The Criminal Mind

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Today a character interview of Shrug, one of the main protagonists in THE TRAZ and FATAL ERROR, was posted online and it got me thinking about how we define a criminal mind.

Interviewer, Peggy Stanton, calls Shrug a Bad Boy but he says he'd prefer her to think highly of him--after all, as an undercover cop he dedicated four years of his life to infiltrating and dismantling a biker gang.


Whether he is good or evil remains up for grabs. Characters in my novels who knew Shrug before his undercover stint insist he was a much kinder, gentler man before going undercover. Living with evil, they suggest, warped his soul. Shrug excuses some of his behaviour by suggesting it was governed by depression. He says in his interview that a prior personal trauma left him not caring if he lived or died and thus he became a willing candidate to take on the ultra-dangerous assignment.

Although Shrug has many excuses for being the way he is, he's not so generous with his thoughts about Katrina, the young protagonist in my series. He believes that despite all the traumas that beset her, she was just plain born evil.

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Shrug's boss, Sergeant Kindle says yes, Shrug and Katrina share many behaviour patterns and personality traits. Both are manipulative, underhanded, exceptionally clever, and prone to secrecy and untruths. However, Kindle says, the difference lies in their motives. Shrug, he believes, always hold the best interests of humanity in mind while Katrina's behaviour is governed by her own best interests.

Past traumas, mental health and the personalities we are born with do indeed help form our character. To what extent we can blame our behaviours on exterior influences in not fully understood even by the experts. And although the judicial system does allow leeway for motives (self-defense, abusive relationships, insanity) it doesn't generally accept a defence of "the end justifies the means", a philosophy Shrug has been known to advocate as an excuse for his illicit behaviour. Whereas buying and selling cocaine during a mission to infiltrate a gang is forgivable and legal, using a child to ratify those deals is likely pushing the limits too far. And Shrug is known to have done both.

So how 'bad' is Shrug? He wouldn't have been able to successfully infiltrate a biker gang if  he'd been carrying with him his church-going Christian ways so perhaps he can be forgiven for setting aside his morality to deal with everyday evils he encountered. He did, he says, always keep in mind the ultimate good that would come from his mission.

We all have a tad of evil in us, whether from past traumas, desperation, the personality quirks we're born with, the teachings that have influenced us, the health of our mind, body, soul and relationships.  Whether or not Shrug is right that some people are born purely evil may not be so clear.

That good people can at times do bad things (for a variety of reasons) is a given.  Whether those with criminal minds can do good, and whether or not they deserve credit when they do is debatable.

In  THE STRANGER BESIDE ME by Ann Rule, she mentions how Ted Bundy, the taker of many lives, also saved lives during the time he manned the suicide prevention line with Rule. She felt we might wish to grant him some brownie points for that. Although those he saved and their loved ones may agree, the justice system didn't and I don't. Not any more so than the Hells Angels' annual teddy bear run improves my opinion of that gang.

Drop on over to the Famous Five Plus website and see what you think of the man who confuses even those of us who know him well.



Eileen Schuh, Author

FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ

Guest Post from Nancy Farrell

Help me welcome Nancy to Criminal Minds at Work. She is offering some interesting facts about the connection between....

...Real-Life Killers and the Fictional Characters They Inspired

Novelists take inspiration from many different places. Some look to their own lives, some look to art, and some look to history. Inspiration can be one of the most difficult things to find when seeking to create something. While many may find it disturbing or odd that serial killers inspire art, it is actually quite logical. Inspiration comes from things that are unusual and unknown. Curiosity is the greatest muse. We are intrigued by murderers because their mindset is so unfamiliar to us. Part of great story telling is creating a character that makes the reader question their own beliefs and the beliefs of that character. These real life murderers inspired some of the most fascinating and well known fictional characters in history.

Jeffery Dahmer and Zombie
Hugely famous American author, Joyce Carol Oates is known for her gruesome portrayal of difficult subjects throughout her literature. Often approaching the issues of violence, murder, and rape, Oates' writing style and subject matter have been received positively by literary critics throughout her active career. Oates' 1995 novel Zombie is based on the life of prolific serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. The novel was received well by critics, but is often described as too graphic and haunting to sit through by readers. The novel follows the life of a man in his 30's who seeks to make a "zombie" of an unsuspecting male companion. The real-life Dahmer was an American serial kill and sex offender between the years 1978 and 1991. Dahmer brutally murdered 17 men and boys during this time period. Finally caught and sentenced to imprisonment in 1994, Dahmer was beaten to death by an inmate before he could serve his full sentence.

