Over the past few years, biopics of brutal serial killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer have hit our screens, including “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” starring Evan Peters, that just recently came out September 21st.

People around the world, mostly social media, have found themselves attracted to and interested in Jeffrey Dahmer in real life — which is very disturbing seeing that he killed and ate 17 men. But it’s always been like this over the years when biopics of these serial killers come out. By having such an attractive actor play a murderer, it emphasizes this narrative that the killer was a slightly attractive man. This also created this romanticization of serial killers.

On social media, there are even fan accounts for well-known serial killers. Women have become obsessed with and even attracted to serial killers to the point of professing their love in the form of letters or marriage proposals.For example, Richard Ramirez would have female fans waiting for him outside and inside the courtroom. Even Ted Bundy had lots of female fans too. When he was in prison, he received multiple marriage proposals, and he seemed to manage to have a child with one woman.

According to Lovesick over Charles Manson. Really? Column it says, “Often characterized as “killer groupies,” this type of attraction is common enough to have been assigned a clinical label: hybristophilia, someone sexually aroused by, or attracted to, a person who has committed a particularly vicious or gruesome crime.”

As we continue to push for equality for all, it’s important to leave our fascination with serial killers behind. Curiosity will always be a part of the human experience, but we must separate fascination with murder cases from fascination with murderers.