To know that two thirds of murders are never caught is a terrifying and disquieting thought. The fact that one’s own life can be stolen from them, and that more often than not, the perpetuators of these abominable acts go uncaught and unpunished chills the soul unlike most anything else. A person who has such little regard for their fellow human beings that they indiscriminately and remorselessly dispatch of innocent lives is so chilling because of its existence in the real world.
Probably the most famous fictional serial killer, or at least one of them, is Michael Myers of John Carpenter’s Halloween, referred to in the credits as the Shape. What makes Michael Myers so terrifying is his seeming inhumanity, with a pale, expressionless mask obscuring his face and with nothing to say; no justification for his actions, no explanation of his depravity. He is a formless master of fear and terror, and as such, there was no subject more fitting for my photo about anonymity.
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”