thanks.
In her post, “Women Who Love Serial Killers,” PT blogger Katherine Ramsland offers some suggestions about why some women can be so attracted to, or hopelessly beguiled by, the most terrifying of human predators.
At first, she provides explanations from the women themselves — women who actually married these dangerously unhinged criminals. Their reasons (somewhat elaborated here) include the assumptions that:
[ul]
[li]Their love can transform the convict: from cunning and cruel to caring, concerned, and compassionate.[/li][li] [/li][li]There’s a wounded child nested somewhere inside the killer that can be healed through a devoted nurturance that only they can provide.[/li][li] [/li][li]They might share the killer’s media spotlight, and so triumphantly emerge from their anonymity, and maybe in the process even land a book or movie deal (an aspiration about as cynical as it is narcissistic and self-serving).[/li][/ul]
Since these mostly self-deceptive notions derive from these women’s conscious minds, we need to delve much deeper if we’re to grasp the subconscious motives driving such melodramatically aberrant behavior. And here I should mention that Ramsland notes that some experts in the field regard these women either as incapable of finding love in more normal ways, or as seeking a relationship that “romantically” can never be consummated (or, I might add, domesticated).
Why Do Women Fall for Serial Killers? | Psychology Today
Passive hybristophilia comprises those individuals who have no desire to participate in criminal activity themselves but are sexually attracted to criminals (the so-called “prison groupies” or “serial killer groupies”). Although I have yet to see any empirical proof, the LAH website claims that:
“These women are usually delusional and will try to find excuses for what the criminal did. They will develop relationships with a criminal and feel that they are special—that even though their lover may have killed numerous people, he would never harm her. They usually feel that they can “change” their lover and have rescue fantasies. Passive hybristophiliacs tend to put themselves in positions to be seduced, manipulated, and lied to by the people they fall for.”
Aggressive hybristophilia comprises those individuals who actively help (typically male) criminals to commit the crime(s). Such people (usually female) will (according to the LAH website):
“Help out their lovers with their criminal agenda by luring victims, hiding bodies, covering crimes, or even committing crimes. They are attracted to their lover’s because of their violent actions and want to receive love, yet are unable to understand that their lover’s are psychopaths who are manipulating them. Both passive and aggressive hybristophiliacs tend to end up in abusive or unhealthy relationships.”
Passion Victim | Psychology Today
