The mystery of Riverdale‘s second season further complicated tonight – and it referenced the real world quite a bit along the way.
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Mild spoilers for tonight’s episode of Riverdale, “Chapter Seventeen: The Town That Dreaded Sundown”, below.
Tonight’s episode saw the town of Riverdale dealing with The Black Hood, who has officially been christened a serial killer. As one would expect, quite a few real-life killers were brought up along the way.
When Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan) talked to Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) about the killer’s cipher, she showed off her love of true crime. She suggested that Jughead research a few other notable killers – like Ted Bundy, Albert Fish, and Aileen Wuornos.
But perhaps the biggest reference to real-life serial killers came in the episode’s opening moments, as Jughead was picking out books in the library. As Jughead picked a serial killer-related book, his narration announced what town the killer plagued. And in a way, each killer that was mentioned could be seen as an inspiration for The Black Hood.
So, which real-life serial killers was Jughead researching? Here’s the (somewhat gruesome) rundown…
The Zodiac Killer
Fans have been anticipatingย Riverdale‘sย Zodiac Killer homageย for a while now, especially after the first look at his code was revealed in this episode’s promo. The Zodiac Killer is easily the most well-known killer brought up in this sequence, largely thanks to David Fincher’s 2007 film on the subject.
The Zodiac Killer plagued Northern California in the 60s and 70s, mostly targeting young men and women. While he only had five confirmed kills, he regularly claimed to have killed 37 people.
The killer became famous for mailing letters to the local newspapers (not unlike the Black Hood), which were regularly accompanied by ciphers. The Zodiac Killer sent four ciphers in total, but only one has been solved to this day.
Another unsolved aspect to the case is still the killer’s identity. Plenty of suspects have been brought up over the years, but there has been no conclusive evidence. The ongoing mystery of the Zodiac Killer’s identity has become somewhat of a meme in recent years, with even Republican senator Ted Cruz being accused of being the killer.
The Axeman Of New Orleans
The second killer Jugheadย mentioned was The Axemanย of New Orleans. While this killer is much more obscure than the Zodiac, elements of his M.O. have already been seen in Riverdale.
The killer was active in the New Orleans,ย Louisiana area from 1918 to 1919. His confirmed body count was somewhere between six and ten, with the same number of people supposedly injured by his attacks.
Like the Zodiac Killer, the Axemanย gained notoriety by publishing a letter in the local paper. The letter announced his vendetta, and threatened to terrorize a household in New Orleans every night. The Axemanย had one loophole, however – he wouldn’t attack any home that had jazz music playing in the window.
Like the Zodiac Killer, the identity of the Axemanย has ultimately never been determined.
The Phantom Killer
And finally, the third killer mentioned by Jugheadย holds a special connection to this episode.ย The episode gets its name from The Town That Dreaded Sundown, a film based on The Phantom Killer.
The Phantom Killer terrorized the Texarkana area in the spring of 1946, in what became known as The Texarkanaย Moonlight Murders. He largely targeted couples late at night, and ultimately killed five and wounded three.
His appearance – particularly within the film – is probably the biggest tie to Riverdale. Most renderings of the Phantom Killer show him wearing a dark jacket, with a sort of white mask over his face.
The killings were noteworthy largely thanks to the impact it had on Texarkana’sย citizens. The town grew increasingly hostile in the wake of the killings, with teenage citizens essentially arming themselves and attempting to bait the killer. (Sound familiar?)
Like the previously mentioned killers, the Phantom Killer was never unmasked. Hopefully the townspeople of Riverdaleย will get more answers.
Before You Go
Riverdale airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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