Hero to Villain: The Journey of Rick Grimes?

In his book I Wear the Black Hat Chuck Klosterman defines a villain as someone who "knows the most, but cares the least".  Makes sense.  The hero often knows only a fraction of what the villain does and one already assumes the hero cares the most while the villain cares little if at all.  As a story progresses the hero may learn more, but usually that only pushes him or her to care all the more.  This definition can also become rather dynamic if, by the end, it is the hero that knows the most, but cares the least.  Has hero become villain?  For example: Could Walking Dead's Rick Grimes be considered a villain at the end of Season 5??  ...Perhaps...

In the beginning there is no argument that Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes is a hero.  The hero.  An honorable man who falls into a coma after being shot while performing his honorable job.  A man thrown into the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse without any idea of what's going on or what to do about it when he wakes up.  He sees gore and chaos everywhere without understanding why and, in an attempt to grasp what's happening, gets a little too close to a hospital door that warns "DON'T OPEN DEAD INSIDE" before Walker fingers start to reach out for him.  Rick's knowledge really doesn't increase as he manages to get out of the hospital and in the direction of his home.  He's so naive he waves to a Walker slouching towards him thinking it a regular person.  Ultimately fellow survivor Morgan has to help him orient himself to Walkers and what's happened to the world as a result of their appearance.  Basically, Rick Grimes knows the least.

Because this is all horrifically new to him, Rick Grimes also cares the most.  He cares about all the signs of violence, about each of the innumerable dead covering the streets, about what people have done in their panic, and about what might have happened to his town and those in it.  He cares that those who witnessed the dissolution of society seem to not care; that they are so willing to turn their backs on and even attack others.  And of course he cares about what might've happened to his loved ones...his wife (Lori), son (Carl), and friends.  

Even after he gets situated in this new world - reuniting with his family and settling into the eclectic group that also includes his former partner and friend, Shane - Rick remains somewhat behind compared to the rest.  He's playing catchup both on information and processing what he learns while everyone else has moved on and are looking ahead.

This is never clearer when he is compared to Shane.  Shane who saw society break down, people turn on each other, kill each other without consideration, right in front of him.  Shane who no doubt witnessed so much chaos in those weeks/months Rick was out that by the time they see each other again he's numbed to it.  He's already had to survive in this new Walker-ridden world long enough he's used it.  He's moved on to pure, animalistic, survival instincts.  So much so when (presumed-dead) Rick's reappearance threatens Shane's set-up as leader of the group and new patriarch of the Grimes family he has little trouble making the decision that his old friend and partner has to go.

Truth is, when it comes to who lives and dies Shane never seems to have much trouble deciding.  He will always pick himself first.  He is more than willing to leave behind or outright kill others.  Should others die so that he can live, so that he can get what's needed, is fine with him.  He's not about to risk his life and the lives of those he cares for (Lori and Carl).  Shane wants to burn Hershel's barn full of Walkers, he wants to kill a youth leftover from a gunfight, and he doesn't see the need for debate.  A Wallker-filled barn and kid who can lead less-reputable/more-dangerous men to the group are threats and threats have to be eliminated.  No question.  No debate.  Just do it and move on.

For that same period of time, virtually the whole first two seasons, Rick has the opposite of this mindset.  Rick is still a sheriff's deputy at heart.  He wants to save everyone he can.  He'll leave no man, woman, or child behind.  He gives the vast majority of people the benefit of the doubt, even when it might risk his group's safety.  Rick might dislike Hershel's rules, might disagree with his belief that Walkers are merely sick people, but Rick respects the man's wishes while at his farm.  When disagreements occur he is open to discussion and debate; he believes the group should run as a democracy and actions should not be taken until there's at least a majority consensus.  Even threats should, if possible, be peacefully removed as opposed to violently eliminated.

As time passes a LOT of shit happens actually...a lot of crazy shit.  There are countless losses in the continuously growing and shrinking group: Ed (Carol's husband), Amy (Andrea's sister), Jim (bitten and left on side of the road), Jacqui (blew up with CDC building), Sophia (Carol's daughter), Dale, Shane, T-Dog (an original member), Lori, Merle, Andrea, Karen (Carol killed and set on fire), Hershel, Mika and Lizzie (girls Carol cared for), Bob ("tainted meat!!"), Beth, Tyreese, and Noah...and I'm not including those tangentially related to the group, but who still had an affect on them.

The group also comes across a great many different adversaries and all of them make Shane seem like a pretty reasonable fellow.  From The Governor and his followers to The Claimers to the cannibals of Terminus to a dysfunctional hospital run by Officer Dawn Lerner...each alone is enough to lose one's faith in humanity.  Each have their own version of madness and dangerousness that reflects the now Walker-filled world.  Each one teaches Rick that the concepts of fairness, decency, and altruism are lost.  So lost as to be dangerous if one still follows them blindly.  His old ways of doing things are over and he needs to adapt or die.  The laws he built his whole life on are gone, now it's the laws of nature that rule and they are brutal.

Given all this it's little surprise that Rick Grimes grows increasingly darker over the seasons.   Less likely to trust even after some standard vetting - "How many Walkers have you killed?  How many people have you killed?  Why?".  Less likely to respect everyone's opinion both outside and within his group - the phrase Ricktatorship popping up with increasing frequency amongst fans as seasons progress.  What Rick does grow more of is quick and brutal in acting against a threat.  Potentially dangerous individuals are, at best, given the chance to leave the group's presence with agreements not to approach again, but if that offer is refused or otherwise disregarded Rick and crew are sure to completely eliminate them.  Rick also grows more jaded.  The horrors that shocked him before barely register and leaving no one behind is an antiquated notion.

