7 Chilling Books About Ted Bundy's Life and Crimes

True-crime writer Rule crossed paths with Bundy in the early 1970s and maintained a friendly correspondence with him — only to eventually learn the truth of his life and crimes. The Stranger Beside Me is Rule's own account of her relationship with the man she thought was her friend and details about his early life through to his killing spree.

The sheer coldblooded nature of Bundy's crimes has made his twisted mind the subject of much fascination over the years. Dr. Al Carlisle was part of the team at the Utah State Prison that was assigned to evaluate Bundy and determine whether he had a violent personality, in order to help the judge decide on sentencing. Violent Mind takes readers into Carlisle's process of determining the true extent of Bundy's capacity for violence.

Bundy's interactions with law enforcement spanned many years, all the way up to the days before his execution. In Conversations With a Killer, which inspired the recent Netflix documentary, Bundy made shocking confessions and revelations. The book documents Bundy's crimes in the killer's own chilling words.

Telling the stories of Ted Bundy's crime spree through the eyes of those who were affected firsthand, The Trail of Ted Bundy: Digging Up the Untold Stories features interviews with friends and families of his victims, with insights about the people who were lost to his reign of terror. Bundy's own family and friends, as well as those who pursued him, are given a voice here as well, with never-before-told stories about the notorious killer.

Figuring out how Ted Bundy became one of the most notorious serial killers in history is a fascinating, if frustrating, exercise. Ted Bundy: The Horrific Story Behind America's Most Wicked Serial Killer attempts to do just that: explore the backstory of Bundy's life and examine how he managed to pass through life as a seemingly normal person, never hinting at the evil within.

Sullivan's The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History tries to be the most thorough possible telling of Bundy's crime spree. With information drawn from legal documents, interviews, and letters, Sullivan pieces together a biography of a coldblooded killer and potentially uncovers brand-new information about some of the murders.

Part of a series of books on true crime, Ted Bundy: A Life From Beginning to End covers as much of Bundy's life as is known, from his childhood to the beginnings of his violence to his full-fledged crime streak. The book contrasts how Bundy seemed to be an average, even charming person with the horrific and remorseless nature of his crimes.