THE LOST SON OF SAM LETTERS

Cryptic Language

I was amazed by the sheer immaturity displayed in the letters. Some of them seemed to be written by a child. Or, rather, an adult with the mind of a child.

Evans's relationship with Son of Sam was far more personal—not to mention bizarre—than he had explained to Horton. Throughout their friendship, when Son of Sam would get sent to solitary confinement, he'd write letters to Evans, passed through the hands of another inmate. The language was cryptic. At times, they wrote in medieval dialect — "Take care, White Knight of the Dunes," Son of Sam would sign off, or "Dear, The Barbarian . . . Sir Gary," or "Sir Lancelot Evans." It was as if they had their own language. For the most part, Son of Sam thanked Evans for sending him magazines, books, tapes—he favored Bob Dylan over Loggins and Messina, for example—and food. Other times, they discussed weight lifting and general life behind bars.

Excerpt from "Sir Lancelot Evans letter"

As one might imagine, Son of Sam was a target in prison. Because of his celebrity status among criminals, other inmates gunned for him, and he often described to Evans the notes and threats he would routinely receive.

Interestingly enough, in one letter, Son of Sam wrote that he had ran into "two Puerto Rican friends" of Evans's and was "sending them over" ... "a gift from Big Dave." What he meant by this is unknown.

"Big Dave" excerpt

Some of the letters were typed, others handwritten.

One of Evans's favorite books, he explained to Son of Sam, was Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris, the prequel to Harris's blockbuster bestseller The Silence of the Lambs. Evans insisted Son of Sam read the book. He did, he said, but didn't much care for it. It was "fair," Son of Sam said. Ironically, Sam said he didn't "like psycho stories."

The AIDS crisis had been major news the year the letter was written. Son of Sam said AIDS was "a lot of shit." He called it "media hype." Evans, though, was worried about it affecting the world, while Son of Sam said it would stay confined to the "inner cities . . . prostitutes and junkies . . ." He then went on to list which states had reported cases, along with how many cases were in each state.