The Red Phantom letter, postmarked San Rafael on July 8th 1974, was authored by the same individual who created the Symbionese Liberation Army letter on February 3rd 1974. Irrespective of who mailed each correspondence, it was almost certainly not the Zodiac Killer. The entire focus of the Red Phantom letter was aimed at Count Marco (Marc H. Spinelli) and his overtly chauvenistic views towards women, calling for the cancellation of his column in the San Francisco Chronicle. Much of the rhetoric evident in the communications of the left-leaning Symbionese Liberation Army would carry the message of equality for women. A search for the inspiration behind the Red Phantom pseudonym has long been sought, with many possible explanations having been suggested, including the theatrical release of the 1908 Pathé Frères film, El Espectro Rojo or The Red Phantom at the Port Theater in Mill Valley, Marin County on the 27th and 28th April 1974. However, the inspiration for the pseudonym may be nothing more than an angry response to the July 3rd 1974 article by Count Marco in the San Francisco Chronicle, with the Red Phantom pseudonym inspired by the article itself.
The Red Phantom letter begins with "Put Marco back in the hell-hole whence it came - he has a serious psychological disorder". A sentence clearly inspired by the article on the left, in which Marc H. Spinelli uses the words psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatry multiple times. Then the letter suggests to the San Francisco Chronicle that they "refer him to a shrink".
The Red Phantom letter ends with "Meanwhile, cancel the Count Marco column. Since the Count can write anonymously, so can I". The article on the left ends with "You don't need psychiatry. All you need is the Count Marco column". Hence the reference to "column" in the letter.
Marc H. Spinelli wrote this column under an anonymous pseudonym - and why the author of the July 8th 1974 communication used the word "Phantom". A phantom can be described as a ghost, a figment of the imagination, not real or illusory. The author was simply choosing a pseudonym lacking visibility and substance. Although, The Phantom was an American adventure comic strip published by Lee Falk in February 1936 that has run in many newspapers to this day, syndicated by King Features of Hearst Holdings, Inc.
The addition of "Red" before "Phantom" explained perfectly by the bracketed "red with rage" placed underneath. The Count Marco column had already detailed in the first paragraph that he "wasn't surprised by the angry reaction" when he wrote about psychiatrists and psychologists, so it's probably no surprise that the author of the San Rafael letter used the word "Red" before "Phantom" to express their anger or rage. No external "Red Phantom" was required as inspiration for this correspondence, because every element of the correspondence was derived from within the July 3rd 1974 Count Marco column. The Red Phantom is just a construct of the author's mind, that has ultimately become a figment of our imagination.
The Red Phantom letter ends with "Meanwhile, cancel the Count Marco column. Since the Count can write anonymously, so can I". The article on the left ends with "You don't need psychiatry. All you need is the Count Marco column". Hence the reference to "column" in the letter.
Marc H. Spinelli wrote this column under an anonymous pseudonym - and why the author of the July 8th 1974 communication used the word "Phantom". A phantom can be described as a ghost, a figment of the imagination, not real or illusory. The author was simply choosing a pseudonym lacking visibility and substance. Although, The Phantom was an American adventure comic strip published by Lee Falk in February 1936 that has run in many newspapers to this day, syndicated by King Features of Hearst Holdings, Inc.
The addition of "Red" before "Phantom" explained perfectly by the bracketed "red with rage" placed underneath. The Count Marco column had already detailed in the first paragraph that he "wasn't surprised by the angry reaction" when he wrote about psychiatrists and psychologists, so it's probably no surprise that the author of the San Rafael letter used the word "Red" before "Phantom" to express their anger or rage. No external "Red Phantom" was required as inspiration for this correspondence, because every element of the correspondence was derived from within the July 3rd 1974 Count Marco column. The Red Phantom is just a construct of the author's mind, that has ultimately become a figment of our imagination.
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