Why do toxic characters become irresistible in fiction, and what happens when the same fascination follows us into real life? From Edward Cullen and Villanelle to Ted Bundy, Wade Wilson and Pamela Rogers Turner, this essay looks at beauty, charisma and the stories we build around dangerous people.

Netflix’s Monster increasingly blurs the boundary between dramatisation and true crime fanfiction. But when real names, victims and unresolved histories are involved, how much creative freedom should writers actually have?