I think Zodiac’s reference to ‘The Exorcist’ is uncanny because there’s a line in that film, spoken by Max von Sydow (Father Merrin) which can be applied to Zodiac specifically, at least in my opinion. The line comes as Father Karras is stating that there appears to be several demons present, to which Merrin cut’s him off "There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us."

I think that last sentence can be applied to Zodiac. He probably told one or two truths in amongst 4 or 5 lies to keep his audience guessing as to which was correct etc.

Respectfully, I think they were all bluffs especially his suddenly going "underground" (Nov 09, 1969), claiming responsibility for other murders, his increasing score (i.e. SFPD=0, Z. = 13), etc…
The obvious motive to keep public and investigators scared, guessing, and busy. The suspect with such an obvious motive being the killer from LHR and BRS to divert attention away from him, obviously cover his tracks, let the case grow cold and the guy(s) with the most heat and the most to lose.

I think Zodiac’s reference to ‘The Exorcist’ is uncanny because there’s a line in that film, spoken by Max von Sydow (Father Merrin) which can be applied to Zodiac specifically, at least in my opinion. The line comes as Father Karras is stating that there appears to be several demons present, to which Merrin cut’s him off "There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us."

I think that last sentence can be applied to Zodiac. He probably told one or two truths in amongst 4 or 5 lies to keep his audience guessing as to which was correct etc.

Respectfully, I think they were all bluffs especially his suddenly going "underground" (Nov 09, 1969), claiming responsibility for other murders, his increasing score (i.e. SFPD=0, Z. = 13), etc…
The obvious motive to keep public and investigators scared, guessing, and busy. The suspect with such an obvious motive being the killer from LHR and BRS to divert attention away from him, obviously cover his tracks, let the case grow cold and the guy(s) with the most heat and the most to lose.

So your saying that, in your opinion, Zodiac’s going ‘underground’ was a bluff, and the motive was to keep the public scared? That wouldn’t make sense. Surely if you want to scare, panic and terrify the public you won’t do it by seeming to vanish. Yes, he may have kept killing but the public are not going to be aware of it so there isn’t going to be widespread fear because ‘Zodiac’ hasn’t been heard from as far as the public know.
If I’ve read you comments wrong and you didn’t mean what I thought you meant then I apologise in advance.

Victor I am guessing your a proponent of the ‘More than one Killer’ theory? There is something that I believe may be cryptically written in one of Zodiac’s letters where the writer of the letters appears to be referring to himself and Zodiac as two separate people. There is no evidence I can offer to support that, it’s simply relies on my own interpretation of one of the letters. I’ve long been careful not to simply take Z’s letters at face value because Zodiac seems to love word play games, misspelling words and names deliberately etc. And we know without doubt Zodiac seemed to enjoy hiding messages in cryptic codes, and I think his letters are similar to his ciphers, namely, they hide clues, messages and hints in plane sight. Anyway, that discussion isn’t for this thread. If you are interested in the reasons I have to at least consider that the writer of one letter isn’t the same person as the killer, message me and i’ll be happy to discuss it with you

I think Zodiac’s reference to ‘The Exorcist’ is uncanny because there’s a line in that film, spoken by Max von Sydow (Father Merrin) which can be applied to Zodiac specifically, at least in my opinion. The line comes as Father Karras is stating that there appears to be several demons present, to which Merrin cut’s him off "There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us."

I think that last sentence can be applied to Zodiac. He probably told one or two truths in amongst 4 or 5 lies to keep his audience guessing as to which was correct etc.

"There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us." I think this is biblically derived (makes sense since it’s priests).

Most likely alludes to satan as he was referred to as God as "the father of lies", the originator so the bit you have underlined is a revealing of the workings of lies in their most effective state. Can see why that would make you think of Z (most things prob do though WC since you’re involved in looking at the case so much).

In this context though and the last few previous posts I think it’s also appropriate and zynchy that the first part should be highlighted as well.

"There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us."

No team, just him

I think Zodiac’s reference to ‘The Exorcist’ is uncanny because there’s a line in that film, spoken by Max von Sydow (Father Merrin) which can be applied to Zodiac specifically, at least in my opinion. The line comes as Father Karras is stating that there appears to be several demons present, to which Merrin cut’s him off "There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us."

I think that last sentence can be applied to Zodiac. He probably told one or two truths in amongst 4 or 5 lies to keep his audience guessing as to which was correct etc.

Respectfully, I think they were all bluffs especially his suddenly going "underground" (Nov 09, 1969), claiming responsibility for other murders, his increasing score (i.e. SFPD=0, Z. = 13), etc…
The obvious motive to keep public and investigators scared, guessing, and busy. The suspect with such an obvious motive being the killer from LHR and BRS to divert attention away from him, obviously cover his tracks, let the case grow cold and the guy(s) with the most heat and the most to lose.

So your saying that, in your opinion, Zodiac’s going ‘underground’ was a bluff, and the motive was to keep the public scared? That wouldn’t make sense. Surely if you want to scare, panic and terrify the public you won’t do it by seeming to vanish. Yes, he may have kept killing but the public are not going to be aware of it so there isn’t going to be widespread fear because ‘Zodiac’ hasn’t been heard from as far as the public know.
If I’ve read you comments wrong and you didn’t mean what I thought you meant then I apologise in advance.

