Top 10 Books That Inspired Horrific Real Life Crimes

Yep, this one seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? “Mein Kampf,” translated to “My Struggle,” is Adolf Hitler’s autobiography in which he details his descent into Antisemitism and the superiority of the Aryan race, all while planting the seeds of his genocide. The book was an enormous success in 1930s Germany, and it continues to be printed in the United States through educational publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Obviously, this work, and the themes and beliefs therein, have caused a lot of hardship for the world. These are the philosophies which resulted in the Holocaust, and many extremists remain inspired by Hitler’s ideologies to this day.

#9: “The Anarchist Cookbook” (1971) William Powell

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The Anarchist Cookbook was author William Powell’s malicious contribution to the counterculture movement. The book contains, among other things, instructions on how to make homemade explosives and LSD (however inaccurate they are), and was meant as a protest against the America’s involvement in Vietnam. While both Powell himself and real anarchists have denounced the book, it has nevertheless been linked to many infamous crimes, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine massacre, and the 7/7 bombings in London. While the book is obviously not the sole reason for those atrocities, officials still believe that it usually played a role, to varying degrees of significance.

#8: “The Satanic Verses” (1988) Salman Rushdie

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The Satanic Verses is a novel by British Indian author Salman Rushdie which was inspired by the life of Muhammad. The book was immediately lambasted by various Muslims who accused it of blasphemy, and it resulted in a slew of violence. The Supreme Leader of Iran issued a call for the deaths of Rushdie and those associated with the novel, and the novel’s Japanese translator was subsequently killed in a stabbing. The Italian translator and Norwegian publisher also became the subjects of assassination attempts. It may have even resulted in the Sivas massacre, a hotel fire which killed 35 people, as the novel’s Turkish translator was in attendance.

#7: “Jack Sheppard” (1839) William Harrison Ainsworth

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Jack Sheppard was a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth, originally published in serialized form in the literary magazine Bentley's Miscellany. It chronicled the adventures and crimes of real-life thief and burglar Jack Sheppard. The novel was an immense success (even outselling Oliver Twist), but it was also highly controversial due to its supposed glorification of crime - the Lord Chamberlain even banned plays with “Jack Sheppard” in the title to prevent youthful imitators. This controversy was further heightened upon the murder of Parliament's Lord William Russell. His valet, François Courvoisier, had slit his throat in his sleep, and he had written in his confession that Jack Sheppard had inspired him to murder Russell.

#6: “The Turner Diaries” (1978) William Luther Pierce

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The Turner Diaries is undeniably one of the most controversial pieces of literature in modern history. The novel was written by white supremacist William Luther Pierce under a pseudonym, and it depicts a revolution which ends in a race war and the subsequent extermination of people of color - among others. The Anti-Defamation League has said that “many [extremists] have cited it as the inspiration behind their terrorist [...] activity,” and that certainly seems to be the case. Numerous violent acts have been attributed to The Turner Diaries, including The Order's murder of three people and attempted provocation of a race war, the Oklahoma City bombing, and neo-Nazi David Copeland's London bombing spree.

#5: “The Collector” (1963) John Fowles

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The Collector is a horror novel about a lonely man who kidnaps a woman named Miranda and keeps her in his cellar, where she eventually grows sick and dies. It's certainly a troubling tale, but it's no less twisted than a myriad of other horror novels and stories. However, for whatever reason, this specific novel spoke to a large amount of serial killers, who claimed that The Collector was relatable and inspirational. The infamous Leonard Lake adored the novel and named his kidnapping and sex slave “operation” after Miranda. Serial killer, kidnapper, and rapist Christopher Wilder also reportedly had a copy of the book when he was killed by the police.

#4: “The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale” (1907) Joseph Conrad

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Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent certainly has a colorful history. The story details secret agent Adolf Verloc’s work in espionage within anarchist organizations. Because of its links to revolutionary ideology, it was scrutinized by the media immediately after September 11, but that isn't why it's on this list. The Secret Agent was an enormous influence on the Unabomber, as he strongly identified with the character of The Professor, an anarchist who carries explosives and wishes to exterminate the “weak” members of society. The Professor reportedly served as a major influence on the Unabomber’s bombings; Kaczynski later revealed to the FBI that he was a huge fan of Conrad's novel.

These are novels written by Isaac Asimov about a mathematician who sets up the titular Foundation to rebuild society once it collapses. It's actually much more complicated than that, but we'd be here all day if we described it in detail. Unfortunately, the novels influenced the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, the cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack of 1995 that killed 12 and injured over 4,000. Aum's chief scientist, Hideo Murai, admitted that the cult was using the series' concept as a blueprint for their doomsday prophecies – they would cause the end of the world, and the surviving members of Aum Shinrikyo would then rebuild civilization.

#2: “Rage” (1977) Stephen King

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Rage was written by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, and it follows the story of Charlie Decker, a troubled high school senior who commits a school shooting. As you can imagine, this story has seemingly influenced many school shooters throughout the years, including Jeffrey Cox, Scott Pennington, and Michael Carneal, all of whom had connections to the novel. The Michael Carneal shooting resulted in King asking for the novel to be taken out of print, a request which his publisher granted. Standalone copies of Rage are no longer available, and the story was eventually removed from the collected edition of “The Bachman Books” in the UK.

#1: “The Catcher in the Rye” (1951) J. D. Salinger

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J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is an American classic, and protagonist Holden Caulfield has since become a symbol for teenage rebellion. However, it has been associated with far darker and more malevolent crimes. The novel has been linked to many famous shootings, including the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. But perhaps the most famous death linked to the novel is that of John Lennon. Lennon's murderer was arrested with the novel in his possession, and had written a note within which read, “To Holden Caulfield, From Holden Caulfield, This is my statement.”