Inside Ted Bundy's Mind;

Ted Bundy is the globe's most prolific serial murderer, a male who covered his intelligence as well as his beauty with a dark malevolence. In the final days before his execution on 24th January 1989, Bundy gave a series of interviews, projecting a cold image of his thoughts. These revelations, as much as can be seen as manipulating the truth, give a cold image of the killer's psyche who evaded the grasp of the law for decades.

The Facade of Normalcy

One of the more intimidating things about Bundy is how well he meshed with people. He was highly educated, articulate, and charming—a set of attributes also serving him all the more as a deadly tool. In his interviews, he described his people-molding talents, how he would use his charmingness as a tool of seduction of his victims. How his appearance, he described, was the biggest tool he possessed, with which he would approach beautiful young women without arousing suspicion.

Bundy, who majored in psychology at the University of Washington, also had the ability of being non-threatening. It proved to be a valuable asset as he wandered the nation committing his crimes. It is an asset he took pride in possessing, as seen in his final days when he applied all the detail he devoted to his crimes.

The Role of Pornography

One of the more controversial things he asserted before his death was his insistence upon violent pornography as the catalyst for his cycle of violent actions. In a TV interview with Dr. James Dobson, himself a psychologist but devout Christian, Bundy insisted his exposure to more violent pornographic materials produced his sexual preference for violent actions toward women.

Many experts as well as the police dismissed this as the last attempt at blame diversion. Though much debate surrounds the effect violent media have upon behavior, the attempt at link the crimes with pornography proved popular with the majority as being the last attempt at explaining his abhorrent crimes.

The Psychology of a Killer

Bundy frequently spoke about his emotional compartmentalization. In his interview, he compared his life with being inside a series of distinct chambers—all his different personalities. In his view, the personality who engaged in violent crimes existed separately from the personality who lived his day-to-day life.

This compartmentalization is also the standard with the psychopath, who is thus endowed with the faculties necessary in being able to conduct heinous crimes without guilt. Bundy, having also been found with the personality disorder of being antisocial, lacked emotional attachment as well as the faculty of feeling. In his later life, he more worried about controlling the terms of his life as opposed to regret.

Confessions and Manipulations

As his execution day approached, more about the murders came to be unraveled through his confessions, but the details he gave them evaded the police. Most of his confessions, however, were cryptic, with the view of keeping him alive as long as he possibly can through the provision of details in the lieu of stays.

Bundy's last confessions indicated he killed at least 30 females, but other authorities believe the number is higher. In his confessions, he never showed any guilt. Words came from him with cold detachment as he spoke about the actions of someone else, not his.

Facing the end

In the last few hours before his death, the same tense but unraveled state also characterized the state of Bundy himself. Witnesses characterized him as being without collapse or hysterical appearance. In his responses when answering questions about his crimes, he insisted upon keeping himself at a distance, as he would be watching his own life.

As he is being led away to the electric chair, Bundy is quoted as having said, "I'd like you to give my love to my friends and family." It was the final, creepy look at a man who dedicated his life to lying about the people. In death as in life, he was enigmatic—an abomination, but a cryptic abomination.

The Legacy of Ted Bundy

Years after his death, people continue to be amazed and horrified at his crimes. His mastery at manipulating people, his inability to empathize with anyone, and his calculating method of murder have him as the most chilling figure in the history of crime. Psychologists continue to study him in the hopes of finding something which would prevent predators like him from falling through the cracks. What Bundy laid bare in the days leading up to his death wasn't the mindset of a serial killer but the horrific realization of how easily the faces of the least expected can be obscured with the cloak of malice. His last words and confessions are a grim testament to his brilliance at manipulating even as he approached the final judgement.