It\u2019s no secret that there is an underground market for merchandise relating to both the famous and the infamous. The selling of \u201choly artifacts\u201d has a long and storied tradition (literally<\/em> \u2014 Chaucer devoted one of The Canterbury Tales<\/em> to it) but the vending and collecting of more nefarious relics from equally execrable owners is a relatively recent phenomenon. Sure, in the late 1800s, Jesse James\u2019 mother made a small fortune selling pretty much any pistol she could get her hands on as having \u201conce belonged to my son\u201d \u2014 some legit, most less-so. Flash forward to the 20th<\/sup> Century \u2014 July 22, 1934 to be exact \u2014 and Biograph Theatre bystanders dipped scarves and handkerchiefs into John Dillinger\u2019s blood\u2026 only to sell them to collectors. A couple of years later, carnival barker Charles Stanley bought Bonnie and Clyde\u2019s bullet-riddled Ford 730 Deluxe \u201cdeath car\u201d and toured the country with it as an added attraction. Working a similar scheme in the \u201960s, a man named Bunny Gibbons bought the \u201949 Ford sedan owned by serial killer Ed Gein (who later served as the loose inspiration for Psycho,<\/em> The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, <\/em>and The Silence of the Lambs<\/em>). Gibbons then charged the curious 25\u00a2 for the privilege of sitting in Ed Gein\u2019s Ghoul Car<\/em>. It\u2019s worth noting that Gibbons paid $760 for the Ford and more than made his money back.<\/p>\n Indeed, even the U.S. Government occasionally gets involved in such vending. In September 2004, the feds sold David Koresh\u2019s \u201968 Camaro for $37,500. More recently, in May 2015, they auctioned off a number of Ted Kaczynski\u2019s items. The typewriter that wrote The<\/em> Unibomber Manifesto<\/em> went for $11,000, but the top-shelf-seller was a package deal of the hoodie and sunglasses immortalized in the FBI WANTED sketch. The gavel fell at $20,025.<\/p>\n Clearly, there is a market for such stuff out there, at least among people with weird tastes and entirely too much<\/em> disposable income. And full disclosure: I would likely consider myself among them if I had more money to burn. [see this article\u2019s\u00a0Post-Script\/Coda<\/a> for an elaboration comment.]<\/p>\n The unofficially-technical term for such fare and ware is murderabilia<\/em>, that word being coined by Andy Kahan of Houston\u2019s Crime Victim Office in 2001 when he (successfully) sought to make the vending of such paraphernalia illegal in his state. His rampage against murderabilia<\/em> was somewhat successful: as of this writing, Texas, California, New Jersey, Michigan, and Utah all have statutes banning (or at least regulating) sales of such sundry stuff in one way or another.<\/p>\n With acknowledgement to Kahan, I personally prefer to coin my own term: morbidabilia. <\/em>This helps encompass such oddball groups like Heaven\u2019s Gate or Solar Temple: they didn\u2019t murder anybody except themselves.[1]<\/a> Since I once saw a fountain pen owned by Marshall Applewhite for sale, I think the nomenclature umbrella needs to be expanded. And whether one thinks the Jonestown tragedy was a mass-suicide, mass-murder, or mass-mix-of-the-two, there\u2019s no serious debate that Peoples Temple \u2014 and its artifacts \u2014 should be under this category\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n Whatever the case, any novice\u2019s first stop to find such items is eBay<\/a>. Indeed, previous issues of the jonestown report<\/em> have discussed this<\/a> in depth. Unfortunately, in 2001 eBay changed its seller\u2019s Terms & Conditions <\/em>to specifically exclude such stuff \u2014 quite likely due to Kahan\u2019s efforts. In theory these items are long gone, but in practice one can still find them as long as someone else hasn\u2019t lodged a complaint to get them de-listed.<\/p>\n So: if anyone wants authentic<\/em> artifacts \u2014 from either serial killers, crazy cults, or (in this jtr<\/em> context) \u2014 Peoples Temple, you\u2019ll just have to dig deeper.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, something of a cottage industry has sprung up around such moribund mementos. In researching this article, I found about ten such sites offering various relics and trinkets related to the over-all morbidabilia<\/em> topic, but only two of them actually had actual Peoples Temple paraphernalia on the docket. This is understandable: by definition there are only a finite number of Jonestown artifacts still extant in the subsequent 37 years, so it\u2019s hit-or-miss if a cache has been uncovered or someone is willing to part with a keepsake. I\u2019d be surprised if there weren\u2019t<\/em> more sellers out there than what I found within this article\u2019s deadline, and with better<\/em> wares, too, but I am<\/em> on deadline, so I\u2019ll leave it up to those truly<\/em> curious with a Tor-browser and some spare Bitcoins to deep-spelunk the Dark Net for PT\/JJ artifacts.