(This last fact is best shown when Rick, Carl, and Michonne drive past a man with a backpack screaming for help without even considering picking him up and when they pass him again, dead and half-eaten by Walkers, they have no reaction.  Picking up a stranger is high risk and a half-eaten guy is the same as trash on the side of the road...so common it goes unnoticed.)

Yet it isn't until he and his group meet Aaron and the other Alexandrians that Rick Grimes starts to truly slip into Klosterman's definition of a villain.

After over a year out in the Walker-entrenched world Rick knows a great deal more than when he woke up in his hospital bed.  He knows how Walkers "live", how they can be killed, and how people become them.  He's learned the best and safest places to get supplies, how to avoid Walkers when killing them would be the greater risk, and the type of person that needs to be eliminated before they become too great a threat.  He knows that staying alive means being willing to kill, that people will take advantage of another's weakness, and that while you shouldn't link up with just anyone out there you shouldn't be all on your own either.  Rick Grimes knows this new world all too well and that's one of the main reasons the Alexandrians are so interested in having him and his crew join them.  It's for all those reasons (and a spotted kind gesture by Daryl towards the rest of the group) that Aaron first approaches him.

When Aaron initially shows himself to the group he's knocked out by Rick within the first few minutes.  Rick isn't interested in the latest "stay with us, it'll be great, so safe!" pitch about a community - the last one tried to eat him.  Greeting Aaron this way is rather unfair given he made no threatening actions, but that doesn't seem to cross Rick's mind.  (Even if it did, he clearly didn't care.)  And while Aaron knows a bit from his recognizance he's still uncertain what'll happen when he comes to them with his offer of Alexandria while Rick and the others seem to have at least a basic plan already in place if anyone approaches with such an offer.   ...In this first meeting of Aaron and the group Rick's the bad guy, even if understandably.

Rick doesn't exactly improve his behavior or mindset once in Alexandria either.  While the group takes up empty houses and seems to accept the offer of staying they are all still on edge.  Untrusting.  Again, understandably.  What's interesting though is when Rick is questioned as to what the group will do if the Alexandrians don't listen to them and things go south he bluntly states: "...then we'll just take this place".   Sounds more like something Shane would say.  As does the speech Rick gives all of Alexandria mid-fight with Pete (a.k.a. Porch Dick).  A speech that, ultimately, proclaims he doesn't give a single fuck what anyone else thinks, feels, or wants...his way is THE ONLY way.  Alexandria should, will, be that fan-popular phrase...a Ricktatorship.

Compared to the Alexandrians, Rick is almost the definition of a villain.  He knows infinitely more and while they care deeply about democracy, decency, fairness, and are shaken by every death...Rick not so much.

Now it's easy to balk and say: well OF COURSE he'd fit the Klosterman definition, who wouldn't after that long out in the Walker world?!  To that I respond: Morgan and Daryl.  Both men have been through similar - if not the same - experiences as Rick and both seem to still care a great deal more.  Morgan believes all life is valuable and therefore refuses to kill any of The Wolves that attack him and even honks a horn to ensure no Walkers are around when he leaves them unconscious in a car.  When Morgan comes upon Rick as he kills Pete his face is one of confusion and horror.  Meanwhile Daryl came into the group with his brother, Merle, planning to rob them and dash, but he grew to care for them...by Season 5 it is an act of caring from him that signals to Aaron the group would be a good fit for Alexandria.  Daryl, unlike Rick, seems to have grown to care more instead of less.

Even beyond the Klosterman definition Rick's still pretty villainous by the end of Season 5.  He's got no interest in others opinions, feelings, morals, or even rights.  He's violent and volatile.  He gets so out-of-control aggressive that his own people knock him out lest he get himself (and possibly the rest of them) kicked out of Alexandria.

That being said I have little doubt that deep down Rick is still a good man.  That he does still care and not just about his own family - biological and adopted both - but about humanity as a whole.  That, if they let him, he will protect those in Alexandria as fiercely as he does his group.  Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen, but we as viewers can hope.  ...Hope he's given the chance to show he can change and be the hero once again.

Ode to Sociopathic Love: Hannibal Lecter

One of the most common arguments I hear against someone - real or fictional - being a sociopath is that the person loves someone else.  While I understand the presumption that a psychopath/sociopath cannot love, it simply is not true.  They love, just not in the same manner or presentation as the average/neurotypical person.  Theirs is a selfish, incredibly intense, love that can come and go seemingly at random…but it is love.  A love that a fair number of fictional “psychos” feel, including Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter.

There is little argument whether Hannibal Lecter is a psychopath; he’s a serial killer who cannibalizes and sometimes serves his victims to others after all.  He’s cool, calm, calculating, and enjoys playing with peoples’ brains (pun intended).  That being said there’s also little doubt that he feels intensely for FBI agent Clarice Starling.  In the movie, Hannibal, antagonist Mason Verger questions Hannibal’s interest in Clarice: “Does he wanna fuck her, kill her, or eat her?"  His assistant/caretaker, Cordell, replies: "Probably all three, though I wouldn’t want to predict in what order.” …Cordell is probably right.  More than anything Hannibal wants to possess Clarice - the exact manner of possession is something that he likely doesn't even know from one moment to the next.

