Mindhunter, the hit Netflix series, which has just returned for its long-anticipated second season is quickly garnering public attention. But did you know that it was based off a book? The book Mindhunter, written by retired FBI Special Agent John Douglas along with author Mark Olshaker delves into the real cases and the behavioral science behind developing profiles on serial criminals. The Netflix series does a pretty fantastic job of capturing the essence of Mindhunter, but while most of what is portrayed is fact, some of it is fiction. Here is a brief comparison.
The Characters
IMDb
In the Netflix series Mindhunter, the character of Special Agent Holden Ford is a fictional version of Special Agent John Douglas, the author of the book Mindhunter. Special Agent Bill Tench is based off Special Agent Robert Ressler, who worked alongside John Douglas and coined the term "serial killer". Dr. Wendy Carr is based off Dr. Ann Burgess, a professor from University of Pennsylvania, who worked alongside the Behavioral Science Unit. Ressler, Burgess, and Douglas all teamed together to write the book Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives. The book is crafted from the research they conducted interviewing sexual killers. FBI Special Agent Roy Hazelwood was also one of the pioneers of the Behavioral Science Unit, who seems to be missing from the Netflix show. Hazelwood, a specialist in sex crimes and autoerotic deaths, studied serial rapists and sexual murderers. Ressler wrote some hit true-crime books: Whoever Fights Monsters, I Have Lived in the Monster, and Justice is Served. Roy Hazelwood authored The Evil that Men Do and Dark Dreams. John Douglas is a prolific author- some of his works include Obsession, The Killer Across the Table, and Journey into Darkness. All the former agents along with Dr. Ann Burgess also published several research writings, as well as manuals for law enforcement. I have read all of these books and highly recommend them! Remember, some of the tension and plot lines between the characters are fictional for entertainment purposes. For example, Bill's disturbed adopted son in the show was likely written in as subplot- Robert Ressler did not have an adopted child.
The Cases
PBS
All the serial killers and other criminals portrayed in the show Mindhunter were/are real people! Most of the dialogue from the show is actually derived from the recorded real-life interviews, as well. Edmund Kemper, Wayne Williams, the BTK, Richard Speck, Charles Manson, Jerry Brudos, Monte Rissel, David Berkowitz, and many more are all real killers, discussed at length in Douglas's books and also some of these men were discussed in Ressler's and Hazelwood's books as well. This was probably the most accurate part of the show.
The Method
Oxygen
This is where the show slightly deviates from reality. For starters, Douglas never really took notes when interviewing the subjects, because he expressed that it interfered with developing rapport and was a distraction. The method started when Douglas and Ressler were traveling around the country teaching at mostly local jurisdictions on some of the investigative techniques used by the FBI. They started visiting prisons and interviewing killers. Later, as the concept of a systematic research study came to life, they started using standardized questions and analyzing the data. Much of the research results were contained in the aforementioned book on sexual homicide. In the show, a multi-episode arch emerged, centered around some of Holden's language used during the recorded interviews that caused a moderate scandal, and resulted in some serious tension among the colleagues. While Douglas did use some strong language with those killers, it was not to diminish the victimization or in any way make light of the situation- it was to get the killers to open up so the BSU could learn from them and hopefully, down the line, solve more crimes or even prevent them. Like I said, the show is dramatized to entertain us, so the blow-up in the first season, carrying over into the second, was likely exaggerated to add some juice to the plot.
Season One Finale
IMDb
The end of season one, when Holden collapses on the hospital floor is sort of a combination of two similar events. Mindhunter, the book, commences with Douglas's story of his near-death experience. In 1983, John Douglas had some anxiety regarding his trip to Washington state to consult on the Green River Killer homicides- and rightly so. Douglas had been physically exhausted from his caseload and extensive traveling. As a result of his depletion, he fell victim to encephalitis- an extremely dangerous condition in which the brain swells. Douglas, who had been alone in his hotel room with a "do not disturb" sign posted on his door, collapsed. For days he lay there, burning up, until two other agents came to his rescue. He was in a coma and hospitalized for quite awhile. In a moving illustration of the camaraderie in the field, Douglas's fellow agents started a fund, generously donated to by law enforcement from all around the country, to allow his family, located on the other side of the country, to be with him. The other event that inspired the episode in the Netflix series was one of Douglas's more disturbing encounters with Ed Kemper. Ed Kemper weighed in at over 300 pounds and stood at 6'9". He also had killed multiple people. Douglas always requested the handcuffs be removed, so it was a more comfortable experience for his interview subjects. Unfortunately, when Douglas was ready to leave after an interview with Kemper, the guards were not ready to let him out. The guards were switching out and Douglas was left unattended with an unrestrained and powerful serial killer. After Douglas's unsuccessful attempts at summoning the guards, Kemper picked up on Douglas's apprehension and made a comment to the effect of he could decapitate Douglas with his bare hands at that very moment. While that unsettling statement spooked Douglas, he managed to contain his anxiety and he soon was safely away from Kemper. Kemper claimed he was just joking, but as a precaution, interviews were usually conducted in pairs afterwards.
The Behavioral Science Unit
GoLawEnforcement.com
The Behavioral Science Unit was a real unit- in fact John Douglas was its former chief. Unfortunately, that unit no longer exists as it once did after the basement in which it was located at the FBI Academy flooded. Instead, most of the professionals who profile crime are special agents from various federal agencies, such as ATF, or unsworn, civilian expert employees located at the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. Profilers also can be found at academic institutions or in the private sector. Profiling has undergone a number of changes since the 1970s and 1980s during which most of Mindhunter takes place. A lot of the research was qualitative in nature, meaning it was derived from conversation and observation. Now profiling has taken more of an evidence-based and quantitative approach, based on latent class analysis or statistical analysis of common factors among research subjects. Nonetheless, the contributions made by the BSU of the past still has its place in the practice and has made a lasting legacy in our understanding of serial and sexual killers.
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