I have been using the online handle "Shawcross" for a little over 10 years now. I get questions from friends every now and then what it stands for or means.

The name itself is based off a serial killer named Arthur J. Shawcross who was better known as The Genesee River Killer in New York state. I have always had a weird facination with serial killers and the darker side of humanity. Before anyone asks NO I AM NOT A KILLER or anything like that. As a kid I was a hardcore horror movie fan and once I realized there were real life horror stories I became a enthusiast.

Growing up I literally read most of the serial killer books at my local library which caused a few raised eyebrows from the local librarians. Chose Shawcross as my name because my library had the most books on him than any other so I knew more about him.

Since I no longer really read anything on serial killers and its kinda a once in a while hobby I have thought about changing my handle. For years now space has been my main attaction and I have thought about changing my handle to something to do with astronomy. Main problem is that I use Shawcross on almost all my websites and would not want to get rid of those pages cause of the name.

How did all of you get your online names?