Columbiner
| RPF Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name(s): | Columbiner |
| Scope/Focus: | Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine school shooters |
| Date(s): | 1999-present |
| See also: | True Crime Community |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Columbiners are fans of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who infamously perpetrated the Columbine High School Massacre on April 20th, 1999, killing thirteen people before committing suicide. Columbiners have been around a long time in various forms, but in recent years have been known to be most active on tumblr.[1]
Books have been written about them and law enforcement takes them seriously, as many have gone on to commit or attempt school shootings and other violent acts of their own. They are part of the larger True Crime Community, and are possibly one of the most hated and feared fandoms to ever exist.
Background
On April 20, 1999, students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve fellow students and one teacher at Columbine High School, before taking their own lives. At the time, it was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
The event received intense and widespread media coverage, becoming one of the most infamous events of the decade. Much of the media attention focused specifically on the perpetrators. In the years that followed, journals and videos made by the shooters became available to the public. The videos, journals, and news coverage of the shooting form the basis of the Columbiner fandom. Many Columbiners join the fandom as they feel they relate heavily to Harris and Klebold, who both struggled with mental illness and intense disdain for their peers and society. This parasocial connection Columbiners feel towards the shooters has been a topic of debate for many years, sparking discussions of how mental illness, isolation, and online communities can intersect.[2]
Activities
Columbiners participate in their fandom in a variety of ways, including creating fanart, fic, and photo edits featuring the murderers. Photo edits placing flower crowns on Harris and Klebold's heads have become particularly infamous. Furry fanart of the murderers also exists. In terms of shipping, while works pairing the murderers together exist, self-insert stories pairing one or both of the killers with the reader or an original character appear more common.
An episode of the documentary series Zero Hour focusing on the massacre has received much attention within the fandom, as it features a dramatized reenactment of the shooting. Additionally, films such as Zero Day and Elephant that portray fictional school shootings are popular among Columbiners, with there being a significant overlap in these fanbases.
Notable Fans
Columbine-Influenced Violence
Though the majority of school shooters proceeding Columbine have, in some way, been inspired by Columbine, it isn't known how many of them could have been considered members of the True Crime Community. However, some members of the community became infamous for either planning or executing their own mass shootings inspired by Harris and Klebold. Many more members of the community publicly fantasize about committing such acts themselves, but few go on to do so.
A notable example is R. R. Stair (also known under the pseudonym Andrew Blaze), who murdered three coworkers before committing suicide. Stair was active on Columbine-centric forums, included themes of mass murder and school shootings in her Danny Phantom-inspired webseries, and on at least one occasion drew fanart based on crime scene photos of Harris and Klebold's bodies.
In February of 2015, three people who were active members of the community[3] were reported to authorities in Nova Scotia, Canada, for a planned mass shooting at the Halifax Shopping Centre. Two of these people, Lindsey Souvannarath and Randall Shepard, were arrested and eventually convicted on conspiracy to commit murder. A third conspirator, James Gamble, was found dead in his home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after his discovery of the impending police investigation.
In April of 2019, Sol Pais, an 18-year-old American high school student from Florida became the subject of a widely publicized FBI manhunt. Pais was obsessed with the Columbine shooters and is believed to have been planning a similar shooting. She traveled to Colorado around April 14th, purchased a shotgun, and on this day was also reported missing by her parents. Upon being informed of her intentions, the FBI initiated a manhunt on April 15th, and several schools across Colorado went on lockdown a day later on April 16th. On April 17th, FBI investigators found Pais deceased near Mount Evans, having died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Prior to her death, Pais had regularly updated a personal website where she uploaded things such as drawings and journal entries. Pais became somewhat of a celebrity among Columbiners, with many members still posting pictures and fanart of her to this day.
Additional Reading
Fans of Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold - Rico, Andrew Ryan. Organization for Transformative Works (2015).
RD99, a fansite dedicated to Eric Harris that contains various articles and other information about both the shooting and its fandom.