Largely because of its emphasis on gore, the Illustrated…

“Only the technology has changed. The public’s appetite for sensational true-crime stories has remained exactly the same.”

— Harold Schechter

“set off a marketing frenzy, during which the heroine’s name was bestowed upon a hat, several shoe designs, candy, toothpaste, soap, a brand of…

— Harold Schechter

“Elsewhere in the journal, he transcribes the rules laid down by Benjamin Franklin as a prescription for happiness and success: “Eat not to dullness,”…

— Harold Schechter

“When Halliburton expressed curiosity about this “inconceivable power,” Bob took him into his room, showed him his “immense file of pictures,” and gave him…

— Harold Schechter

“disobedience, refusal to work, refusal to answer when spoken to, and a determination not to succeed.”

— Harold Schechter

“Nelles explained that its inmates “could be divided into three groups”: “those who are feeble-minded,” those “of sound mind whose delinquency is associated with…

— Harold Schechter

“publicly raped by a specially trained giraffe, after which she was torn apart by wild animals.”

— Harold Schechter

“Why do so many—not all, but many—run to see a crashed plane, or a train, or two autos with numerous dead about? Why? What…

— Harold Schechter

“Why did they have to keep the heat on in Ed Gein’s house? So the furniture wouldn’t get goose bumps.”

— Harold Schechter

“the worst rioting in the city’s history when a mob of ten thousand citizens, outraged over the lenient sentence given to one of the…

— Harold Schechter

“Outraged at having the site of the tragedy transformed into what one observer called a “mass murder amusement park,” an angry mob tore down…

— Harold Schechter

“Trilby’s face appeared on dolls, fans, writing paper, puzzles, and there were ice cream bars made in the shape of her feet.”

— Harold Schechter

“It makes perfect sense that if human beings are raised in warm, loving households; if they are brought up to believe that the world…

— Harold Schechter