Nicole goes by niknik-1998 on Tumblr, inspired by Parkland School shooter Nikolas Cruz. She lives in Great Britain and will be 16 in one week.

Her blog consists of memes about serial killers, school shooters and other murderers. A large block of text reading Don’t Condone overlays a video montage of the Columbine shooters. Nicole started the blog in February of this year after her clinically diagnosed depression became too much. She says the community welcomes her and is open about mental illness. She wants you to know she does not condone their crimes.

Madison goes by ‘tedslittlegirl’ on Tumblr where she writes “shitty Ted Bundy fanfiction,” and where a blog header blinks pink glitter letters reading “my hand-jobs are not second rate” over a photo of Bundy laughing.

Madison’s tumblr blog banner

She entered the community when she was 16. She is now 19. Her five-part series titled Your Timing is Impeccable is a second person fanfic about Bundy, often referred to as Daddy, and his love for you. No murder, just a lot of violent sex. She wants you to know she doesn’t feel the need to defend her writing and that she will not talk to me on the phone for the sake of her personal safety.

“Its just a fantasy. That you’d be special or different. We all want to feel that way, right? My writing makes people who want it feel good and they enjoy it, that’s why I do it.”

Olivia goes by truecrime-at-night on Tumblr. She’s seventeen and from Alabama. Olivia uses her blog to catalogue true crime and plans on studying forensics in college next year. Olivia told me she often comes across “fangirl” blogs and meme blogs while scrolling on her TCC (True Crime Community) feed.

Over the phone, she recounted a story about a 15-year-old girl on Tumblr who got deactivated, reactivated and deactivated again by the TCC community earlier this year after posting a gruesome fanfiction about being tortured by Ted Bundy. She wants you to know she thinks this behavior is disturbing and is normally carried out by minors.

If you are anything like me, you are probably stunned that these communities exist. Why are they doing this? Why true crime? Why Ted Bundy?

According to the famous 2010 Social Psychological and Personality Science study, women are more likely than men to find interest in the true crime genre. The study found that a lot of women subconsciously read about true crime to learn defense tactics, and because they can relate to female victims. The study concludes on a positive note: if women continue to consume true crime they can possibly prevent themselves from falling victim to these killers and assailants.

Media sensationalism around serial crimes is nothing new, but this year saw a full on explosion of true crime — Ted Bundy in particular. At the beginning of the year, Netflix released a Ted Bundy docuseries. Two days later, a Bundy biographical thriller premiered at the Sundance Film Festival which stars Disney Channel veteran Zac Efron as Ted Bundy.

David Schmid, the author of Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture, believes that these Tumblr blogs represent the creative consumption of violent popular culture. Schmid told me that setting up an account and connecting with like-minded individuals allows these girls to alleviate their fear of being a victim of violent crime, while also serving as a mindful outlet to discuss their fascination in true crime.

“in February, I was barely going to school, having mental breakdowns everyday and I just thought ‘if I have something I can just vent on, even if it is just memes, to help me release my emotions…’”

According to Schmid, these blogs serve as a way to “take the ultimate boogeyman and turn him into something that is not as threatening.”

He reminds me over the phone that portrayals of violent crime against women are abundant in popular culture: video games, television shows, movies, books and even in our real lives with the #MeToo movement. There’s no way to avoid depictions of male-on-female violent crime so why not find the humor in it?

a meme of Bundy on Nicole’s blog

That’s what Nicole decided to do, yet she faces public criticism every day that does affect her mental health.

Over the phone, Nicole admitted something personal to me. “In February, I was barely going to school, having mental breakdowns everyday,” she said. “I just thought ‘if I have something I can just vent on, even if it is just memes, to help me release my emotions…’”

From “High School Musical” to “Baywatch” and now to “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile,” Zac Efron blows young girls away with his groomed physique and confident smile. But now, girls who grew up swooning over Troy Bolton will associate him with Ted Bundy.