Going Deeper...

Now that I have completed my broad research and narrowed down my topic, I can begin my focused research.  Why do women get involved with and then proceed to marry murderers?

Katherine Ramsland Ph.D. wrote an article on Psychology Today entitled, "Women Who Love Serial Killers." In this article she uses the example of Ted Bundy and wife Carol Ann Boone to demonstrate her first reason that women marry serial killers, that they believe them to be innocent. 

They next reason is that they believe that they can change a man as cruel and powerful as a serial killer. Others "see" the little boy that the killer once was and seek to nurture him. A few even do it in hopes of getting media attention.

http://allwomenstalk.com/when-obsessive-love-turns-to-freaky-fatal-attraction

Ramsland also went on to say that these women have notions of the "perfect boyfriend." Meaning that, "She knows where he is at all times and she knows he’s thinking about her. While she can claim that someone loves her, she does not have to endure the day-to-day issues involved in most relationships. There’s no laundry to do, no cooking for him, and no accountability to him. She can keep the fantasy charged up for a long time." - This is an intriguing concept . Every woman has her idea of the "perfect boyfriend," mine personally doesn't involve liking the fact that he is always in the same place, but to each his own. 

Next she stated that mental health experts compare the women's infatuation with killers to extreme forms of fanaticism. Typically, insecure females who cannot find love in normal ways - This actually makes a little sense, its like a game or a comic. They live in the fantasy world, holding these killers on a pedestal. Aiming to "win" them or find acceptance with them. Additionally, it was also noted that this is not true in all cases. Some of the women that have chosen to be with a serial killer have been beautiful, educated, and even married. Some even were lawyers, psychologists, and judges.

http://askmamu.com

A new statistic that Ramsland presented was that women attracted to killers (especially serial killers) are usually in their thirties or forties. - This also makes a lot of sense. This is the age where women become divorced, or maybe they still haven't found that special someone. This is the age where you can be come lonely and seek companionship.

Next, I will include my findings from an article that uses Ramsland's article as a jumping off point.

Leon F, Seltzer Ph.D has a doctorate in psychology.In this article on Psychology Today, he is analyzing and adding his input to PT blogger, Katerine Ramsland in her post entitled, "Women Who Love Serial Killers." He expands further on the biological, sexual, and psychological dynamics that Ramsland only touches upon. His reference is a book called  A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World’s Largest Experiment Reveals About Human Desire, by computational neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam (Dutton, 2011). A point that Seltzer makes is that this book has substantial evidence from Web searches, posts, and many 1,000s of romance novels that women demonstrate a strong erotic preference for dominant men.



The Fantasy

Some women read countless amounts of  erotic/romance novels. Most comely the man starts out as "rough around the edges" and transforms into this loving and affectionate man by the end of the book.  So the women feel that she can transform a man as cruel and evil as a murderer,  they view it as a  challenge. It was also stated that books like these outsell pornography, for example,  Fifty Shades of Grey. Seltzer also noted that, " ...many women experience as enticing the idea of surrendering to a powerful male figure because of its very riskiness. Curiously, such an acutely felt threat can actually be eroticized by women’s minds into exceptional sexual excitement so compelling that (at least on a fantasy level) it’s almost irresistible." - This can be seen in a variety of ways, when someone tells you not to do something, it makes you want to do it more. Their is also a risk factor in that her husband or family members could find out. This may be as good a reason as any for getting involved with someone as high-risk as a serial killer.




Want to read it for yourself? 

Katherine Ramsland article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shadow-boxing/201204/women-who-love-serial-killers

Leon F Seltzers article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/201204/why-do-women-fall-serial-killers