Ted Bundy may be the most notorious serial killer in U.S. history. He was born Theodore Robert Cowell on November 24, 1946. His mother Louise Cowell had spent time at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Vermont, as Bundy's biological father was not part of Louise's life (Larsen, 1980, p. 12). He was an Air Force veteran, but Bundy never had a relationship with his father during his life. Just after his birth, he and his mother moved to Philadelphia, where Louise's parents lived (Michaud & Aynesworth, 1983, p. 8). For much of his childhood and adolescence, Bundy was told that his grandparents were his parents and that Louise was his older sister. This was done so that Louise would not have to deal with the shame and criticism that came with being an unwed mother in the 1950s (Michaud & Ayneswroth, 1989, p. 18).
When Bundy was four years old, he and his mother moved to Tacoma, Washington to live with family there. A year later, Louise met military cook Johnnie Culpepper Bundy. The two were married in May 1951, and Bundy took his stepfather's surname. He thus became Ted Bundy, as he would be known for the rest of his life (Larsen, 1980, p. 14). Bundy's stepfather tried to form a significant relationship with him. Johnnie took the boy on camping and fishing trips. Despite his stepfather's efforts, Bundy still felt distanced from the man. As the years passed, he grew more and more uneasy around his stepfather and preferred to be alone (Michaud & Aynesworth, 1989, p. 23). These 'loner' tendencies only increased as Bundy grew older, and affected his ability to interact with others in a social context (Larsen, 1980, p. 15).
Indeed, during adolescence, Bundy suffered from extreme shyness and self-consciousness. In junior high school, he was often teased and bullied. Some might argue that Bundy was "ànot like other children, he looked and acted like them, but he was haunted by something else: a fe...