Yes sir. He with help ("they") did LHR and BRS (4 mi between them) then came up with The Z. as a cover with letters and ciphers. To keep the cover going and make him real and bigger to lessen the intensive search in Vallejo, then came LB and SF with letters and ciphers continuing for 2 more years with no other undeniably Z. crimes; the need for cover was over.

What doesn’t make too much sense is a lone serial killer craving infamy and living for the thrill of the kill, on the run from MO on the way to MX having killed a guard, in costume at LB and, back only a mo. later for semi-public murder in SF all the while writing continuous ciphers and letters to suddenly deciding he despises the inattention (possibly because no one really believed it) to go underground.

I think Zodiac’s reference to ‘The Exorcist’ is uncanny because there’s a line in that film, spoken by Max von Sydow (Father Merrin) which can be applied to Zodiac specifically, at least in my opinion. The line comes as Father Karras is stating that there appears to be several demons present, to which Merrin cut’s him off "There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us."

I think that last sentence can be applied to Zodiac. He probably told one or two truths in amongst 4 or 5 lies to keep his audience guessing as to which was correct etc.

"There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us." I think this is biblically derived (makes sense since it’s priests).

Most likely alludes to satan as he was referred to as God as "the father of lies", the originator so the bit you have underlined is a revealing of the workings of lies in their most effective state. Can see why that would make you think of Z (most things prob do though WC since you’re involved in looking at the case so much).

In this context though and the last few previous posts I think it’s also appropriate and zynchy that the first part should be highlighted as well.

"There is only one. The demon is a liar! Do not listen. He will also mix lies with the truth in order to confuse us."

No team, just him

I say the Exorcist letter was to only keep the myth alive with minimal effort, as there weren’t anymore black hood sightings, dates left behind, or bloody swabs but scores, for laughs and more busy work.

Well he seems to demand publicity at the end of the exorcist letter but seriously have to question how serious he is, an i’ll explain why.

Zodiac closes the Exorcist Letter by saying "PS. If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I’m capable of doing." It’s kind of counter intuitive in a slight sense because while they do know that he is capable of doing his thing, they also know, based on past experience, he doesn’t threaten to do his thing when he actually does it, he just goes out and commits the act, then writes to alert them to it after the fact. So in a sense, Zodiac writing and threatening to print the letter or else is kind of Zodiac telling us he isn’t doing his thing at all because if he was, he wouldn’t need to threaten or communicate at all. He could quite simply do what he had done on Four previous occasions and not ask, demand or threaten to get his latest letter published, but he could just take the decision out of the Editor’s hands in a sense by actually doing his thing and guaranteeing he gets heavy media coverage and time. Him now resorting to threats and blackmail to get the letters published is something I cant take him serious about simply because he wouldn’t need to do that if he really were serious about killing again. The fact that he’s not grabbing headlines via the method he knows from his own experience in the past will guarantee him and his communication be the big story is significant for me.

Zodiac cannot be serious in his demand for publicity because if he was, he could, instead of threatening to do his thing, just actually do it, but he doesn’t.

Well he seems to demand publicity at the end of the exorcist letter but seriously have to question how serious he is, an i’ll explain why.

Zodiac closes the Exorcist Letter by saying "PS. If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I’m capable of doing." It’s kind of counter intuitive in a slight sense because while they do know that he is capable of doing his thing, they also know, based on past experience, he doesn’t threaten to do his thing when he actually does it, he just goes out and commits the act, then writes to alert them to it after the fact. So in a sense, Zodiac writing and threatening to print the letter or else is kind of Zodiac telling us he isn’t doing his thing at all because if he was, he wouldn’t need to threaten or communicate at all. He could quite simply do what he had done on Four previous occasions and not ask, demand or threaten to get his latest letter published, but he could just take the decision out of the Editor’s hands in a sense by actually doing his thing and guaranteeing he gets heavy media coverage and time. Him now resorting to threats and blackmail to get the letters published is something I cant take him serious about simply because he wouldn’t need to do that if he really were serious about killing again. The fact that he’s not grabbing headlines via the method he knows from his own experience in the past will guarantee him and his communication be the big story is significant for me.

Zodiac cannot be serious in his demand for publicity because if he was, he could, instead of threatening to do his thing, just actually do it, but he doesn’t.

Your on the right track. At this point without more credible evidence of his existence and crimes the last five years, his publicity, fear, and credibility had waned considerably, like the heat off him for LH and BRS. If there really were a lone serial killer (and not a "’murderer’ using it as a cover") out for publicity, he could have easily done "his thing", with evidence tying back to his LB, BRS, LH, and SF, to turn the heat back on and make frontpage news at anytime.

Well he seems to demand publicity at the end of the exorcist letter but seriously have to question how serious he is, an i’ll explain why.

