Quote · Last Podcast On The Left
Episode 670: Father's Day w/ Stephen King & Joe Hill
Where this was said
Grotesque Fan Gifts: Gacy Art, Embalmer Bags, and Serial Killer Lore
At 9:54 · chapter starts 4:20
After the pleasantries, Joe Hill immediately launches into a memorably grotesque story: a fan at a Boise book signing handed him a doctor's leather bag that turned out to contain his late father's embalming equipment, complete with rotten-meat odor and chemical stench. Joe had it chucked immediately. Stephen one-ups with his own signing memory — a fan asking where the 'Nazi books' were — before the conversation pivots to the truly disturbing: John Wayne Gacy sent Stephen King prison art. Joe reveals this was so deeply unsettling it became the opening paragraph of his debut novel Heart-Shaped Box. Henry then insists Gacy allegedly ran a production line in prison using other incarcerated serial killers including Herbert Mullin to mass-produce paintings attributed to him. Stephen and Joe are skeptical but intrigued. The segment is a perfect tonal preview of what makes LPOTL tick: true crime energy wrapped in literary conversation.
John Wayne Gacy sent Stephen King art from prison, an experience so disturbing it became the seed of the opening paragraph of Joe Hill's debut novel Heart-Shaped Box.
John Wayne Gacy sent Stephen King art from prison. Joe Hill found it so disturbing he opened his debut novel Heart-Shaped Box with it. Then Henry revealed Gacy allegedly ran a serial-killer art assembly line.
Henry Zabrowski claimed John Wayne Gacy orchestrated an art production system in prison using other incarcerated serial killers, including Herbert Mullin, as an assembly line to create paintings under his direction.
Joe Hill sweats through 3 pages; Stephen King responds 45 minutes later with 5 more. Writing with his dad is less collaboration and more survival.