At the end of The Silence of the Lambs Hannibal calls Clarice to say goodbye.  He wishes her well and seems proud of her accomplishment in becoming an agent.  He assures her that he will not come after her and holds himself to that promise; both of which might seem unlikely (if not impossible) for a psychopathic serial killer such as him.  Yet ten years pass without him reaching out in any way, something that would be near impossible for an empathic person in love.  That said when they do reconnect his feelings are the same as ever: “Does this mean you’re back on the case?  If so, goody goody."  In fact, he's so delighted to have her back in his life he essentially stalks her.  If given the option it would appear Hannibal would much rather have her hunting him (and vice versa) than anyone else.

Hannibal comes out of hiding to be near and protect Clarice.  He risks getting caught for her, he kills others because they disrespect her and put her at risk, and at the end of the Hannibal movie he sacrifices his hand for hers.  For him it's as if no time at all has passed; he's just as intense in his feelings as before he left.  …And at the end of the Hannibal book the sociopathic love is even more evident as he drugs and works to brainwash Clarice into becoming his sister (another love of his); something that would be considered abhorrent to do to a loved one to most, but seems perfectly reasonable/sound to Hannibal.  (Dr Lecter fails, but they do appear to become lovers.)

Hannibal’s love is aggressive, possessive, and sometimes cruel.  He has no trouble dropping her when he must (like while on the run), but all the intensity of his feelings for her return the moment she’s back in his life.  No one may stalk, use, or torment Clarice...except for him.  No one may threaten her, but him.  Hannibal would never allow Clarice to capture or kill him - I have no doubt he’d have killed her if he really felt he must to survive and remain free - but he will do whatever he feels he has to in order to ensure her safety.  He is hers only as long and as much as he allows, but she is completely his.  That is how Hannibal Lecter loves.

Hybristophilia: Killer Love

Most people have heard to those strange people who marry prison inmates, who write fan letters to serial killers, and those who pair off with killers and commit horrible crimes with them.  For the most part these women (most, if not all, are so we'll stick with that assumption in this piece) are regarded as sick, but never given a specific name to their illness though there seems to be one.  Hybristophilia...though sometimes it's given the more casual name of the Bonnie & Clyde Syndrome.  It is, essentially, being sexually aroused or attracted to people who have committed an outrage or a gruesome crime.  And, like any thing else, there seem to be various versions in which this "philia" can present itself...some more deadly than others.

The Fans

The most common and least dangerous are passive hybristophiliacs, also known as the fans.  (All other forms to be discussed fall under the category of aggressive hybristophiliacs.)  They are the women  - more often it’s women that have this condition - who write to convicts in prison, confess to finding serial killers attractive, or marry men imprisoned for violent crimes.  It's hard to say the reasoning behind these types save for the possibilities that they are, for the most part, just taking their bad-boy fascination to the next step.  

Doreen Lioy had a BA in English Literature and a fascination with serial killer Richard Ramirez.  She wrote approximately 75 letters to him before they met, but when they did her love for him seemed only to grow and deepen.  On October 3, 1996 Doreen married the killer making her Mrs Richard Ramirez.  

Throughout Ted Bundy’s trial in Florida girls showed up with long bronw hair parted in the middle to emulate his preferred type of victim type.  Included in this crowd was Carol Ann Boone who became his girlfriend and moved from her home-state of Washington to Florida in order to be closer to her man.  A man she repeatedly and continually claimed was innocent and being railroaded even after he was convicted.  Then, during the penalty phase of his 1980 trial, Bundy took advantage of an old state law that allowed his proposal in the court and her joyful acceptance to be legally binding as a marriage.  Sometime after that, in a way that’s still debated, Carol became pregnant with Bundy’s child...it took eight long years after her marriage to him for the woman to seemingly realize who, what, Ted Bundy truly was and leave him.

There are numerous possibilities as to why these women took their bad-boy enjoyment to the next level.  With Doreen and Carole it seemed to be that they were suffering from deep denial and even a delusion of sorts...they could not see Ramirez and Bundy for the killers they really were as they had developed their own idealized fantasies about the men.  And, in truth, these women don’t truly know the men they’ve entered a relationship with; they share letters, short phone conversations, and meet with them for one to two hour jail visits, which doesn’t allow these women to get a real glimpse behind the sociopath’s mask of normalcy.  Instead these woman spend their time fantasizing about what their relationship would be like if their other half was not imprisoned, which is never going to be accurate.

Other reasons for Serial Killer Groupies, as they are sometimes referred to, might be sympathy for someone who they feel (correctly or not) has had a hard life and/or perhaps a belief that their love can redeem the man convicted of armed robbery or murder.  A fear of rejection also likely plays a part as it’s unlikely a convict will rebuff a fan and the women may believe that only these types of men will love them for some reason.  There’s also the assurance that a man in prison isn’t about to up and leave because he can’t.  These women, possibly the first time in their lives, have more power in the relationship.  Often times women who fall into this category have poor social skills, not many close friends, and a history of being abused.

The Angry Teen Girls

More prevalent than the fans and more dangerous as well thanks as much to the ages of these ladies as to anything else.  In the teen years the hormones run wild and rebellion is common…toss in a beau that’s bad news and it’s a recipe for disaster.  

