Ted Bundy, Murder, and Our Quest to Know More

This will be my last post writing about Ted Bundy.  Having written a six-book series, totaling over 1,400 pages, beginning with The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History, and ending with, The Enigma of Ted Bundy: The Questions and Controversies Surrounding America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer, it’s time to bring it all to a close.  And in this last book, Enigma, I deal with some issues that couldn’t be discussed in detail in earlier books. And the ending of this in-depth series is not playing well with all parties.

Frankly, the interest in Bundy is so great, that many readers have asked me to consider writing a seventh book.  And while that won’t happen, I do understand it. There is an unquenchable thirst in people to learn not just what Bundy did and to whom, but why he wanted to kill in the first place.  And unfortunately, that’s the one question that will never be answered.  And what do unanswered questions do? They spark an interest to know more, and I don’t see this going away in the near future. Indeed, I believe Bundy has become to America what Jack the Ripper became to England long ago. They both have staying power.

But it’s also true that beyond Ted Bundy, murder gets our attention very quickly, no matter who is committing it.  Many Americans are immersed in true crime, and you can see this from the number of true crime books published each year; and better still, the glut of true crime documentaries being constantly cranked out here in the United States.  Plus, we have cable channels exclusively devoted to true crime programs around the clock.  So, the interest is there, and you might be thinking “why is this?”

            Well, I have a theory…

Unlike war, where a person can’t be killed unless they’re a combatant or a civilian in a battle zone, murder can strike anywhere and at any time.  And sadly, NO ONE can say for a certainty that one day they won’t be involved in a situation where murder is the motive and they are the intended victim. If you doubt this, just ask those present during the Las Vegas shooting, where the deranged killer fired hundreds of rounds out of his hotel window, killing 58 innocent people.  Murder can be like that-quick, decisive, and very deadly.

I wrote about unprovoked murder in my book, Through an Unlocked Door: In Walks Murder.  I had one key aim for the book, and that was to bring awareness to the risky, and sometimes deadly habit, of leaving doors and windows unsecured while people sleep.

On the other hand, true crime readers are very aware of the dangers. They’re informed about what evil humans can do. They also understand that murder will always be with us. Not a pleasant thought, I know. But that’s the way of the world. And if we can prepare ourselves for the unthinkable, that’s what we should do.