On October 18th 1969 Paul Avery ran a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle describing the Zodiac Killer as a ‘latent homosexual’. Under the banner Zodiac-Portrait of the Killer he stated "The killer of five who calls himself ‘Zodiac’ is a clumsy criminal, a liar and possibly a latent homosexual."
Two notable features of the Halloween card were the two skeletons, one of which had a pumpkin placed over the genital area. It was after all four days before Halloween, so the pumpkin and skeletons were not unusual, but why would the Zodiac Killer choose a pumpkin, of all the things he could have chosen and in particular place it in such a fashion. The Zodiac Killer also underlined the ‘lav’ in the misspelled reporter’s name Paul Averly. These two features of the card, along with the phrase ‘peek-a-boo’, implied a suggestion of something hidden.
Some Zodiac researchers have explored the possibility the Zodiac was of English origin, on account of his word usage, such as ‘shall’, infrequently used in American English, but by the same token a word frequently used by thespians. Peek-a-boo
is known as Peep-bo in British culture and is the act of concealing ones face behind the hands or other object, before suddenly appearing back into view and uttering the words peek-a-boo or peep-bo. It can be seen in Wikipedia that many variations involve trees, similar to the depiction on the Halloween Card, where ‘Hiding behind that tree’ is added.
Whether or not it is a significant phrase by the Zodiac Killer is open to question, but Peep-Bo is a character that features during Act I of the Mikado.
The eyes peering from the tree, peek-a-boo and the hidden gender, may just have been the start of a form of ‘toilet humor’ backlash or closet acceptance that the Paul Avery reference to Zodiac possibly being a ‘latent homosexual’ had been officially noted. After all ‘lav’ is a colloquialism used in English speech for lavatory or ‘water closet’. A ‘closet homosexual’ is used for people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and ties in nicely with the English phrase ‘skeleton in the closet’, coined in the 19th century, a colloquial phrase and idiom used to describe an undisclosed fact about someone which, if revealed, would have a negative impact on perceptions of the person.
Continuing the Asian connection pumpkin seeds have long been used in parts of Asia for boosting sexual performance and prostate health.
There was much discourse between the police and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movements, predominant in the Tenderloin, Nob Hill and Castro District in the 1960’s and 1970’s, where routine intimidation and arrests were commonplace. Bearing in mind the military connection attributed to Zodiac, it has to be remembered that after World War II many military personnel courted the area, unwilling to return to a life incompatible with homosexuality and other forms of behavior and areas like the Tenderloin and Castro Street became the home to many gay bars and sex clubs. In the early years of San Francisco it was against the law for men to dress up in women’s clothing, but an exception was made for one night only on Halloween, a pagan celebration that would become the adopted day for gay celebrations.
As early as 1963 Castro Street opened its first gay bar, the ‘Missouri Mule’. One such person was gay activist and entertainer Jose Sarria, who himself had served in World War II, but continued to fight against police harassment against not only gay people, but gay establishments as a whole, having performed in the ‘Black Cat Bar’ at 710 Montgomery Street, a north-south thoroughfare. Gay people were regularly arrested and although the charges were routinely dropped, the arrested patrons names, addresses and workplaces were printed in the newspapers, including the Chronicle.
Enter Melvin Belli who in tandem with Sarria challenged an old city ordinance that made it illegal for a man to dress in women’s clothing with an "intent to deceive", by encouraging men to wear ‘some nice buttons‘ or strictly labels on their clothing stating "I am a boy." Does this remind you of anything. The reference to ‘melvin eats bluber’ on the Button Letter is based on the creation of buttons in the mid to late 60’s by Irwin Weisfeld, in the form of a counter culture expressionism. The actual pin button says Melville Eats Blubber, which is in fact referring to Herman Melville, the creator of Moby Dick, published in 1851.
In fact regarding the Halloween Card Melvin Belli was often famous for his use of ‘Elmer’ the skeleton which he often used in his medical malpractice suits, and raising the Jolly Roger flag over his Montgomery Street office building in the Barbary Coast district of San Francisco and we certainly know about the Jolly Roger cards.
The question remains was Zodiac’s trigger, and eventual attack on police and newspapers, particularly the San Francisco Chronicle, as a direct result as his experiences of vilification and persecution by the police and San Francisco Chronicle in this homosexual climate of fear, that ultimately drove him on his conquest of revenge and retribution.