Katie Ring

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Before I get started, please be advised that this episode contains descriptions of physical and sexual assault and murder, so please listen with care.

This is the first of our three episodes on Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers of all time.

Today, I'll talk about his twisted origins, his descent into darkness, and what turned him into one of America's most terrifying murderers.

From the moment Ted Bundy was born, he was surrounded by lies.

Ted's mom, Louise, got pregnant in early 1946, but his dad abandoned them, which meant Ted was born out of wedlock that November.

This was a huge scandal that could have destroyed their family.

To avoid the stigma that came with being a young single mother, Ted's grandparents raised him as their own son in Philadelphia.

He actually spent his early life thinking Louise was his older sister and not his mother.

In interviews, Ted claims that his upbringing was completely normal.

But according to some family members and biographers, Ted's grandfather, Samuel, was known to have a violent temper, was racist and misogynistic, and would even harm animals.

And despite Bundy's claims, it seemed like whatever was going on in that household did have an effect on him psychologically.

One night in 1950, when Ted was just three years old, his teenage aunt Julia recalled waking up and seeing him standing next to her bed.

But he wasn't there because he couldn't sleep or to ask for a glass of water.

As Julia squinted in the darkness, she saw Ted with a huge smile on his face and then realized she was surrounded by butcher knives.

Of course, I'm not a psychologist, but this is not something that a three-year-old generally thinks to do on their own.

They learn by copying behaviors they've seen.

So to me, this would indicate that something very wrong was going on in that house.

Luckily, Ted didn't try and hurt Julia that night.

But even with these signs that something was clearly wrong, his family didn't get him any help.