The clearest, and possibly the most famous, example of this is Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate.  After 14-year-old Caril’s parents refused to allow their daughter to date the 19-year-old Charles the young lovers decided to kick off an eight day killing spree by murdering Caril’s parents and infant sister.  For five of the eight days the young couple stayed in Caril’s home, having sex and playing house, as they made up excuses to keep relatives away.  While she didn’t kill anyone herself Caril was very much an accomplice – following him on the road, collecting newspaper clippings about them, holding guns on hostages as Charles took naps.  Despite her claims of being a hostage herself, of being forced to go along, it was clear to all those around them (including a jury) that Caril was a willing part of Starkweather’s eight day crime spree.

Wendy Gardner was a A and B-gaining, flute-playing 13-year-old girl when she met bike-stealing, cat-killing, 15-year-old James Evans.  Despite the seeming differences the two hit it off, finding a connection in violence - Wendy’s mother was a drug-addict, her father boasted his own father dropped dead during an argument between them, and Wendy herself wrote in a diary about the desire to tear the flesh off an ex of hers.  By Christmas 1994 Wendy was virtually living with James and his mother, but then her grandmother and legal guardian, Betty Gardner, ordered her home and the violent talks the two teens shared took a very serious turn.  The two decided to kill Wendy’s grandmother so that they would be free of her and Wendy would no longer be subjected to Betty’s corporal punishment and emotional abuse (such as Betty telling Wendy she’d end up just like her mother and making the girl watch as she knelt in prayer to curse God for leaving Wendy with her).  On December 28, 1994, the two put their plans into action and, with a kite string, James strangled the woman as he said, “Remember this, bitch, you’re never going to be able to hit her again” as Wendy ran and hid upstairs.  Later the two teens had sex in the same room as Betty was murdered in, stuffed her body in the trunk of her car, and spent the next few days hanging out, having sex, and taking the occasional trip in the car (body still in the trunk) to spend Grandma’s money on video games, candy, sneakers, lingerie, and bowling.  It was Wendy’s 11-year-old sister, Kathy, who turned them in...either tied up in the house or dragged with them as the young couple went on shopping sprees throughout the ordeal she finally escaped to a neighbor’s house three days after her grandmother was murdered.

In some cases it would seem these young women are simply seeking out a hero of sorts to save them from unhappy, sometimes abusive, homes.  Other cases involved girls that are looking not just for a savior, but a violent avenger.  Those already freed from the misery of their home life may take a while longer to seek out their violent lover, but when they find them they are no less turned on by the terrors committed on the unfortunate victims they and their men come across.

The Compliant Victims

Sadly these women are not as rare as one would hope and, while the heinousness of their crimes depend greatly on their significant other, they tend to end up with pretty terrible men as their partners.

After approximately four years of subjecting his wife, Janice, to his sadistic desires Cameron Hooker convinced her to help him kidnap a woman to be his own personal bondage slave in March 1977.  The couple picked up 20-year-old hitchhiker Colleen Stan and held her prisoner for the next seven years.  During the first eight months of her captivity Colleen was held in a series of coffin-like boxes 23 hours a day, taken out only to be tortured by Cameron.  When finally released from the boxes Colleen was forced to a sign a contract of servitude to “The Company” - a fictional group pulled from a porn magazine that Cameron claimed was composed of rich, omnipotent, sex-slave traders that were everywhere and knew everything - after which the rapes began.

For the rest of her time as the Hooker’s prisoner Colleen was forced to be Cameron’s sex slave and general servant for the family as a whole, including nanny for the couple’s two children.  It wasn’t until Janice felt jealous at the perceived closeness her husband had with their captive and Cameron’s mentioned the desire to make Colleen a second wife then get more sex slaves for himself that the woman finally spoke up.  She confessed to Colleen that Cameron was not part of “The Company” and that the girl was free to leave and then, three months later, called the police on her husband for a separate crime (the murder of a missing girl from 1976) that he was never to be charged with.  However, in November 1984, he was arrested, charged, and convicted of all crimes concerning Colleen Stan.  He is currently serving 104 years.  And Janice?  She was granted full immunity for testimony given against her husband, left the man for good, and got herself a new name so that she could live in relative anonymity as she worked on repairing her own self-esteem.

Still the question remains...what kind of women are these?  At first glance it would seem these women are poor-unfortunates, overpowered by the man in their life and helpless to stop what is happening around them.  However these women engage in these relationships willingly to start; they don’t leave after their mates confess their dark fantasies or the first act of aggression from these men and they agree to aid in the kidnapping and torture in others rather than refuse.  On the surface they aren’t evil or aggressive themselves, true, but they allow the men in their lives to do truly terrible things to other women without complaint.  Even when given opportunities to do the right thing, to help those desperately in need of it, they tend not to until it somehow effects them.  (Such as Janice only acting to help free Colleen once she began to grow jealous of her husband’s affection for the young woman.)  This suggests that, on a level they themselves might not even be conscious of, these women are accomplices and okay with the way their partners treat others.  It is a “better them than me” scenario as well as a way for these compliant victims to feel powerful themselves - something they may have the need for even more after spending years with their naturally sadistic counterparts.  These types of hybrisotphiliacs may start off loving their men despite the terrible things they do, but they end up loving them for it...as long as it’s done to someone else.

The Superman’s Girl

Some just think they’re rare and special, which is the case with The Superman’s Girl category.  They aren’t though and while they prefer to work with a male counterpart these women are heinous in their own right.  Unlike Janice Hooker who would never have considered committing a crime had she not met her husband, Cameron, The Superman’s Girl has an egotistic, criminal, mind all its own.

