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‘Horrorcore’ music fans linked to violence

Cody Wayne Henderson

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By Tom Beyerlein, Staff Writer 9:17 PM Sunday, November 1, 2009

In the early morning of Sunday, Oct. 6, four teenagers allegedly entered a randomly chosen home in New Hampshire, and attacked the sleeping occupants with a machete and a knife. Kimberly Cates, 42, was hacked to death in her bed; her 11-year-old daughter, Jaime, survived.

On Sept. 18, police found the bludgeoned, decomposing corpses of four people — including two teens — in a Virginia home. The 20-year-old suspect reportedly spent days with the bodies before he was caught.

On Sept. 15, four young men allegedly beat a man to death with metal baseball bats in Pennsylvania, striking him 60 to 80 times.

The crimes have more in common than their savagery. Suspects in all three cases — and numerous other violent felonies in recent years — are fans of “horrorcore,” a blend of rap and heavy-metal music that features often violent, horror-influenced lyrics and imagery.

Montgomery County prosecutors approved aggravated murder charges on Oct. 21 against self-described horrorcore fan Cody Wayne Henderson, 19, of Madison Twp., in the early-morning stabbing death of his stepfather, Charles S. Zan II of Miamisburg. Zan, a 45-year-old state prison guard, was stabbed more than 40 times in his bed .

On Myspace, Henderson calls himself a “Juggalo 4 life,” and his former girlfriend describes herself as a “Juggalette.” Juggalos are fans of one of horrorcore’s leading band, Detroit’s Insane Clown Posse.

Scientific studies have had mixed findings on whether listening to violent music leads to violent behavior.

But “individuals who are on the pathway to violence often surround themselves with violent music and literature,” said Special Agent Harry Trombitas of the FBI’s Columbus office. “These (musical) groups themselves are not causative, but they’re often enhancers.”

To listen to the lyrics of the Insane Clown Posse is to wallow in a foul pit of murder, misogyny and necrophilia, to play the role of Dresden in an attack of F-bombs.

The Detroit duo is filthy, disgusting and offensive. And that’s not all.

“They are huge,” said Dale Walton, manager of Gem City Records, “and kids love them.”

Take horror movies, rap, hip-hop, heavy metal and professional wrestling, put it in a blender and you’ve got horrorcore music as practiced by the Insane Clown Posse and other acts of Psychopathic Records. ICP fans call themselves Juggalos in much the same way as Grateful Dead fans are Deadheads. ICP and some fans wear “wicked clown” makeup and drench each other in Detroit-bottled Faygo soda at concerts.

“A lot of it is humorous and/or offensive,” said Gem City Records staffer Megan Springhart. “It’s just goofy rap with a lot of swearing and obscene language. I like some of their music, but it really attracts the derelict type.”

Horrorcore isn’t all face paint and Faygo. A number of fans across the nation have been linked to real-life violence as extreme as the genre’s lyrics. Earlier this month, Miamisburg police arrested Henderson, a self-proclaimed Juggalo on charges of aggravated murder in the stabbing of his stepfather, Charles Zan II.

Horrorcore is the latest musical genre to raise questions about how much life imitates art. Rock stars like Ozzy Osbourne, KISS and Marilyn Manson and rappers like Ice-T and NWA have previously come under fire. The shooters in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre were fans of hardcore music.

Psychopathic Records officials did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Nobody says groups like ICP, which performed in Columbus Thursday, Oct. 29, bear the responsibility when people commit violence, but some research does tie violent lyrics to aggressive thoughts and emotions.

A 2003 study of 500 college students published by the American Psychological Association found that students who listened to songs with violent lyrics — regardless of the performer or style of music — were more likely to assign aggressive meanings to words with multiple interpretations. Violent music increased listeners’ feelings of hostility and even humorous violent songs made listeners more aggressive.

Lead researcher Craig Anderson of Iowa State University said at the time that such thoughts can color a person’s real-life relationships “with an aggressive tint. One major conclusion from this and other research on violent entertainment media is that content matters.”

Others aren’t so sure. University of Dayton associate sociology professor Art Jipson noted that most horrorcore fans don’t commit violent acts, and doubts there’s a cause-and-effect connection between music and crime.

“Do we expect baby boomers to go out and see a red door and want to paint it black because of the Rolling Stones’ influence?” quipped Jipson, an expert in criminal justice and popular culture.

“There were a lot of attempts to make those connections in the 1980s with the Parents Music Resource Center and Tipper Gore,” he said, “but the literature doesn’t really support that.”

While horrorcore’s lyrics are disturbing, the music “is kind of an emotional release. It could be argued to be empowering,” Jipson said. He also said the lyrics are delivered with “a hint of irony. You have to ask yourself, how much of it is done with a wink and a nod?”

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