Murderabilia

by Poppy damon, Alice Fiennes

Some people amass artwork. For others, it's stamps. But why would you want to collect the possessions of a serial killer?
Journalists Poppy Damon and Alice Fiennes travel from New York to Scotland to probe one of the internet’s strangest subcultures – the people from all over the world who can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on so-called “murderabilia”.
From the Muswell Hill Murderer, Dennis Nilsen, to Charles Manson, the duo explore the grisly yet lucrative business in trading everything from handwritten letters to prisoners' hairbrushes.
They also examine our seemingly insatiable appetite for the macabre, asking if there is a link between serial killer collectables and the true crime podcasting boom? Poppy and Alice hear that sometimes collectors are drawn to the idea that these objects could offer insight into the minds of dark figures like Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, or The Night Stalker.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published September 26, 2019

Reviews

[Rachel England-Brassy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still feel weird about a market for all things previously owned or parts of convicted criminals.
Yet how is this separate from the medieval desire to own bits of saints or Jesus? And please don’t state the obvious. It’s still mostly bits of people.
The buying and selling of things made by convicted criminals is not conflicting for me; I believe that criminals, of any sort, ought not profit whilst in prison, on remand or on probation and that legislation ought to be in place to prevent this, and for it to be acted upon.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murderabilia
This podcast was a look at the phenomenon of "murderabilia", or the collections of objects that belong to killers. These include hair clippings, paintings, letters, cassettes, even things like withered arms and skulls. Poppy Langton and Alice Fiennes look into the idea of collecting these items, how ethical it is, and what it actually feels like to own something that once touched the hand of a murderer.
I did enjoy this podcast. I thought the presenters were good and engaging, and they were eloquent and seemed interested in the topic. They spoke to a variety of people, including a victim of a mass shooting who sold murderabilia to fund herself. I wish there had been a bit more - maybe more specific objects & looking at them in detail, or just longer in general. I think there was something missing. It was like the interviews were cut off in their prime.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy it, and I would be interested in listening to another series. I'd never heard of murderabilia before, and it's fascinating. Considering I collect newspaper articles and photographs of murders I research and write about, am I a murderabilia collector? Maybe that's something for me to explore in the future!

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murderabilia is an audioshow about the sale of murderer memorabilia, from letters they’ve written to guitars and even a bath. It explores the industry that has grown out of these purchases, and the people who are involved. It was interesting to listen to, especially as I had no idea that the murderabilia industry was so large and prolific. I did feel like the narrators seemed almost reluctant to dive in deep into this culture, as disturbing as it is, so held back or didn’t give as much depth as they could have done. That being said, it is a short and quick audioshow which covers different aspects and people involved in the murderabilia world, while also encouraging thought of the concept of ‘celebrity’.

[Myk Pilgrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun for the morbidly curious, though I'll be honest a bit unsettling at times - something which given that I'm a horror nut surprised me.
I really hope Poppy & Alice do a season 2.

[Aadya Dubey]

I devour true crime. That said, don't think this I can do.

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This honestly made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, though I think that is likely the reaction they were aiming for. Well researched and portrayed. Certainly not what I had expected.

[Fearghas Urquhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the ethics of buying Muderabilia is interesting but while this podcast attempts to explore that, it's all thrown out the window when the hosts buy some for themselves 'to understand what it feels like' and then most other episodes feel like excuses to visit famous collectors only to conduct a casual conversation rather than something interesting