Author: lifeafterdoorkicking

  • When Legends Overlap: Zodiac Killer and the Monster of Florence

    Few names in true crime loom larger than the Zodiac Killer and the Monster of Florence. Both left trails of terror, mystery, and speculation in their wake. Both struck lovers, both taunted investigators, and both became legends whose identities were never confirmed. It’s no wonder some have wondered: could they have been the same person?…

  • Speaking extemporaneously

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    This is something I didn’t write so much as find —the pen just moved, and I followed.Sometimes the mind drags you through chaosjust to remind you what clarity costs.These words came from that place. — Sometimes this dream feels like a nightmareIntrusive like a sledge, like I’m having night terrors,and I just can’t back up…

  • The Youngest and Oldest Serial Killers Ever Caught

    Most serial killers fall into a familiar range: twenties to forties, their rage brewing until it finally boils over. But if you look at the margins of history, the story gets stranger. On one end of the timeline, a child not even tall enough to ride the bumper cars. On the other, a man old…

  • Measured in Exhales

    Feeling different than all my peers in this,Struggles of a left-handed lyricist,Smudges on my fist from dragging it,Even worse when I was gripping it. Audacity to worship myself — intrinsic,But a little introspection shows that’s illogic,Blessings of a curse — I’m gifted,Writing backwards in my notebooksso this spiral isn’t on my wrist. I was never…

  • Echoes in the Dark: Two Haunting Halloween Cold Cases from Las Vegas

    1. The Tragedy of Tony Bagley — Halloween Night, 1994 On October 31, 1994, seven‑year‑old Tony Bagley went trick‑or‑treating in North Las Vegas wearing a skeleton costume. At around 6:15 p.m., while walking with his mother, aunt, and sister, a hooded man suddenly opened fire—with Tony struck in the head. He died the next day. His…

  • The Gordian knot of healthcare.

    What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind? For most of my adult life, I supported the idea of free healthcare. It sounded humane — civilized, even. No one should go broke because they got sick, right? I still believe that in principle. But after living under a socialized medical system for…

  • The Butcher, the Vampire, and the Cannibal Who Walked Free

    Food is one of the simplest pleasures in life—sausages sizzling at Oktoberfest, a family dinner on a quiet evening, or a shared meal in a Paris apartment. But what happens when what’s on the plate isn’t what it seems? Across decades and continents, three men horrified the world not just by killing—but by consuming. This…

  • Progress towards a goal I’m terrified of reaching.

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    What’s your #1 priority tomorrow? Lately, I’ve been trying to get better about actually sharing my work instead of holding onto it until it’s “perfect.” I’ve realized that perfectionism can be a form of self-sabotage — if I never let my thoughts and ideas out into the world, they stay trapped in my head, and…

  • When Rhetoric Turns to Bloodshed

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    Today’s shooting at the ICE facility in Dallas hit me hard. A guy opened fire from a rooftop, killed one detainee, and left two others critically wounded before turning the gun on himself. They found a bullet etched with “ANTI-ICE,” signaling the whole thing was political. This isn’t some isolated stunt. Earlier this year, an…

  • Why Serial Killers Vanished—and What Replaced Them

    In the late 20th century, Americans lived under the quiet dread of serial killers. Names like Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer became embedded in the cultural psyche. They haunted a society where evil seemed to lurk in shadows—killing methodically, compulsively, and often undetected for years. But over the past two decades, a…