Jeffrey Dahmer prison mugshot and Evan Peters playing Jeffrey Dahmer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
True Crime

Understanding why Jeffrey Dahmer wore yellow contacts during his murder spree

The serial killer wore bright yellow contacts while he was out at gay bars

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If you have ever wondered why the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had such unsettling eyes, it might be because of the yellow contacts he wore.

Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer who confessed to committing all kinds of horrifying acts to his victims.

He drugged, assaulted, dismembered and even ate their bodies.

But throughout his murder spree, Jeffrey Dahmer refused to go out and meet his unfortunate victims until he wore a pair of bright yellow contacts.

But why?

Here’s everything we know about why the Milwaukee Monster wore yellow contacts.

***Warning: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story spoilers ahead***

Evan Peters playing Jeffrey Dahmer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Evan Peters played Jeffrey Dahmer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Credit: Netflix)

Did Jeffrey Dahmer wear yellow eye contacts?

Many true crime fans will recognise Jeffrey Dahmer from his iconic 70s-style aviator glasses.

But the serial killer was also known to wear another type of eye wear, before he went out to find young men to attack.

When Jeffrey went to stay with his grandma, he desperately tried to resist his dark urges and he was even attending church every week.

But by 1987, Jeffrey was back to his disturbing habits.

He once again started scoping out gay bars looking for the next victim to take back to his grandmother’s basement.

Jeffrey continued to do this right up until 1992 when he was caught and arrested by the police.

He even began butchering his victims’ bodies and dissolving their flesh in acid.

While he was out, searching for his next victim, the serial killer would often wear a pair of contact lenses.

And it wasn’t the kind to improve his eyesight.

During his trial, Jeffrey revealed that he would usually wear bright yellow contact lenses when he went out to meet his victims.

In the series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, we also saw Jeffrey Dahmer with unsettling yellow eyes when he was out at gay bars.

And it made the harrowing scenes with his victims somehow even more chilling.

Jeffrey Dahmer with a straight face in his prison mugshot
Jeffrey Dahmer loved to watch the film The Exorcist III (Credit: Shutterstock)

Why did Jeffrey Dahmer wear contacts?

Gisela K, the author of The Milwaukee Monster, explained that Jeffrey Dahmer was obsessed with Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars.

He was also a big fan of The Exorcist III.

We even saw glimpses of Jeffrey forcing his victims to watch the film throughout the Netflix series.

In the very first episode, Jeffrey held Tracy Edwards at knifepoint and forced him to sit and watch The Exorcist with him, before Tracy escaped and told the police about the serial killer.

Jeffrey would channel the movie villains and get into his serial killer persona by wearing the yellow contacts.

Which villains was Jeffrey Dahmer obsessed with?

Gisela told The Sun: “At his trial, The Exorcist III became a focal point as it was his favourite movie.

“He watched it at least two to three times per week for about six months before he was caught.

“He resonated so much with the main antagonist, the Gemini killer, so he bought yellow contact lenses to feel and look like him.”

Speaking at Jeffrey’s trial, forensic scientist Park Dietz, also explained why the villains were so important to Jeffrey.

He said: “What these characters have in common is that they are evil and corrupt and powerful.

“And they both have the ability to use special powers to control others.

“Each of the characters in the scenes that he repeatedly viewed actually torments someone else.

“But Mr Dahmer said that was not appealing to him, but that he did identify with with the power of these characters.”

Read more: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story: What happened to Konerak Sinthasomphone?

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Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is currently available to watch on Netflix.

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Aaliyah Ashfield
Digital Marketing Apprentice

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