Ed Gein and Psycho
The 1959 novel Psycho has born one of the most recognized fictional villains of all time. Norman Bates, the middle-aged man completely controlled by his mean mother, is the main character of the novel and has in many ways outshined (if you can put it that way) than the real-life man that inspired him. Norman Bates' character was based off of real-life serial killer Ed Gein. Born in 1906, Gein was a prolific American murderer and graver robber. Gein only murdered two individuals, not qualifying him as a serial killer. However, his case gained widespread media attention because he stole bodies from local graveyards and fashioned trophies from the remains to be displayed around his home. While Gein's actual crimes are not as gruesome or note worthy as many others throughout history, his influence on popular culture and media is unquestionable. Other than Norman Bates, both Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Buffalo Bill for The Silence of the Lambs are based on Ed Gein and his crimes.

Ted Bundy and The Silence of the Lambs
First introducing the world to Dr. Hannibal Lecter in 1981 when he published Red Dragon, author Thomas Harris created one the most prolific fictional villains in history. Though the film series became wildly more popular, Silence of the Lambs originated as a novel. While Lector's character is far better known, the primary antagonist of the novel is Jame Gumb, also known as Buffalo Bill. Jame Gumb is believed to be based on four different real-life serial killers: Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, Gary M. Heidnik, and Edmund Kemper. Ted Bundy killed dozens of women in the 1970s by feigning injury to lure them into his vehicle. Gary M. Heidnik would hold women captive in a deep hole in his basement. Edmund Kemper's first victims, like Gumb, where his grandparents.

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Nancy Farrell is a freelance writer and blogger. She regularly contributes to the Criminal Justice Degrees, which discusses issues about child abuse, human rights, divorce, and crime related articles. Questions or comments can be sent to: nancy.farrell13@gmail.com.

Posted by Maryann Miller, who really needs to be more conscientious about contributing on a regular basis.

Guest Post: The Most Notorious Criminals to Base Characters On

Today's guest post comes from Megan Jones, a writer who contacted me recently because she was interested in having some of her work displayed as part of her new freelancing career. I couldn't say no because 1) I love helping writers when I can, and 2) her articles are excellently written and well researched. Enjoy! ~Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Let’s face it, we all draw examples from real life into our writing life, and what better way to do this than by exploiting the inane acts that some criminals have committed over the past century? Some of these criminals have participated in many atrocious acts of violence over the past years that I could never even dream of conceiving, and have even paved the way for famous cinematic serial killers such as Leatherface and Hannibal Lector. While most of these villains were not directly based on specific killers, they had attributes of many different criminals of the time. Some of the criminals and serial killers from up to a century ago continue to infiltrate society in a number of ways, mostly through film, but have also been known to appear in many crime books.

Bonnie & Clyde

How many movies have been based on this unlikely duo? Outlaws and bank-robbers, Bonnie and Clyde served to almost romanticize the notion of criminals during the Great Depression and many movies have been made regaling audiences with their string of terror during the height of their crime spree. While they were part of a mass shoot out by police forces in the end (they were shot over 50 times), the duo came to represent a Robin Hood of sorts during a time period where many throughout the country had lost everything they owned. While they left terror and destruction in their path, Bonnie and Clyde represented a new shift in criminal activity in the early twentieth century.

Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy has become one of the most iconic serial killers in history, mostly because he lured all his victims away in pure daylight due to the charm he emitted onto many. The exact number of women he killed is still unknown, though it is estimated to range between 35 and 100. While Bundy exhibited some traits that made him similar to Silence of the Lamb’s Hannibal Lector, in his high intelligence (law school) and his willingness to help police with other cases regarding killers, there has been no direct parallels between Bundy and any film serial killer. However, there have been a number of films made about the killer, as he brought about a reign of terror on the Pacific Northwest for a number of years, continuing on to Florida in the end.

Amy Fisher

Everyone knows the story of this young girl from Long Island (the “Long Island Lolita”) who shot her married lover’s wife and thereafter became the subject of many made-for-TV movies and documentaries. Mary Jo Buttafuoco answered the door on May 19, 1992 to find Amy Fisher at the steps telling her that her husband was having an affair with her sister. When Mary told Amy to leave, she shot her in the temple. While she survived the attack, Amy served 7 years in prison for first-degree aggravated assault.

Jack the Ripper

This killer existed before the time of DNA evidence or even any modern form of technology and terrorized England during the late nineteenth century. This killer has fascinated crime buffs for years due to the fact that no one was ever arrested or tried for the murders. There is still some dispute over how many victims were killed during this time, ranging from 5 to 9, but Jack the Ripper continues to captivate audiences around the world, as many movies and books have been released about the killer.

This post was contributed by Megan Jones, who writes about the bachelor degree online. She welcomes your feedback at Meg.Jones0310 at gmail.com