11 Fictional Characters That Caused Real-World Harm

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11 Fictional Characters That Caused Real-World Harm

Fictional works allow us to explore all kinds of worlds from the safety of our couches. We’re really hoping the words “fictional” and “safety” stuck out in that sentence, because in some unsettling cases, crossing the line between reality and fiction led to horrific consequences. 

We've all heard about the dark side of fandoms. The personal security industry is booming because of it. Those obsessed superfans latched on to a celebrity and felt like they just needed to be a part of their lives. A superfan latching onto a fictional character is an obsession like no other. We’d like to hope they’ve chosen a heroic character and are now out there helping the cause, but for whatever reason, these people were captivated by the bad guys.

Even if the fictional story is particularly gruesome, the creator isn’t some dastardly villain hoping their fans will take their work and run with it. So everybody calm down and just keep chompin’ chips on the couch! Don’t be like these 11 do-badders who were inspired by fictional characters to cause real-world harm.

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A legendary figure inspired the murder of a legendary figure.

GRACKED HOLDEN CAULFIELD INSPIRED MARK DAVID CHAPMAN TO KILL JOHN LENNON. Chapman claimed that he believed the Catcher in the Rye character would have killed John Lennon because he was a phony. Не cited the novel as his motive, and before his sentencing, he read a passage from the novel in the courtroom.

Medium

Yeah, in your dreams, Daniel.

GRACKED DANIEL GONZALEZ: THE FREDDY KRUEGER KILLER. In 2004, the British man went on a random killing spree in London and Sussex, using various sized knives like Krueger wore on his hands. Gonzalez killed 4 people and injured 2 others in a series of random attacks.

BBC

He came, he saw, he got 30 plus years behind bars.

GRACKED MATTHEW TINLING PLAYED JIGSAW FROM SAW. In 2013, he was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for the torture and murder of Richard Hamilton. Не stabbed Hamilton 17 times, and tried to sever his spinal cord like a scene from Saw VI.

Daily Mail

Chucky inspired an unspeakable act.

GRACKED CHUCKY INSPIRED TWO 10-YEAR-OLD BOYS TO MURDER A TODDLER. In 1993, Jon Venables & Robert Thompson attempted to recreate a scene from Child's Play 3 when they lured 2-year-old James Bulger from his mother and murdered him in Bootle, England.

Snopes / US Magazine 

This Ghostface Killah had no affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan.

GRACKED SCREAM INSPIRED A REAL-LIFE MURDER. In 2001, 24-year-old Thierry Jaradin from Belgium stabbed 15-year-old Alisson Cambier 30 times while wearing a Ghostface costume. Не confessed that he was inspired by the film, and was sentenced to life in prison.

The Guardian / Yahoo 

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