Zodiac closes the Exorcist Letter by saying "PS. If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I’m capable of doing." It’s kind of counter intuitive in a slight sense because while they do know that he is capable of doing his thing, they also know, based on past experience, he doesn’t threaten to do his thing when he actually does it, he just goes out and commits the act, then writes to alert them to it after the fact. So in a sense, Zodiac writing and threatening to print the letter or else is kind of Zodiac telling us he isn’t doing his thing at all because if he was, he wouldn’t need to threaten or communicate at all. He could quite simply do what he had done on Four previous occasions and not ask, demand or threaten to get his latest letter published, but he could just take the decision out of the Editor’s hands in a sense by actually doing his thing and guaranteeing he gets heavy media coverage and time. Him now resorting to threats and blackmail to get the letters published is something I cant take him serious about simply because he wouldn’t need to do that if he really were serious about killing again. The fact that he’s not grabbing headlines via the method he knows from his own experience in the past will guarantee him and his communication be the big story is significant for me.

Zodiac cannot be serious in his demand for publicity because if he was, he could, instead of threatening to do his thing, just actually do it, but he doesn’t.

Your on the right track. At this point without more credible evidence of his existence and crimes the last five years, his publicity, fear, and credibility had waned considerably, like the heat off him for LH and BRS. If there really were a lone serial killer (and not a "’murderer’ using it as a cover") out for publicity, he could have easily done "his thing", with evidence tying back to his LB, BRS, LH, and SF, to turn the heat back on and make frontpage news at anytime.

Yes, on this issue and point, I have to agree with you. I have always had a very big problem with this apparent media obsessed, attention seeking, publicity driven individual who appears so fixated and addicted to featuring as the star attraction of the SF Chronicle, to the point where many in Law Enforcement, journalism, and general public to this very day believe the Zodiac’s real motivation was attention and getting his name in the papers, to then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, does a complete U-turn and decides "I shall no longer announce to anyone when I commit my murders". That is the exact opposite of what you’d expect.
If your desperate, have an overwhelming urge to be recognised, have an unquenchable desire to get publicity, that is going to drive him enough to begin with, but to then experience the actual feelings of having the City of San Francisco focused on him, with the City’s most prominent Paper publishing works written by his own hand, to then decide that he’s changed his mind, the obsession has gone away, the compulsion to be famous has subsided, and the front pages are of little interest after being at the height of stardom (as he would see it), I just cannot accept that as believable. The publicity, along with the media seeking, publicity driven persona that appears to come with the ‘Zodiac’ was, in my opinion also, a fabricated personality created for the purpose to mislead the audience.

Well he seems to demand publicity at the end of the exorcist letter but seriously have to question how serious he is, an i’ll explain why.

Zodiac closes the Exorcist Letter by saying "PS. If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I’m capable of doing." It’s kind of counter intuitive in a slight sense because while they do know that he is capable of doing his thing, they also know, based on past experience, he doesn’t threaten to do his thing when he actually does it, he just goes out and commits the act, then writes to alert them to it after the fact. So in a sense, Zodiac writing and threatening to print the letter or else is kind of Zodiac telling us he isn’t doing his thing at all because if he was, he wouldn’t need to threaten or communicate at all. He could quite simply do what he had done on Four previous occasions and not ask, demand or threaten to get his latest letter published, but he could just take the decision out of the Editor’s hands in a sense by actually doing his thing and guaranteeing he gets heavy media coverage and time. Him now resorting to threats and blackmail to get the letters published is something I cant take him serious about simply because he wouldn’t need to do that if he really were serious about killing again. The fact that he’s not grabbing headlines via the method he knows from his own experience in the past will guarantee him and his communication be the big story is significant for me.

Zodiac cannot be serious in his demand for publicity because if he was, he could, instead of threatening to do his thing, just actually do it, but he doesn’t.

Your on the right track. At this point without more credible evidence of his existence and crimes the last five years, his publicity, fear, and credibility had waned considerably, like the heat off him for LH and BRS. If there really were a lone serial killer (and not a "’murderer’ using it as a cover") out for publicity, he could have easily done "his thing", with evidence tying back to his LB, BRS, LH, and SF, to turn the heat back on and make frontpage news at anytime.

Yes, on this issue and point, I have to agree with you. I have always had a very big problem with this apparent media obsessed, attention seeking, publicity driven individual who appears so fixated and addicted to featuring as the star attraction of the SF Chronicle, to the point where many in Law Enforcement, journalism, and general public to this very day believe the Zodiac’s real motivation was attention and getting his name in the papers, to then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, does a complete U-turn and decides "I shall no longer announce to anyone when I commit my murders". That is the exact opposite of what you’d expect.
If your desperate, have an overwhelming urge to be recognised, have an unquenchable desire to get publicity, that is going to drive him enough to begin with, but to then experience the actual feelings of having the City of San Francisco focused on him, with the City’s most prominent Paper publishing works written by his own hand, to then decide that he’s changed his mind, the obsession has gone away, the compulsion to be famous has subsided, and the front pages are of little interest after being at the height of stardom (as he would see it), I just cannot accept that as believable. The publicity, along with the media seeking, publicity driven persona that appears to come with the ‘Zodiac’ was, in my opinion also, a fabricated personality created for the purpose to mislead the audience.

Bingo! And now that the dust is settled, the trial obvious leads back to where it all started – Vallejo.