Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion

Excerpt from The Catcher in the Rye Enigma: J.D. Salinger's Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals?:

We concede that we and others may be reading too much into the murders that some connect with J.D. Salinger’s classic novel. It could be argued that, at best, those murders are only loosely related to The Catcher in the Rye for it was, after all, a critically acclaimed masterpiece and one of the biggest selling books of the 20th Century.

Given its worldwide popularity, the fact that the book was found in the possession of a few killers – a handful at most – could just be pure coincidence.

Today, if some new Presidential assassin or serial killer had a copy of The Da Vinci Code or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in their possession, would anyone blink? And even though religious books such as the Bible, the Qur’an (Koran) and the Torah have inspired innumerable assassins, madmen and terrorists – some well known, some not – surely that doesn’t mean there are insidious mind control programs infused in their writings?

What about Mark David Chapman? we hear you ask.

Yes, the man was completely obsessed with the book, but then again so, too, were countless other (normal) young people around the world in the decades following its publication. Many commented they felt as if Holden Caulfield was voicing their own inner reality and the angers and frustrations they felt in their own lives. And for those who are insane, as Chapman appeared to end up, a work as brilliantly and intensely written as Salinger’s novel was bound to reach the darkest corners of their brains, encouraging those individuals take the story too literally, or out of context, or both.

People who are mentally ill often obsess over all kinds of artworks – such as Michael Jackson’s music, Stanley Kubrick’s movies or Andy Warhol’s paintings – believing there are dark messages embedded in those works, instructing them to kill. It’s simply a case of criminal minds latching on to warped ideas and dark concepts in popular culture. And certainly The Catcher is not the only novel to inspire murders, and it won’t be the last.

As Aidan Doyle wrote on December 16, 2003 in a Salon.com article entitled When books kill: “A copy of ‘The Turner Diaries’ was found in Timothy McVeigh’s car when he was arrested.

The novel was written by a leader of the National Alliance and tells the story of a white supremacist group that overthrows the government and subsequently eradicates non-whites as well as race traitors. The narrator destroys FBI headquarters by detonating a truck loaded with ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. McVeigh used a similar mechanism to destroy the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.”

The same article also mentions it’s not just books that have inspired killings. “A $246 million lawsuit was lodged against the makers of the game Grand Theft Auto III by the families of two people shot by teenagers allegedly inspired by the game. Such movies as ‘Natural Born Killers,’ ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and ‘Money Train’ have routinely been accused of inspiring copycat crimes.”



It has been estimated more than 100,000,000 people have read The Catcher in the Rye. With only a few crazy incidents attributed to it, you could reasonably argue this is not a bad record and certainly isn’t enough to justify outlandish conspiracy theories.

You are totally right about this. I mean how many killers have wrist watches? Perhaps that is a trigger? Or don't wear or do wear a hat at the time of the killing? The fact the media wanted to pick up on the title of a book shows that our mind likes labels and pad answers that make a gunman different from us. It makes us feel more comfortable with our world.

Hi Cosmic,
I still think there's (potential) validity to the theory that Salinger and/or the editor inserted neurolinguistic writing into the book, but in the interest of being balanced the counter argument (i.e. that the crimes connected the book are all just one big coincidence) deserves to at least be considered - hence the original post in this particular thread.
However, check out the other posts in this Catcher section including "A literary psy-op" and "The author’s secretive life" to read about some reasonably convincing arguments to support the theory that certain passages can somehow trigger an assassin’s brain...

Edward wrote: "You know I highly respect your work. Doing this sort of thing it seems prudent to not buy into every unaccepted theory and I know you don't. This is one I would rather not believe, because the book..."

I agree with you. I also think the text is written in a different style to reveal a code. At best the CIA or whoever is behind the MK-ultra to obscure this and keep the truth that Salinger knew from being decoded.

“They say music can alter moods and talk to you / Well, can it load a gun up for you and cock it too? / Well if it can, and the next time you assault a dude / Just tell the judge it was my fault, and I'll get sued.” Eminem, lyric from Sing for the Moment

In Search of J. D. Salinger