Shirley has recently received her Masters degree in American Literature, where she studied emblems of gothic excess in post-modern fiction. She is currently interested in how today's image of the serial killer may have usurped the traditional role of the ragged dark stranger in earlier American fiction, and how this updated icon functions as a cautionary device in contemporary popular culture. Her interest in true crime was sparked at a young age after a neighbor committed a highly-publicized murder. She is eternally thankful for her parents' good judgment in choosing her babysitters