Myra Hindley was of average intelligence and spoiled by her grandmother, but she was also troubled and aggressive before she ever met her mate.  With violence in her home and being rewarded for it outside (her father once threatened to beat her if she didn’t knock out a boy who’d picked on her when she was eight) Myra was primed to seek out and enjoy violence from an early age.  It was hardly surprise when she was attracted to Ian Brady, who had a criminal record and interest in Nazism, upon meeting him in 1961.  Together they would picnic at Saddleworth Moor in England as they discussed the Marquis de Sade, their Nazi heroes, and how to commit the perfect murder before putting their ideas and plans into action in 1968.  Throughout the murders of five teens and children Hindley was an active participant, not a bystander.  It was Myra who got the van they used during their crimes, it was her who lured their victims into the van, and it was her photographing and audio-taping the brutalization of them.

Also to be included in this group is Charlene Gallego who, while highly intelligent and having great potential as a child, grew to seek out a sexually sadistic man with whom she could share fantasies about having young, virginal, sex slaves with.  Once she found her seeming equal in longtime sex offender, Gerald, the two raped and murdered ten girls together.  Charlene participated with equal, if not sometimes greater, fervor in the violent sexual assaults on the girls...once she even grew angry and took a shot at her husband when he began to rape two victims without her.

These women already feel superior to everyone around them so, naturally, their man has to be the same.  He has to be the Übermensch, Nietzche’s Superman, a man above all others she’s ever met or will meet in order to even interest her.  After they’re caught these women will paint themselves as a compliant victim, they will say their men owned them and ruled over everything they did, but that’s never the case.  Like male serial killers these woman believe they are entitled to rape, torture, and murder others and, with their men being kings, they are queens deserving of the right to rule over the life and death of others.

Brides of Chucky

Overall they’re likely the most rare, but unfortunately they’re also the most extreme in violent aggression.  Often they present as sociopaths all on their own and their predatory nature is as aggressive and constant as their male counterparts.  They don’t so much seek out a bad man as instinctually find that connection of the predator within from the men they pair up with.  Once partnered these women create a folie a deux with their men in which they fuel one another’s sadistic tendencies.

Carol Bundy’s man, Douglas Clark, liked to shoot his female victims in the head while they gave him oral sex and she was fine with that.  When he first confessed to killing Carol called the cops only to get details from them that might confirm Douglas’ claims of responsibility.  In one instance Carol even dolled up (did the hair and put on fresh make-up) the severed head of a victim so that her boyfriend could better enjoy having sex with it.  But Carol’s true nature became most clear when, in desperate attempts to regain Douglas’ presumed lost interest in her, she found her own victim to decapitate in the form  of a former lover named John “Jack” Robert Murray.

A Thin Blurry Line

Even though these hybristophiliacs have been categorized the groupings are not solid since, often times, the issues that cause a woman to be one kind of killer-lover can also cause her to be another.  Many, most, will stay fans adoring and fantasizing from afar or just through letters.  They will not grow violent themselves and, once they accept the truth and gravity of what their imprisoned men have done, many will also eventually cuts ties with the prisoners.  This is not always the case all the time though; sometimes these fans become accomplices to the dangerous men they love.

Jennifer Forsyth Taylor was working as a nurse in a prison when she met prisoner George Hyatte, a longtime criminal with a history of escapes throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.  The two began their romance when George was asked to watch over and protect Jennifer from other inmates who were making aggressive sexual overtures in May 2004...by August 2004 she was fired for sneaking food in and having an inappropriate relationship with Hyatte.  Nine months after her firing the two were married in a visitor room at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution where George was housed after Jennifer’s firing and, after that, they were not allowed to even see each afterwards due to visitor policy at the prison.  Aside from the first few months of face-to-face contact this beginning along with Jennifer’s history of non-violence and clean criminal record would settle her into the passive hybristophiliac category, but what she did next switched her to an aggressive kind.

Upon the pressing from her new husband Jennifer agreed to help him escape from the Roance County Court House after a hearing he was to attend in August 2005.  With an illegally obtained gun Jennifer waited outside the courthouse for her husband to intercept him and his guards as he was escorted back to prison.  She approached with gun in hand and opened fire hitting both transport officers and killing one, Wayne “Cotton” Morgan, before she fled with her husband.  The day after the shooting the couple was caught and arrested for first-degree murder; both pleaded guilty and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Sadly hybristophilia, despite it’s prevalence and potential dangers in the aggressive form, is a vastly understudied condition.  It’s hard to say what factors contribute to creating which kind of hybristophiliac for certain, or what might make one kind develop into another, though in all likelihood it’s a combination of several nature and nurture based aspects working together.  Someone with this disorder generally doesn’t seek treatment unless required by law and even then it is far more likely that the hybristophilia is being treated as a secondary issue to other mental problems - mood disorders, personality disorders, and other such issues - that a fair number of these women have in addition to the philia.

The Family That Slays Together...

Despite what movies and TV shows might suggest families killing together, as a unit, is fairly rare.  True there are many instances in which couples or two family members getting together to kill others but a whole family working to take others lives is not so common.  ...But it's not unheard of either.  There was at least one such case in the 1800s wherein, working together, the Bender family would rob and kill unsuspecting travelers who made the mistake of choosing to stay at the family's inn.  When their crimes were discovered they became known as "The Bloody Benders".

