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A listener note, this episode contains discussions of graphic violence,

including animal cruelty.

Listener discretion is strongly advised.

In 1890, Oscar Wilde published one of the most chilling novels in the English language,

the picture of Dorian Gray.

It tells the story of a young man, vain, hollow, and desperate to be admired, who makes a wish

that his portrait would age in his place. He wants to stay young, perfect, and seen. And his wish is granted. But as Dorian's life

grows darker, as he lies, manipulates, and destroys everyone around him, the portrait absorbs

it all. Every sin, cruelty, and active violence transforms the painting

into something grotesque and monstrous, while Dorian remains beautiful on the surface.

But the real horror of Wild Story is not the dark and twisted transformation.

It is the idea that a person can spend their entire life curating an image of themselves

while something far darker festeres underneath.

Over a century later, that same obsession played out in real life, not in a Victorian parlor,

but online.

A man spent years building a carefully constructed version of himself for the world to see.

Dozens of websites, fake fan pages,

fabricated rumors,

cosmetic surgeries,

...