the obsessions that people develop for murderers.

Sources:

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 23, 2019 at 10:28 PM

    Great post!! I myself am one of those people who is fascinated by crime and mystery. I am actually planning on studying criminal justice in college! One of my favorite shows is Criminal Minds. I know that the show is pretty popular, due to it's creepy and intriguing episodes. Another big thing is there are movies and documentaries based off these criminals. It dives deeper into the background of the individual and the crimes they committed.

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