The Family

The Bender family consisted of John "Old Man Bender" Sr., Marli "Ma" Bender, John Jr, and Kate "Professor Miss Katie" Bender.  It seemed that, though the youngest in her early 20s, Kate Bender was not only the bait but something of the brains of the operation.  Despite the current legend of being a great red-headed seductress in truth Kate was something of a red-faced girl with manly features who would hold seances and claim to be a faith healer.  Not that the rest of the family appeared much better.  John Sr was 60, Marli was 42 with cold eyes and the appearance of a hag, and John Jr was described as a dim-witted hulk of a man.

The Crimes

Set upon a long, lonely, stretch of road in Labette County, Kansas and being just short of a nearby railway town it's not too surprising that the family would turn their home into a makeshift inn for other frontier folk looking for a hot meal and warm bed.  Though unlike H H Holmes' complex hotel  of horrors created in the same century (1893, Chicago's World Fair) the set-up of the Bender family's inn was rather simple, just like their murder tactics.  It was little more than a single large room divided in half by a canvas with one side being the family's living space and the other for their guests...assuming the family let them live.

It was Kate who, if she noted a traveler that appeared wealthy, would invite the person to come inside, enjoy a nice meal, a drink, and perhaps stay at the family's inn for the night.  Were they to accept they were brought inside where Kate would set them at the head of the table nearest the curtain that split the Bender household into two.  As she distracted them with conversation, and quite possibly a little flirting, either her father or brother would lie in wait on the other side of the curtain with a hammer.  When their prey would lean back against the curtain they would be struck with the hammer hard enough to crack the skull.  After that the victim would be dragged off to be stripped of their money and clothes before being dumped through a trapdoor to the basement where their throat would then be slit to ensure death.  Later on the body would then be taken out and buried in a pasture.

The Discovery

It wasn't until 1873 when Dr William York went missing on his travels (from Fort Scott to his home in Independence) that any kind of alarm was raised at all.  A posse lead by Dr York's brother began to search for the man and came upon the Bender home where they asked the Benders' about the missing physician.  The Bender family denied all knowledge the missing man...then fled the area completely a few days later.  It was only after this, after word got out that the family had vanished, that the search posse grew truly suspicious and returned to the Bender farm to conduct a more thorough search.  In the search the rather horrific discovery of several shallow graves containing the family's victims was made...one victim included an 18-month-old little girl who'd been traveling with her father and the family simply tossed in and buried alive with her murdered father.  It is believed that the family killed approximately 8-11 victims together before they disappeared and while there had been a number of different believed sightings in the 50 plus years that followed the Bender family was never officially considered found and/or brought to justice.

The Questions

Because the Bender family was never caught, never truly questioned, it's left a lot of questions unanswered.  Who in the family first thought of their wicked scheme to murder and rob?  Was the entire family in agreement on the murders or were some simply passive accomplices?  How, exactly, did the dynamics of the family work within what they did?  It's hard to say...but it's pretty clear that, if they had been brought to justice, it's deeply unlikely any would've been found innocent.  And that, for the Benders, the family that slayed together stayed together.

Scary Truth About Satanists: Halloween Special!

The concept of those who worship Satan is hundreds and hundreds of years old and so is the fear associated with those who might be those people.  Often Satanism is connected to torture, murder (serial or otherwise), and child abuse all of which are scary prospects but what's just as frightening is the idea that, under the guise of this "religion" many are excused, and convicted, of crimes they never committed.  From the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 to the West Memphis Three of today there is an almost uncontrollable terror in the idea of possible satanism occurring and, more often than not, it leads to a hysteria that destroys innocent lives.

When In Doubt, Blame Satan

Many people know the general start of this case.  A few young girls in Salem begin to behave strangely and, because they can find no other reason, people in the town turn to the concept of witches casting spells in the name of Satan.  After that happens the concept of Satanists living and cursing among innocent citizens grows into a frenzy of terror that sends 19 people to hang at the gallows, one elderly man to be crushed to death, and numerous others to have their lives ruined.

The possibility of this happening is relatively understandable given the time that this occurred in.  During Puritanical times, times in which God was truly, deeply, believed as real and ever present it's not a surprise that his counter-point, The Devil, would be too.  And, if Satan is believed in, then he care be feared as having the potential to do great harm to others...like God he could, presumably, be worshiped and have followers to do his work.  Add to that the lack of real, scientific and forensic, knowledge then it's hardly surprise, short of any other obvious explanation, the work of The Devil and his followers causes a hysteria that ends up ending lives in towns during the 1600s.

Satanic Ritual Abuse Scare

Satanic Ritual Abuse, SRA for short, goes by a number of different names (ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organised abuse, sadistic ritual abuse, among others) is all boils down to the same idea.  From the 1980s-1990s, across the US, and eventually other parts of the world, people seemed panicked over the concept of horrifyingly strange abuses occurring in pre-schools and daycares.  Numerous caretakers were accused, charged, and even convicted, of sexual abuse of small children based on little more than panic and stories told by small children who were given leading interviews by parents and psychiatrists.

While it's understandable, when someone hears of a young child being abused somewhere they should be safe it strikes fears in the heart of every parent, looking back it's hard to believe many of the stories.  Children's stories included "magic rooms", secret tunnels, flying witches, hot-air balloon rides, and, in one case, even Chuck Norris was fingered by a child as the abuser.  Add to that, almost none of the children in these preschools and daycares came out saying they'd been abused on their own...it tended to be the parents (untrained in how to properly interview a child concerning these sorts of crimes and likely already convinced something terrible had happened to their child) who would ask the children about whether or not they were abused, frequently using leading questions or otherwise - no matter how unintentionally - manipulating them into saying they had been abused and then come forward.  ...Even in the relatively modern 1980s and 1990s it seemed that, even though the more devil-oriented aspects were a touch more in the background (the focus, of course, being more on the abuse of small children), Satanism was still feared and lives were still destroyed through the panic it caused.

