Movies have produced myriads of scary villains. And some of the scariest villains of all time include imaginary characters like Dracula and Frankenstein. But among them, there is another villain, the cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter from the 1991 movie ‘The Silence of The Lambs’. An intriguing fact about this villain is that he is inspired by a real-life murderer named Alfredo Ballí Treviño.
Hannibal Lecter was the creation of the ‘Red Dragon’ writer Thomas Harris and the character was influenced by an inmate from a Mexican prison. The personality of that inmate and his complete stature are what inspired the journalist to create his most famous serial killer. Here’s more about Alfredo Ballí Treviño, the doctor who inspired the creation of Hannibal Lecter.
Related: Top 10 Most Famous Serial Killers Of All Time
How Did Thomas Harris Meet Alfredo Ballí Treviño – The Real-Life Hannibal?
Hannibal Lecter is a blend of many villains that have been heard of in real life and seen in movies. But there is this particular person who inspired the making of this maniac serial killer-Alfredo Ballí Treviño. Thomas Harris had been a journalist in the 1960s. And once he had to meet a gruesomely wounded prisoner Dykes Askew Simmons in a prison in Mexico.
Treating Simmons was a doctor named Dr. Salazar, whom Harris mistook to be a staff member. While Salazar treated Simmons, the journalist and the doctor had quite an intellectual conversation concerning Simmons’ victims. Little did Harris know that the doctor was a murderer himself who was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. This man became the inspiration for Harris’ horror movie icon.
In case you missed: Why Ted Bundy Didn’t Kill His Girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer? Where Is She Now?
How Did Dr. Salazar End Up In Prison?
Alfredo Ballí Treviño was known as Dr.Salazar when he was in prison. But to the outside world, he was more familiar as the ‘Wolfman of Neuvo Leon’. This doctor from Monterrey was sentenced to death for murdering his gay lover Jesus Castillo Rangel and mutilating the body. The physician killed his lover in a fit of anger as the former was trying to get married to a woman.
Treviño is also suspected of murdering several hitchhikers in the late 1950s and 1960s. He spent his life in the Neuvo Leon State Prison for 20 years and was released in 1980. Once out of prison, Treviño continued his medical practice. And he passed away in 2009, at the age of 81 due to cancer.
You might also like to read:
