A social media star who recreates the "unsettling" final meals of Death Row killers has admitted that he may be "weird" for doing so, and claims he only found one "unnerving".
TikToker and YouTuber Josh Slavin, from Washington DC in the US, became so intrigued by Death Row inmates' last meal requests that he set out to recreate, eat, and rate them all. And the 22-year-old said he started his surreal pastime because he "might just be weird".
The tradition of last meals "[stretch] back across centuries of United States history and before," according to one research paper. Most people believe that it originates beacuse in Ancient Greece, you had to feed the person who was going to be executed so they didn't come back a hungry ghost.
READ MORE: 'Killer Clown' John Wayne Gacy's monster final meal and chilling last three words
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Fast forward to recent times, and most US states provide a final meal to prisoners who have been sentenced to death. Typically a decadent spread will be chosen, with one of the big fast food chains usually represented. And Josh Slavin told the Star that he always wondered what his would be.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Josh explained: "Like most people (I think – I might just be weird), I have had countless conversations discussing what the ultimate final meal composition would be."
His said this started his fascination, before it became even stronger. He added: "It prompted me to look deeper into what people had actually selected when forced to choose, and I thought it would be interesting explore these meals and the stories behind them.
"I’ve been very fortunate that my audience has found this series to be compelling, and that I also happen really enjoy the process of creating these videos as well!"
And his audience certainly do enjoy his content, with Josh raking in 23.3M likes on TikTok alone. His videos often reach several million people and he commands 607.2K followers on the video-sharing site.
Brave Josh said the meals don't usually creep him out, but admitted that he found one "unnerving".
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"I wouldn’t say any of the meals have freaked me out per se, but some of the stories attached to them are a little bit unsettling. I think the most unique story behind a meal was that behind the selection of James Edward Smith," he said.
Smith was said to follow the teachings of Black Magic and Voodoo and requested a clump of Rheakunda dirt as his final meal.
"This dirt was supposed to be a vital element for a Voodoo ritual he was trying to complete so he could pass into the afterlife, but because the prison denied this request, he was unable to perform this ritual," Josh explained.
"He warned the prison officials that as a consequence of denying his request, he planned to haunt the prison for 300 years. Definitely a bit unnerving."
Josh added that the details of the killings of John Wayne “The Killer Clown” Gacy stuck with him the most.
Gacy was put to death in Illinois, US, by lethal injection 29 years ago (May 10, 1994).
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One of America's most infamous serial killers of all time, Gacy raped, tortured and murdered at least 33 young men and boys in Norwood Park Township near Chicago.
"What he would frequently utter just before killing his adolescent victims after torturing them for hours [stuck with me]," Josh said.
Josh added: "He informed his victims that he would be performing his 'rope trick' and told them that it would be the 'last trick'. This trick involved wrapping a rope around the victim’s neck, then gradually tightening it with the handle of a hammer until the victim dies.
"Besides that, any case involving children or family members as victims (surprisingly a lot of them) also shakes me up quite a bit as well."
Gacy ordered an entire bucket of KFC, twelve fried shrimp, a wad of fries and fresh strawberries. That was all washed down with Diet Coke.
Josh, of course, recreated the 'decadent' meal and rated it A, the second best tier.
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