The West Memphis Three

When cases of torture and murder are discovered frequently people must search for a reason behind it...they're almost desperate to understand why such a terrible thing was done.  This is never more true when the victims are three eight-year-old boys.  The trouble is, sometimes, the fear of some mad killer running around taking, mutilating, and murdering children can cause a reactionary move of arresting the wrong people.  ...This is exactly what happened in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993.

After the murdered boys were found in a creek in the woods the police seemed to immediately want to close the case - refusing the help of state professionals and others in favor for going after what they felt was the most likely suspect to them...a then 18-year-old young man by the name of Damien Echols.  Echols came from a troubled background and, in a conservative and Evangelical Christian-based city, he stuck out rather plainly in his dark clothes, love of "dark" music and fiction, and occasional run-ins with the law.  Within a month the local police arrested Echols and two others, Jessie Misskelley Jr. (then 17) and Jason Baldwin (then 16) claiming that the teens had killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual.

This case has been a disaster from the start with evidence being poorly treated, stored, and processed, testimony being clearly false or otherwise coerced (including the confession of Misskelley who not only immediately recanted his confession was a minor at the time he was interviewed and has an IQ of 72 making him borderline mentally disabled), and, seemingly, jury misconduct.  Yet these three young men are still in prison today - despite new evidence that clearly shows their innocence, despite some of the young victims' own family members now coming forward saying they believe the men to be innocent and would like the case reexamined to know who truly killed their children, and despite what seems like a great injustice.

Don't Be Afraid

...Sadly nothing can be done about the Salem Witch Trials except for us to learn from those mistakes.  More sadly, however, is that it doesn't seem that always happens as proven by the Satanic Ritual Abuse cases and the West Memphis Three.  It's natural to fear bad things happening to you and your loved ones, to search for any reason that a terrible thing might happen outside "just because", and to go after those you feel are evil in some way.  But it's unwise, and even dangerous, to fear the concept of Satanism (or anything else) to the point that you ignore facts and/or your own logic.

Author's Note: The West Memphis Three (and the families of those three eight-year-old boys) are still trying to find justice.  Please go to Free The West Memphis Three and read the whole story.  Understand how carelessness, presumptions, and fear can railroad others...can railroad the very concept of fairness and justice. 

Back to School Safety Part 2: School Shootings

School's here folks! Time to learn new things and get a refresher course in the classics for those of every age. This also means that new and old safety concerns arise from a few different directions depending on the grade level you or your child is going into. In order to keep things rather simple I'm going to stick mainly to lists to cover each of these potential issues. Lists for books, school supplies, classes, and now safety. Second on this list is an issue that, for the most, is considered a "modern" issue exemplified by one word...Columbine.  Even the thought of a school shooting occurring is terrifying.  No one wants to think about it.  But they happen and, sometimes, it's better to be prepared, to know what to do to increase your (and others) chances of survival before and during, than to have it happen and be completely lost in the chaos.

Before I go on I have a major, key, rule of thumb:  If you hear someone talking about planning or wanting to plan a school shooting tell someone!  In the end, more than anything else, this will stop a school shooting before it ever happens.  So many times, after the fact, survivors have come forward with claims that the shooter had mentioned previously of his/her plans...Imagine if someone had acted beforehand?

Before (assuming you've gotten no "I'm gonna pull a Columbine" style warning beforehand):

• Be aware of changes or oddities in your environment. We are talking about your classroom or school hallways here, so you should know what a safe and routine environment looks like. Anyone or anything that causes ripples or changes by his or her presence, etc., should cause your Spidey Senses to throb.

• Evaluate and assess what you are seeing. If something kicks off your gut feelings by the way he or she moves, looks at you, etc., take it seriously.

• Always have an action plan. Ask yourself what would I do if a student or an intruder barged into my classroom with a gun?

• Be willing to and prepared to act when action is needed.

• Trust your gut!  If something feels wrong, if that little voice in your head tells you to get the hell out of the area, then get the hell out of there!  Too often people second guess their instincts and regret it in the end.

Before - spotting a shooter (body language is key here!!):

• If the gun is in his waistband on his hip he will favor that side as he walks.

• He will short-step on the side where he is carrying the weapon when he goes up and down stairs (because the weapon is against his hip flexor).

• He will subconsciously turn away toward the side where the weapon is secreted when a teacher or security walks directly toward him.

• He will hold his jacket, shirt or coat closed as he walks.

• Every moment or so, he may touch or pat the area where his weapon is secreted, subconsciously reassuring himself.

• If the weapon is in his coat pocket, his collar may be unusually tight to his neck, and, if the weapon is heavy, the collar will also be twisted.

• He will hold the pocket where the gun is secreted when he walks or runs to keep the pocket from flying away from his body.

• He will also hold that side of his coat as he sits or rises.

• He will favor heavy coats, even in hot weather, to help him better secrete the weapon.  (It's not a "Trench Coat Mafia" thing, it's a "trench coat helps hide my big gun" thing.)

• He will often give himself away just before he liberates the weapon from its hiding place.  - By opening and/or pushing back his coat and/or grabbing the bottom of the pocket with his non-gun hand to stabilize the coat as he extracts the firearm.