<\/p>\n Still: a comparison of the two sites I know of (currently) peddling Peoples Temple mementos is interesting. I contacted both sites with some questions of object provenance \u2014 and believe me: I have some questions about authenticity \u2014 but as of this printing have not heard back from either.<\/p>\n That said\u2026<\/p>\n www.supernaught.com<\/a> is quite likely the first website to devote itself to this morbidabelia<\/em> matter. It was founded in April 2001 \u2014 when eBay changed its T&C<\/em> \u2014 by vendors seeking to skirt the \u2019Bay\u2019s policy change. Amid Ted Bundy letters, Charles Manson correspondence, and even Ed Gein\u2019s fingerprint blotter sheet, you can find some Peoples Temple mementos.<\/p>\n They are currently selling several self-addressed RSVP envelopes bearing the San Francisco P.O.\u00a0box ($395) and one with the Guyana\/Georgetown address ($695), a \u201cGod is Love\u201d award certificate [unasigned, so feel free to fill in the blanks with your<\/em> name!] ($695), a \u201cPeoples Temple clothing tag\u201d \u2014 almost certainly a tag from stuffed animal toys made at Jonestown\u2014 ($600), and a QSL authentication card from Jonestown\u2019s short-wave radio station ($500). More on that card in a minute.<\/p>\n The high-item on the docket is a hand-written letter (and accompanying stamp-cancelled envelope, dated December 2, 1962) allegedly<\/em> from Reverend Jones himself. I will leave it to others better versed in chicken-scrawl \u2014 or at least Jones\u2019 own (supposed) handwriting \u2014 to translate it into English in terms of content. Asking price: $78,000.<\/p>\n Now: keen readers here have likely noted that I disclaimed the epistle with qualifiers like allegedly<\/em> and supposed<\/em>. Here\u2019s why<\/em>: Jones\u2019 graphology displays a distinct loopiness \u2014 like in how a capital \u201cJ\u201d is displayed, for instance \u2014 that is conspicuously missing here. Compare the supernaught letter<\/a> vs.<\/strong> a known sample<\/a> of Jones\u2019 signature, and you\u2019ll see what I mean.<\/p>\n For those who are click-lazy:<\/p>\n vs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As mentioned, supernaught.com<\/em> has not responded to my questions on item authenticity and provenance. Still, I\u2019d like to think I\u2019m a nice guy<\/em>, so for purposes of this piece will float them a pass on provenance: authenticity issues aside, I\u2019ll give them a benefit-of-the-doubt<\/em> and assume they genuinely believe in good faith they have a sample of Jones\u2019 writing.<\/p>\n For those wondering, the (alleged) Jones letter is actually the second-highest<\/em>-priced item on the site. The top dollar award goes to a bundle: a hand-written and autographed \u201cstory\u201d with an accompanying cover \u201cillustration\u201d by serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Normally $150,000 but (as of this writing) it\u2019s on sale for just $125,000! (Go get your checkbooks; I\u2019ll wait.)<\/p>\n At the other end<\/em> of the spectrum was www.redrumautographs.com<\/em> [Editor’s note<\/strong>: This site is now defunct. For some reason.]. Hopefully enough people have either read or seen The Shining<\/em> that I don\u2019t have to explain the site\u2019s name. It was founded in February 2009, and aside from the expected John Hinkley postcards, autographed Manson polaroids, and letters from David \u201cSon of Sam\u201d Berkowitz, there are a couple of Peoples Temple trinkets.<\/p>\n Tangentially related is an autographed publicity portrait by Congressman Leo Ryan ($299.99), but more on-topic are \u2014 or were<\/em> \u2014 some Peoples Temple agricultural pamphlets and a QSL identification card. During the course of writing this article, both were sold\u2026 and since a QSL card appeared on supernaught<\/em> during the course of this piece\u2019s research, I have a hunch I know who the buyer was.<\/p>\n They also were once selling blank stationery that had a Peoples Temple letterhead from a northern California address, though over the course of writing this article it was sold and de-listed. Like my inquiries with supernaught<\/em>, I received no reply on article provenance; given that the address would\u2019ve placed it at 40+ years-old and the graphics displayed seemed very un-aged<\/em>, I was kind of curious.<\/p>\n Redrumautographs<\/em> does have other Jonestown-related items, though in my humble opinion they are functionally worthless: for $10 you can get a transcript of the Q042 \u201cDeath Tape\u201d (available free here<\/a>), as well as \u201ccopy of original\u201d reproductions of a number of photos of Jim Jones. One of them is one of the black-and-white portraits of Jones taken by the NBC crew on November 18, 1978. Using some simple Google-image Ju-Jitsu<\/em> I am able to find all of the pictures offered available on-line one place or another, so \u201ccopy of the original\u201d is at best a flexible description.