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Allison and Busby: This edition June 2007
Reviewed by Sunnie Gill
True Crime
In CULT KILLERS , Frank Moorhouse brings together a diverse group of
killers all with connections to Satanism in its various forms. He tells
their stories, from their childhoods to their eventual fates.
Beginning with a short history of the characters responsible for the rise
of 20th century interest in Satanism and the Occult, Moorhouse then visits
the usual suspects: Charles Manson, David (Son of Sam) Berkowitz, The
Chicago Rippers, and Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker). These had me
rolling my eyes and thinking that there was nothing in the book that
couldn’t be found on the internet and that the author was simply rehashing
what had gone before and trying to link them, often tenuously, with
Satanism. Something the tabloid newspapers already do very well.
The second half of the book, however, was much more interesting. This
deals with more recent murders where the killers were nearly all troubled
teenagers. Yes, we all know about Manson, but how about Vard Vikernes
(Count Grishnackh), a young Norwegian man who was deeply involved in the
Black Metal music scene? And have you ever heard of Hendrik Mobus? Another
Black Metal enthusiast. There is also the vampire-obsessed Nico Claux,
convicted of murdering a gay man in Paris and suspected of murdering even
more. Claux served his time and has now forged a career for himself
painting serial killers. He even has his own website http://www.nicolasclaux.com/
Charming!
The last few chapters in the book are more tragic than frightening. They
deal with teenagers who seemed to have little chance in life but whose
fate took them down the path to killing. The final biography features a
troubled young Scottish man, Luke Mitchell, whom the author feels was a
victim of media and community hysteria. He isn’t completely convinced of
the young man’s guilt.
In the final chapter Moorhouse offers his thoughts on what has happened in
society to create these teenage murderers. He blames a number of things:
the politics of greed, globalisation and the subsequent closure of
high-employment industries. This puts more pressure on already struggling
families. Then there is the erosion of wages and conditions forcing
parents to work longer and longer hours. Add to that the gradual cutting
in funding of education, etc., which has cut off one way of escaping their
situation. He admits that isn’t the whole picture, but feels it goes some
way to explaining the phenomenon of teenage killers.
After a slow start I found CULT KILLERS a fascinating look at the
dysfunctional world of many teenagers in today’s society. It does offer
explanations for some of the killings and perhaps some solutions, but
whether there is the political will to change things is another question
entirely.
Sep 2007 review originally published on Murder and Mayhem
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