Themes Becoming the Boogeyman Richard Chizmar

The Trouble With Looking: True Crime Obsession in Becoming the Boogeyman

Thematic Claim

Becoming the Boogeyman argues that true‑crime obsession transforms grief, fear, and curiosity into a marketable spectacle that ultimately feeds the very violence it purports to understand. The novel refuses a simple condemnation of fans or media; instead, it forces the reader to sit with the uncomfortable reality that the line between responsible reporting and ghoulish exploitation is razor‑thin—and that even the most earnest chronicler can become an unwitting accomplice.

Tracing the Theme Across the Plot

1. The Boogeyman as Pop‑Culture Phenomenon

Soon after Joshua Gallagher’s arrest, his notoriety explodes. Richard Chizmar learns that Gallagher receives more mail than all other Cumberland inmates combined, including marriage proposals, poems, and dozens of Bibles. A true‑crime podcast called The Boogeyman Lives earns six‑figure salaries for its hosts and sponsors an “extensive midnight tour of the Boogeyman’s hometown hunting grounds.” The Arizona teenager arrested with a “kill list,” rope, and a homemade burlap mask directly imitates the iconography. The novel catalogs a marketplace of T‑shirts, bumper stickers, and “authentic” masks—commodifying terror. The message is clear: the public’s appetite for the monster is insatiable, and that appetite creates a feedback loop of adulation and imitation.

2. The Copycat Effect and Richard’s Complicity

The second thread tightens when a copycat killer emerges, replicating Gallagher’s signature: the hangman drawing and the numbered sequences. Richard begins to ask himself, “How much of the responsibility for what was happening was my own?” He has just published Chasing the Boogeyman, a book that gave global visibility to Gallagher’s methods. News outlets flood the story, and the number eight carved into Mallory Tucker’s cheeks becomes a viral image. The novel insists that true‑crime writing is never neutral; it equips the copycat with a script. Richard’s own unpublished manuscript, which describes a killing staged like a scarecrow, ends up being used by the killer—suggesting that the author’s imagination has leaked into reality.

3. The Attack at Chizapalooza: Obsession Turns Violent

At the annual Chizapalooza bonfire, Jeremy Hollister—the stepfather of victim Peyton Bair—attacks Richard with an axe handle, fracturing his skull and requiring thirty‑three stitches. Hollister’s rage is not random; he is a true‑crime devotee who has built a shrine to the murders and visits the memorial daily. His violence is a perverse product of the same cultural machinery that sells “FREE THE BOOGEYMAN” merchandise. The attack forces Richard to confront that his own celebrity—earned by writing about Gallagher—has made him a target and, indirectly, a participant in the cycle of obsession. This incident echoes the novel’s central contradiction: the storyteller cannot remain outside the story.

Character and Symbol Connections

Character / Symbol Role in the Theme
Joshua Gallagher The object of obsession; he enjoys his fame, hints at changing, and manipulates Richard through cryptic prison visits.
Richard Chizmar The conflicted narrator who profits from true crime while claiming to shrink from the circus.
Kara Chizmar Represents the family’s desire for normalcy; her eventual killing of an attacker underscores how obsession invades the domestic sphere.
Carly Albright A fictional reporter—her existence is doubted by skeptics, highlighting how true‑crime audiences blur fact and fiction.
Lieutenant Clara McClernan Law enforcement’s pragmatic view; she sees the media frenzy as a hindrance, not a tool.
Jeremy Hollister A fan who becomes an actor in the drama; his true‑crime shrine literalizes the obsessive collector.
Burlap mask The signature icon—bought and sold online, worn by the copycat and by the Arizona teen—symbolizing how the monster is both feared and adopted.
Mannequins Hung in Richard’s yard and purchased where Gallagher once lived; they mimic the victims and turn the author’s home into a crime‑scene diorama.
Hangman drawing The copycat’s calling card, traced from Gallagher’s original murders—a mark that spreads across social media.
Number eight Used by Gallagher and later carved into Mallory’s cheeks; it connects the two killers and invites viewers to decode a narrative.

Complexity and Contradiction

The novel does not let the reader off the hook. Richard himself acknowledges that many critics accused Chasing the Boogeyman of sensationalism; yet here he is publishing another book. The Author’s Note reveals that the photographs inside the novel are staged—Richard’s own son played a corpse. The line between documentary and performance is deliberately blurred. Furthermore, Grace Sunday’s story (Chapter Eight) shows that even survivors of serial‑killer relationships can become media figures and then retreat; the industry consumes them and moves on.

One of the most troubling contradictions is Richard’s admission that he taped the note “HE’S WEARING A MASK UNDERNEATH HIS MASK” to his truck dashboard—a writerly device meant to help him “remember” the monster’s deception. He is always performing the role of the truth‑seeker, even as he admits to fearing that his work stokes the fire. The novel thus becomes a meta‑commentary on itself: the reader is part of the obsession, having bought or borrowed this very book.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. How does the novel use the character of Joshua Gallagher to critique the public’s fascination with serial killers?
    Answer: Gallagher becomes a celebrity behind bars, receiving fan mail, marriage proposals, and media requests. The novel shows that his fame is built on a nickname (“the Boogeyman”) that taps into childhood terror, and that the public projects romantic or maternal fantasies onto him despite his lack of conventional charm.

  2. What role do online forums and message boards play in spreading the true‑crime obsession?
    Answer: The book describes popular message boards devoted to Gallagher, updated daily, with followers ranging from middle‑aged women to “young, frivolous devotees.” An Arizona teenager uses a forum to build a kill list and stockpile weapons, demonstrating how digital communities can turn fascination into dangerous imitation.

  3. Why does Richard feel personally responsible for the copycat killings?
    Answer: Richard wrote Chasing the Boogeyman, which gave Gallagher’s crimes worldwide exposure. The copycat uses the same hangman symbol and numbered sequence, and later references details from Richard’s unpublished manuscript. Richard repeatedly asks himself how much of the violence is attributable to his own writing.

  4. How does the attack by Jeremy Hollister complicate the theme of obsession?
    Answer: Hollister is himself a true‑crime obsessive—he maintains a shrine to the victims and attends the memorial daily. His violence is not random; it is a direct consequence of the cultural environment that turns murder into spectacle. Richard’s injury forces him to see that he is not a detached observer but a target.

  5. In what ways does the novel’s metafictional structure (author’s notes, staged photographs) critique the reader’s own engagement with true crime?
    Answer: The author’s note admits that “real people, places, media outlets, and events are used fictitiously” and that the photographs are staged with actors. This revelation forces readers to question how much of any true‑crime narrative is authentic. By exposing the artifice, the novel implicates the reader who consumes these stories as entertainment.