James Eagan Holmes Disturbingly Described as Hot by Female Twitter Fans

In the wake of the arrest of James Holmes for the mass-shooting at The Dark Knight Rises film in Aurora, Colorado, young women have taken to Twitter to announce that the accused killer is "hot." At best, the young women who find Holmes "hot" are judging only on appearances, ignoring the grisly devastation at the theater. At worst, those who are attracted to him are suffering from a form of sexual dysfunction called hybristophilia -- a twisted, perverse attraction to vicious killers.

Looking past the illogical aspects of the rash of "He's hot!" tweets (Holmes' red-orange "Joker"-inspired hair wouldn't be thought "hot" by many), the phenomenon hides a darker side of human nature. There's no avoiding what Holmes did at the theater. If 12 dead and 52 wounded don't deter these crushes, maybe some of the details will. Holmes is alleged to have shot a three-month old baby at point-blank range, and killed a 6 year-old girl.

Ironically, new chick magnet Holmes was desperately seeking female company before the attack, with "AdultFriendFinder" and Match.com profiles. Reports have emerged that he was hiring prostitutes -- and reviewing their performance online on a "john and hooker" consumer reports version of Angie's List. 

Such details haven't bothered the fans of other murderers -- hot, sexy guys like Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, on California's Death Row since November, 1989 for a series of 14 horrific murders in Southern California. Ramirez received hundreds of letters a month during the early part of his imprisonment, most from women. He married Darlene Lioy in October, 1996, after a long correspondence that resulted in Ramirez choosing her over several other prospective brides. One "fun" Night Stalker fact that Lioy apparently overlooked, in addition to Ramirez' satanism and the glee he took in his crimes, is that he deliberately cultivated rotting teeth and foul breath to terrify his victims. Reports from survivors confirm this tactic worked.

Decent guys will be dismayed to learn that shotgun-toting parent killers Lyle & Erik Menendez have been racking up hot women while serving life sentences in California maximum security prisons. Older brother Lyle is on his second prison marriage (his first was to Playboy model Anna Eriksson, who left him when she learned he'd been "cheating" on her with other women through prison mail). Erik, the quiet younger brother, relies upon emotional comfort from his wife Tammi, who has told interviewers she doesn't mind a "sex-free" relationship. As convicted murderers serving life without the possibility of parole, neither brother gets "conjugal" visits.

Jet-setting killer Joran Van Der Sloot, accused of killing Natalee Holloway in Aruba and serving 28 years for beating, robbing, and murdering Stephany Flores in Peru, is rumored to be about to marry an unnamed woman from his Peruvian jail cell. 

Former Manson family member Tex Watson is currently incarcerated in California's Mule Creek State Prison (along with Lyle Menendez) and is divorced from his wife of 24 years, Kristin. Kristin and Tex have four children that were conceived during conjugal visits prior to a state ban on such visits. One of the numerous Manson family crimes for which Watson originally received a death sentence was stabbing eight-month pregnant actress Sharon Tate in the stomach, killing her and her unborn baby.

Possibly the most famous serial killer of all time, Ted Bundy, used his deceptive good looks to attract his victims, as well as fan and former co-worker Carole Anne Boone, who married him while he was on trial for his final murder spree in Florida. At one point in time, Bundy received 200 "fan letters" a day, nearly all from female admirers. Among the many failings Boone was able to overlook in Bundy was his habit of returning to the remote graves of his victims to have sex with their decomposed bodies.

Hot? Not.