Aestheticization of Serial Killers in Contemporary Crime Literature and Film

Fictional serial killers often appear attractive, since the authors and film directors deliberately employ certain techniques to depict the villains as seductive and manipulate readers/spectators into forming a bond with devious protagonists. This article argues that by virtue of different stylistic and literary devices, the villains presented in contemporary texts are aestheticized. Moreover, it also explains why the reader/audience often sympathizes with the murderer rather than the victim.