Fervor and fallout over the release of Netflix’s Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story continue—this time with an ultra-spooky twist. As Halloween approaches and Ryan Murphy’s limited series breaks *Stranger Things–*level records, people are apparently looking to masquerade as a real-life serial killer.
Searches for “jeffrey dahmer costume” have surged across platforms since the show’s release, with that tag earning 8 billion views on TikTok alone. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses with a similar aesthetic to Jeffrey Dahmer’s eyewear are branded as “fashion-inspired glasses” on eBay. Another listing reportedly featured a mask of Evan Peters, who plays the titular killer on Netflix, paired with an orange jumpsuit. A search on Amazon yields an assortment of Dahmer-esque wigs, accessories, and even a graphic tee that reads “I Eat Guys Like You for Breakfast” alongside an image of Dahmer, who killed 17 predominantly Black men and boys between 1978 and his 1991 arrest.
A spokesperson for eBay told Entertainment Weekly that any costumes directly associated with Dahmer’s name or likeness are being removed. “I can confirm that these items are banned on eBay and are being removed under our violence and violent criminal policy,” the rep said. “These items have been prohibited under the policy—this was not a new or recent decision.”
The policy states that users cannot sell items that “promote or glorify violence towards humans or animals,” including “films, images, or devices that contain or claim to contain real acts of violence, rape, execution, torture, crime scenes, morgues, dead bodies, or body parts of dead persons.” This also relates to “items closely associated with or that benefit violent felons, their acts, or crime scenes within the past 100 years.”
Netflix’s Dahmer—Monster, which is currently the second-most-popular show on the platform—only behind Murphy’s other recently released true-crime series, The Watcher—has stirred an expected level of controversy. Relatives of the actual victims have spoken out about the exploitation of their real-life tragedies. Netflix quietly removed the LGBTQ descriptor tag from the series after receiving swift online criticism.
And now an influx of costumed Dahmers may soon be wreaking havoc on Halloween festivities everywhere. In the sage words of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles: “put the jeffrey dahmer costumes back in the closet. we ain’t having it!!!!!!”
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