Post by sclcookie on May 31, 2006 2:11:47 GMT -5
A lively obsession with deadly crimes ----Author-lecturer Shane Bugbee chronicles sick and twisted serial murders
Shane Bugbee's obsession with serial killers started when he was a kid in Chicago, reading headlines about John Wayne Gacy.
Gacy is notorious for visiting children's hospitals by day dressed as Pogo the Clown and for kidnapping, torturing, sexually assaulting and murdering adolescent boys by night, burying the victims in a crawlspace beneath his house. Bugbee rode his bike for miles to witness the dig undertaken by police at Gacy's house and later became a pen-pal of sorts to Gacy, exchanging letters with the killer as he sat on death row, selling Gacy-produced paintings and eventually co-publishing a book with him.
That early, admittedly strange interaction with one of the country's most vicious mass murderers led Bugbee into a career as what he calls a "cultural forensic pathologist," collecting any and all information related to "true crime" that he could get his hands on for the past 20 years. He writes books, including the new True Crime Warped Minds, hosts a Web site and a series of podcasts with his wife, Amy, and travels a low-level lecture circuit to share his stories and collectibles with other gorehounds around the country.
Thursday, Shane and Amy Bugbee will host a book signing and discussion at The Redrum Shop in Murray, celebrating the release of his collection of true-crime tales and her new book, Hellraiser Homemaker: The Gonzo Domestic Survival Guide.
"Anything I do is pretty impromptu," Bugbee said, describing his live appearances in a telephone conversation from his rural Minnesota home. "We basically have a talk, we take questions, we show some things. It usually breaks down into a question-and-answer-type thing, and sometimes people start telling us what they think about how serial killers tick. I show some films. Some are funny. Some are not. Some are really disturbing. I try to show the whole spectrum."
Bugbee, who has worked as a publisher, gallery owner and concert promoter through his 37 years, was ready to give up researching true crime five years ago, but the sudden explosion in popularity of shows like "CSI" and serial-killer profiles on "A&E Biography with Bill Curtis" drew him back. And it wasn't just the chance to make money that got him interested again: Bugbee was frustrated with the "Mickey Mouse" treatment of vicious killers by television networks.
"I'd watch, and I'd be like, 'But you're missing this! What about this?' " Bugbee said. "I actually spoke with Gacy and did a book with him. There's so much more about the case [to get into], but they never, ever say any of the gory details of the 'good stuff,' where you really go, 'Wow, that's disturbing.'"
Bugbee admits the controversial nature of what he does can disturb some people. Relatives of murder victims have threatened him, and some of the horror and gore fans who show up at his lectures take too much pleasure in horrid acts shown on video. But, Bugbee said, victims' relatives have told him they support what he does, showing the true nature of evil in all its horror, rather than sugarcoating it for a made-for-TV movie.
Jason Harris, who opened The Redrum Shop with his fiancée, Kim Adams, at the end of 2005, said Bugbee's visit will be the first time the store specializing in "horror and serial killer" paraphernalia has had any guest lecturers. If it goes well, it probably won't be the last.
Crime pays
Shane and Amy Bugbee will showcase their "Crime and Cookies" lifestyle, autograph books and host a serial killer Q&A at The Redrum Shop, 4901 S. State, Murray, Thursday at 4 p.m. The event is free. There will be an after-party at Area 51, 348 W. 500 South, Salt Lake City, at 10 p.m.
(source: The Salt Lake Tribune)
Shane Bugbee's obsession with serial killers started when he was a kid in Chicago, reading headlines about John Wayne Gacy.
Gacy is notorious for visiting children's hospitals by day dressed as Pogo the Clown and for kidnapping, torturing, sexually assaulting and murdering adolescent boys by night, burying the victims in a crawlspace beneath his house. Bugbee rode his bike for miles to witness the dig undertaken by police at Gacy's house and later became a pen-pal of sorts to Gacy, exchanging letters with the killer as he sat on death row, selling Gacy-produced paintings and eventually co-publishing a book with him.
That early, admittedly strange interaction with one of the country's most vicious mass murderers led Bugbee into a career as what he calls a "cultural forensic pathologist," collecting any and all information related to "true crime" that he could get his hands on for the past 20 years. He writes books, including the new True Crime Warped Minds, hosts a Web site and a series of podcasts with his wife, Amy, and travels a low-level lecture circuit to share his stories and collectibles with other gorehounds around the country.
Thursday, Shane and Amy Bugbee will host a book signing and discussion at The Redrum Shop in Murray, celebrating the release of his collection of true-crime tales and her new book, Hellraiser Homemaker: The Gonzo Domestic Survival Guide.
"Anything I do is pretty impromptu," Bugbee said, describing his live appearances in a telephone conversation from his rural Minnesota home. "We basically have a talk, we take questions, we show some things. It usually breaks down into a question-and-answer-type thing, and sometimes people start telling us what they think about how serial killers tick. I show some films. Some are funny. Some are not. Some are really disturbing. I try to show the whole spectrum."
Bugbee, who has worked as a publisher, gallery owner and concert promoter through his 37 years, was ready to give up researching true crime five years ago, but the sudden explosion in popularity of shows like "CSI" and serial-killer profiles on "A&E Biography with Bill Curtis" drew him back. And it wasn't just the chance to make money that got him interested again: Bugbee was frustrated with the "Mickey Mouse" treatment of vicious killers by television networks.
"I'd watch, and I'd be like, 'But you're missing this! What about this?' " Bugbee said. "I actually spoke with Gacy and did a book with him. There's so much more about the case [to get into], but they never, ever say any of the gory details of the 'good stuff,' where you really go, 'Wow, that's disturbing.'"
Bugbee admits the controversial nature of what he does can disturb some people. Relatives of murder victims have threatened him, and some of the horror and gore fans who show up at his lectures take too much pleasure in horrid acts shown on video. But, Bugbee said, victims' relatives have told him they support what he does, showing the true nature of evil in all its horror, rather than sugarcoating it for a made-for-TV movie.
Jason Harris, who opened The Redrum Shop with his fiancée, Kim Adams, at the end of 2005, said Bugbee's visit will be the first time the store specializing in "horror and serial killer" paraphernalia has had any guest lecturers. If it goes well, it probably won't be the last.
Crime pays
Shane and Amy Bugbee will showcase their "Crime and Cookies" lifestyle, autograph books and host a serial killer Q&A at The Redrum Shop, 4901 S. State, Murray, Thursday at 4 p.m. The event is free. There will be an after-party at Area 51, 348 W. 500 South, Salt Lake City, at 10 p.m.
(source: The Salt Lake Tribune)