After dominating Netflix ’s most-watched top spot for nearly a month after its release and breaking streaming records left right and centre, Ryan Murphy’s hit show, 'Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story' has captivated true crime fanatics globally. The series sparked a social media frenzy as the uncomfortable portrayal of the cannibal serial killer - acted powerfully by Evan Peters - lays bare Dahmer’s heinous crimes 31 years after his arrest.
But much like other gritty true crime shows that reach Netflix stardom, the new Dahmer series has been steeped in controversy since it arrived on our screens, as the serial killer's victim's families have spoken out about being "re-traumatised" by the fresh interest in Dahmer's murders - insisting the show simply glorifies his brutal violence.
The widespread response on social media only seems to validate their concerns, as the depraved murders of 17 men - many of whom were gay, Brown or Black - have now been reduced to viral TikTok trends, 'evil' Dahmer-inspired Halloween costumes and people claiming that they 'feel sorry' for the prolific killer.
Following the show's release, a sickening trend circulated on TikTok where users would ‘react’ to the polaroid photos that Dahmer took of his victims. 'Fan cam' style edits have also gone viral on the platform, as people 'thirst' over the cannibal killer - despite him raping, dismembering, and cannibalising innocent men.
Dahmer, known as the 'Milwaukee cannibal' was sentenced to life in prison in 1992 and was beaten to death by a fellow prisoner two years later. He enticed most of his victims in gay bars, luring them into his flat where he would drug and murder them, dismembering his victims and preserving many of their body parts.
As we approach Halloween, various Jeffrey Dahmer-inspired costumes and props have cropped up online. Although many big American retailers including Spirit, Party City and Halloween.com are reportedly avoiding official Dahmer costumes, Ebay sellers had listed Dahmer-esque attire - including wide-rim glasses, short sleeve button-down shirts and blonde wigs resembling the murderer’s hair - before being taken down from the site.
Following heated backlash, a spokesperson for the retailer said that items depicting Dahmer have been taken down after moderators trawled the site. The costumes violate eBay's official policy, which states: "Items closely associated with or that benefit violent felons, their acts, or crime scenes within the past 100 years."
Meanwhile, a young woman posing in a 'mugshot Dahmer' costume has already gone viral on Twitter, and British glamour model Carla Bellucci has been banned from a Halloween party because she planned to dress her baby as the cannibal killer.
One Nottingham-based nightclub called Crisis was forced to apologise last week after they used Jeffrey Dahmer and Rose West to promote a serial-killer themed Halloween event.
Shirley Hughes, mother of Tony Hughes - a deaf Black man who was lured into Dahmer’s flat before being murdered - has begged people not to dress as her son’s killer for Halloween.
Sharing her outrage over the holiday 'trend', Hughes told TMZ that the costumes were "evil" and "traumatising" for the victim’s families. She claimed: "If Netflix hadn’t streamed the show … None of the families would be revictimized … and then there’d be no Dahmer costumes this year."
She says that she simply does not understand why people would want to dress up as Dahmer for Halloween this year, and wonders how people sleep at night after making light of such insidious crimes.
Although some corners of the internet have shamelessly gushed over Dahmer since the show’s release, Twitter users didn’t take too kindly to the viral photos of someone dressing up as Dahmer for Halloween as the outfit sparked furious backlash.
One person wrote: "Please do not 'Cosplay' or dress up as Jeffrey Dahmer for Halloween. Stop idolizing [sic] "a horrific human that committed atrocious crimes. It’s f***ing weird".
While another added: "Quick reminder Jeffrey Dahmer was a real person that really murdered people and it really isn’t cute or quirky to make it a Halloween costume".
It’s not the first time that prolific serial killers have become Halloween costume staples, as the likes of Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy have all been impersonated in the past. But the widespread phenomenon of shows like 'Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story' seem to trivialise murderers more so than ever before.
Aside from your average Joe on the internet, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow have all revealed their obsession with true crimes shows as chilling series like The Watcher continue to hit the headlines.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig explained why society and celebrities are so engrossed by true-crime stories - as it taps into a deep fascination with 'mystery' and 'extremes'.
"There's something really fascinating about watching a true story from the safety of our own homes and peeking into the psychic mechanisms behind these criminals. So they're like us, but not like us."
"People who are functioning well in society, we have empathy. We can consider other people from their vantage point. And when we look at some of these criminals, what's interesting is that they are like us in some ways, but the ways in which they're not like us is very intriguing."
Regardless of how true crime might tap into our psyche, multiple family members of Dahmer’s victims are urging fans of the show to remember the real people behind the tragedy this Halloween.
Eric Perry, the cousin of Errol Lindsey, one of Dahmer’s victims, spoke out against the Netflix show on Twitter, where he wrote: "I know true crime media is huge rn. But if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family … [is] p***ed about the show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?"
Errol’s sister, Rita Isbell, branded the series "harsh and careless" as she told Insider that Netflix was "making money off this tragedy".
