Smooth-talking. Magnetic. Bright. Named “Mr. Up-and-Coming Republican” and dubbed “Kenndeyesque,” denoting a resemblance to John F. Kennedy. These are the types of characteristics you don’t normally associate with a serial killer, but then again, Ted Bundy was anything but a stereotypical serial killer.

Between 1974 and 1978, Bundy assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls. After more than a decade of denials, Bundy confessed to at least 30 homicides that he committed in seven states, but it is believed that the true number of victims is higher. Now, you may be wondering at this point in the article why I am writing about one of the most notorious serial killers in history. Well, I’m about to answer that.

Let me first state this before continuing my argument: I am not in anyway endorsing Ted Bundy or any of his actions.

With Netflix’s new documentary “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” and soon to be released film “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” starring Zac Efron, members of my generation are all coming to same conclusion: “Damn, he’s fine and charming as hell.”

First, if you’re having these lustful thoughts of a serial killer, please find some help! Even Netflix had to tweet a reminder to users that there are “thousands of hot men on the service – almost all of whom are not convicted serial murders.” And secondly, while finding Bundy attractive is entirely wrong, you can’t help but see how charming of an individual he was.

When a sketch of the suspect was released, many recognized the suspect as Bundy but could not believe it was truly him. Even detectives dismissed the possibility of it being Bundy because of how charming and nice he was.

It was this same charm and gleaming attitude that allowed Bundy to become a formidable killer. He would use his handsome appearance and charisma to gain the trust of his young victims. Bundy would approach a young woman and bait her to his vehicle, fooling her with some kind of line. Then, in a heartbeat he would transform from a seemingly affable stranger to a murderous killer.

Amanda Howard, an Australian author who has written several books on serial killers, stated in a interview that Bundy made us reevaluate who we consider our monsters to be.

“We expect serial killers to be these snarling mad men. Yet, Bundy was an attractive young man who was highly intelligent. He was the antithesis of what we expect a serial killer to be,” Howard said.

Bundy’s cool, Hollywood-like exterior allowed him to hide his predilection for violence. It was this same exterior that allowed him to elude the suspicions of the detectives and officers investigating his murders. Even after Bundy was incarcerated and on death row, he had many groupies that were enamoured with him. He had as many as 200 women in rotation as pen pals.

While we can’t forget the smirk that made many women’s hearts flutter, we will always remember the horrendous acts he committed and the lives he stole. So please, obsess over Zac Efron instead of the man he is portraying.