The Killer Doctor Who Inspired Hannibal Lecter

"You don't have to make up anything in this world." -- Thomas Harris

The character of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) was first introduced in Red Dragon. Based on Thomas Harris’ famous novel of the same name, the uncanny cannibal doctor then became a cultural phenomenon. The Silence of the Lambs taps even into Hannibal’s backstory and killer origin. The first scene between Dr. Lecter and the FBI agent trainee Clarice Starling also leaves a strikingly haunting impression on many. This encounter did come from a real-life encounter with the monster.

Thomas Harris once worked as a magazine journalist. In his 20s, he was assigned to interview a killer named Dykes Askew Simmons at Topo Chico Penitentiary in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Simmons was sentenced to death for killing three young people. He had a cleft lip and small scars on his head, but it was the doctor who saved Simmons' life during a prison escape that caught Harris' attention -- Dr. Salazar, whom Harris remembered as a "small, lithe man with dark red hair” standing very still with "elegance" asked Harris to sit down. The doctor then quizzed him on the interview.

Harris recalled being asked how he felt about Simmons' victims, and he replied that they looked nice, but the doctor snapped at him, "You’re not saying they provoked him?" The guard later revealed to Harris that the doctor was a murderer and surgeon, who packed up his victim in small boxes.

The chilling encounter later made its way into the famous scene between Dr. Lector and Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. Dr. Salazar, who inspired the cannibal villain, was Alfredo Balli Trevino in real life. He was a surgeon who served 20 years in prison for murdering his gay lover -- a crime that he carried guilt for till the day he died. After his release, Balli Trevino continued working as a doctor in clinics, treating the poor.

Though Dr. Trevino only resembled slightly the psychopathic killer, the world doesn't lack "real-life Hannibal Lecter." One murderer named Robert Maudsley shared a shocking amount of similarities to Dr. Lector's crimes. He was rumored to consume his victim's brain with a small spoon.

Red Dragon is available to stream on STARZ.

Rent/buy Red Dragon on Amazon Prime. Starting from $3.75.

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