Emily Chan
We already know that America has a strange fascination with serial killers. True crime podcasts, documentaries, and television shows are extremely popular among the masses, and the genre is continuing to grow.
According to YouGovAmerica, half of Americans enjoy consuming true crime content, with women being more likely to enjoy it than men. And they are twice as likely to state that it’s their favorite genre.
Weirdly enough, some women’s interest in true crime goes further than just morbid curiosity. They actually experience an infatuation with violent, dangerous, and probably completely evil men.
Believe it or not, there’s a word to describe people who are attracted to those who have committed heinous crimes: hybristophilia. It is also sometimes known as the Bonnie and Clyde syndrome.
Hybristophilia is a form of paraphilia in which a person, usually a woman, is attracted to someone who has committed a crime or outrage. And the more horrifying the crime is, the higher the level of attraction. It takes liking bad boys to a whole new level.
Since access to notorious criminals is pretty limited, women often contact male prisoners through love letters.
One forensics psychology professor named Louis Schlesinger even disclosed that you can find many female employees, such as guards, lawyers, and therapists, getting involved with inmates. It has happened in almost every penitentiary across the country.
There are actually two types of hybristophilia: passive and aggressive. Those with passive hybristophilia won’t participate in his crimes and believe their love and attention can “fix” him.
They tend to excuse his behavior and are confident he will never harm them because they are special.
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