Exploring Serial Killer Dark Fandom Practice in the Digisphere
摘要
This chapter argues that the true crime genre has progressively evolved, leveraging transmedia storytelling to expand its avenues of consumption and audience engagement. In exploring new avenues to engage with the true crime genre, this chapter proposes the existence of a continuum of true crime consumers distinguished by contrasting levels of engagement. In considering online true crime community consumption as a deepened mode of true crime engagement, this chapter draws from survey findings as a means to gauge the demographic characteristics of online true crime community forum users and factors which spark true crime interest and drive forum participation. This chapter hones in on dark fans, the self-identified fans of notorious perpetrators. Through the examination of boundaries between acceptable and deviant true crime engagement, dark fandom is asserted as a countercultural phenomenon and dark fandom practices are found to extend beyond the digisphere into the physical, tangible world.