During (how to survive):

• Run!  A little obvious, yes, but there's more to it than that.  Don't just turn and bolt, run in zig-zags, take sharp corners when possible, and lower yourself a little if you can. Anything to make you a harder target.

• Try and keep something - a chair, a desk, anything - between you and the gunman at all times.  He's either going to be shooting blindly or at the easiest targets and keeping yourself as blocked as possible will help prevent him from hitting you.

• "Lock and Block".  As in if you're in a classroom and knows a shooters headed towards you lock that door and block it with whatever's handy.  Move desks, chairs, and whatever heavy furniture's available against the frame.  The idea is simple - don't make it easy for the guy (or gal)!!

• Break the script.  Shooters have a script in their head.  Like serial killers shooting up the school has been something they've played over and over in their minds for a long while before they acted on it.  And, like with a serial killer, reacting in a way they don't expect is really going to disrupt their plans and whatever roll they might already been on.  So (assuming "Lock and Block" didn't work or isn't an option) don't huddle, hide, and pray like he wants...instead attack.  Throw books and whatever else is handy at him.  Scream at him and refuse to be afraid or controlled by the shooter.  Whatever upsets his delicate mental image of a perfect attack is good.

• "Charge and Barge".  If possible, hold something in front of you like a shield and charge him with a phalanx of teachers, security, students.  Hell even if you don't have a shield if there's a group of you in a room charge!  Yes, somebody may get shot, but there's only one shooter and a large group of you so odds are high you all will be over to overpower him.  You will be wresting psychological and real control from the shooter and stopping things before they get far worse.  (This has, in fact, been done and worked successfully a few times, one of the most recent incidents included a pair of teachers who tackled a school shooter at Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton, Colorado on February 2010.)
  

Suburban Safety

For years those towns and neighborhoods outside major cities have been considered safe and, for the most part, they generally are.  But that doesn't mean they're crime-proof or that those that live in the suburbs should assume they are.  Understandably things can be more relaxed - with nice backyards and friendly neighbors there's no harm in enjoying both all you can.  But other things, safety measures, should still be followed even in the suburbs...three things specifically should be kept in mind no matter where you live.  After all, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Doors

This one is a personal pet peeve of mine...the stubborn refusal of some to lock their doors because they live in the suburbs.  Now I've actually asked people why they don't lock their doors when they should and the answer I inevitably get is "This is [insert city/town name], we don't lock our doors here".  That is totally illogical to me as there is not a place in the world where crime cannot happen.  I'm not saying that doors must be locked and dead-bolted at all times - if you're out in the front or back yard and people are going in and out of the house having the door unlocked is understandable and easier - but at times when the occupants are away or at night they really should be.  These times are when you, your family, and your things are most vulnerable to start.  If you add to that a readily available way for anyone nearby to just walk on into your home it's a recipe for potential disaster.  Just because you don't live in a high-crime area doesn't mean you live in a crime free area so why not take the little bit of extra time and effort to ensure you're safe?

Windows

Elizabeth Smart was taken from her bedroom at knifepoint by Brian David Mitchell on June 4, 2002.  Mitchell's seeming point of entry and exit?  An open first floor window that he cut the screen of.  This is, of course, an extreme case, but it serves to illustrate a point.  Windows are a rather easy entry point for danger as well, even in the suburbs.  Again, like with doors, I'm not suggesting that all windows need to be locked at all times.  But at night, the windows that those outside might have easy access to - those on the basement or first floors or those near something that be can easily climbed (a tree, nearby ladder, or fire escape of some kind) - should be secured shut.  The average criminal (even the average serial killer) is looking for the easiest mark, in closing and locking your doors and windows at night you are announcing you are not that easiest mark.  In the end isn't that slight inconvenience of having to be sure your house is secured before you go to bed worth the peace of mind it brings?  ...And one other act of importance: If you have a security alarm in your home, use it!  You bought it, don't let it go to waste.

Just Outside Your Door

For the most part, no matter where you live, once you've settled in for the night that's it.  You're not going back out.  But what if someone comes to your door in seeming distress?  Their car's broken down or been in an accident...or maybe they've hit a small animal and worry it's someone's pet?  All they want is to come in and use your phone, theirs has died or been otherwise destroyed you see so if they could just use yours...  It's these circumstances that can get the naturally trusting, helpful, person thinking "nothing bad happens in my suburban neighborhood" it a lot of trouble and danger.  See, each of these little tales of woe from that person (male or female) on the other side of the door could be a ruse to get you to open your door and thus make yourself vulnerable.  Now, understandably, most don't want to be so rude as to tell the person to get lost so here's a rather clever, and safe, way of dealing with these situations...Tell the person to stay nearby, outside - in their car, on your stoop, wherever is most comfortable for you - while you call the authorities from within your home.  If the person really is in trouble, really does need your help, they'll stay.  If they say never mind or simply vanish into the night then, first, they probably never needed your help to start and, second, you've successfully avoided serious potential danger.

Author's Note: There's been a prevailing urban myth about rapists and killers using a voice recording of a baby crying outside women's doors to lure them out their homes at night.  This is a myth that has been debunked, it's never (to my knowledge or, seemingly, to anyone else's) actually been used.  This being said, it's rather clever and, considering it's popularity in circling "protect yourself" e-mails and the like, has potential for usage by some creep at some point.  And so, just in case, if you do happen to hear a baby crying outside in the night just call the police from the safety and comfort of your home and let them handle whatever is or is not found.