<\/p>\n By the way, If you\u2019re wondering, the highest-priced item on redrumautographs<\/em> is an autographed portrait purportedly signed by Benito Mussolini. The price: $2,999.99.<\/p>\n Obviously, it\u2019s a seller\u2019s market, and that\u2019s assuming the sellers are honest and working in good faith that their items are legit. Whether anyone wants to pay the ticket prices is a separate matter.<\/p>\n One final comparison of the sites might be worth making. As mentioned, Supernaught<\/em> has a letter (supposedly) signed by Jones for $78K. Redrumautographs<\/em> has a photo (supposedly) signed by Benito Mussolini for just under $3K. Who\u2019d have thought that Dad<\/em> would be worth more than Il Duce<\/em>?<\/p>\n <\/a>POST-SCRIPT\/CODA<\/b><\/p>\n The motives<\/em> for one either selling or buying such morbidabilia<\/em> is a separate topic I have tried my best to skirt. The obvious option is \u201cprofit\u201d \u2014 especially for the sellers. You can be cynical and think the same of the buyers: they can almost certainly \u201cflip\u201d a sale for a hefty plus-sum in a few years. There are obvious exceptions, of course: Bob Hope once had the world\u2019s largest stockpile of Nazi memorabilia. Since I don\u2019t think anyone would accuse Mr. Hope of being a closet-Nazi, it\u2019s likely safe to think of these trinkets as \u201cwar trophies\u201d \u2014 tokens of his golden glory days.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, though, I have empirical evidence that mercenary motivation is not always the case among the sellers.<\/p>\n In the 1990s I was spontaneously trying (and failing) to write a science fiction novel using the Branch Davidian\/Waco disaster as its framework.<\/p>\n Was it \u201cpoor taste\u201d?<\/p>\n Quite likely.<\/p>\n Was it \u201csarcastic\u201d?<\/p>\n Well, you\u2019ve read this far, seen my style, so you know<\/u> it was!<\/p>\n But was it \u201cin good faith\u201d?<\/p>\n Well, in my own way: I\u2019d like to think so.<\/p>\n My intent was to present a sci-fi variant of actual Branch Davidian dogma and let \u2019em hang on their own petard. Let the reader decide if this was \u201ccrazy\u201d or not.<\/p>\n So: in an effort to get into the antagonist\u2019s (ie<\/em>: my novel\u2019s cyber-punk David Koresh\u2019s) head, I researched Davidian theology a little more than is humanly healthy. I didn\u2019t agree<\/em> with it, but I had to at least understand<\/em> it enough to try to write it \u201cright.\u201d<\/p>\n With me so far? Good<\/em>.<\/p>\n In that<\/em> context, I found an eBay seller that was an actual Branch Davidian who was fortunate enough to have been out-of-state when the \u201993 conflagration went down. The Events didn\u2019t diminish his faith, either. Nice guy, actually \u2014 if a bit strange<\/em>, though that\u2019s a separate story \u2014 and I\u2019m genuinely glad he didn\u2019t die in The Fire.<\/p>\n Whatever the case<\/em>, he was on eBay selling some Koresh sermons on home-made CDs[2]<\/a>. I am satisfied from the audio \u2014 plus his explanation of provenance \u2014 that they are legit.<\/p>\n Anyway, he told me that his motives on sales were (and I\u2019m paraphrasing here): \u201csure, the money\u2019s nice, but this is my way of evangelizing Koresh\u2019s message.\u201d<\/p>\n I respect that. I don\u2019t agree<\/em> with it \u2014 at least the underlying theology, no sir! \u2014 but yeah: I actually respect that.<\/p>\n So there\u2019s always an exception to \u201cthe rule\u201d where one might think that peddling morbidabelia<\/em> is all about the mercenary.<\/p>\n![\"unicorn\"](\"http:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/unicorn-258x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Likewise for the novice artifact hunter\u2019s second stop: Amazon<\/a>. At one point, JFK assassination aficionados could get fresh lawn clippings from The Grassy Knoll. More to the Jonestown point, I recall back around 2000 seeing someone selling packets of grape Kool-Aid which (according to the seller) were purchased from an Indianapolis convenience store built on the site of what was once Jim Jones\u2019 childhood home. Putting aside the fractal-levels of FAIL!<\/em><\/strong> there, such stuff is now gone from current listings, so sadly you\u2019ll just have to limit your Amazon shopping to bare essentials like canned unicorn meat<\/a> or some post-apocalyptic battle cruisers for the kids.<\/p>\n![\"jjfake\"](\"http:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/jjfake.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"jonessigREAL\"](\"http:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/jonessigREAL-300x63.jpg\")
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