For 30 years, Karen Conti kept the three paintings John Wayne Gacy gave her facedown in her closet.
“What can you do with them? I can’t display them. I’m not selling them because I would hate to profit. I just didn’t know what to do with them,” said the Berwyn native and lawyer who was part of Gacy’s legal team in his final death row appeals before being executed in 1994.
For the first time, that artwork will be on public display at the new “Serial Killer: The Exhibition” experience opening Saturday at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios.
One piece is a skull clown that Conti calls “gross.” Another is a depiction of Gacy in the Pogo the Clown costume he wore to kid’s parties and charity events that she deems “horrible.” But it’s the third painting that’s wholly unique from the garish characters Gacy typically focused on. It’s a canvas that portrays a pensive seaside with cresting waves and a low-hanging moon. Gacy gifted it to Conti for her birthday with a short description. “He said it was mysterious, just like he is.”
The rare art is some of the roughly 2,100 artifacts that appear across 40 detailed exhibition rooms. All together, the experience encompasses 21,000 square feet, housed in a building at the studio lot where shows like “Chicago P.D.” are filmed.
But inside here are real artifacts you won’t get in scripted shows or the latest made-for-streaming true crime series. There’s Jeffrey Dahmer’s jailhouse Bible and signature glasses, the pair of LA Gear high-top sneakers Aileen Wuornos wore when she was arrested in 1991 and a scrap of a trash bag that Ted Bundy used in his assault kits. Not to mention there are copious court documents and letters, realistic recreations of crime scenes like Ed Gein’s lair, a virtual reality simulation room and a 20-question game toward the end to determine where you fall on the psychopathic pendulum.
Special attention is also paid to local killers like Gacy and “Devil in the White City” murderer H.H. Holmes as well as less famous ones like Richard Speck, Lester Harrison, Robin Gecht and Tillie Klimek.
It’s estimated that the whole experience will take 90-120 minutes to go through and it’s recommended for ages 14 and older (those under 14 must be accompanied by an adult). Still, many of the crime scene recreations are overly graphic so you may want to take that into consideration before bringing the family.
“I hope that guests see the educational part of this, the historical journey of what happened in the past to today so we can learn from it,” said Giancarlo Guerra, a representative with Italian exhibition creator Italmostre. The company has been bringing the experience to cities around the world for the past 10 years, with 2026 marking the U.S. debut. It’s expected to stay in Chicago through the end of January.
True to Guerra’s statement, the exhibition has artifacts from before the term “serial killer” was even coined (which happened in the 1920s), like ephemera from Belle Gunness, aka Hell’s Belle, who tortured and murdered at least 14 men in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. There’s also photos and hunting gear of the “newest” serial killer, Rex Heuermann, who was convicted in June of the Gilgo Beach killings.
“We wanted to make sure everyone is represented here,” Guerra added. For him, that also meant the victims. Many of the 150 killers profiled are featured alongside pictures, names and ages of the people whose lives were taken. In Gacy’s case, that includes the five unidentified boys and men that continue to be investigated by the office of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, according to Conti.
By the final room of the exhibition, it concludes with a memorial wall listing all the names of the victims and a message that reads, in part, “For far too long, their names have remained in the shadows while the names of their killers became known around the world. This memorial seeks to restore what should never have been taken from them: their names, their memory and their dignity.”
For Dr. Bill Kimberlin, who donated nearly 400 items from his collection to the exhibit, victimology is a crucial part of his work as a clinical psychologist and professor at North Central State College in Ohio. He regularly corresponds with inmates like David Berkowitz and Scott Peterson who are currently serving life sentences. Kimberlin has also witnessed executions and sat in on last meals.
“Some have started confessing or providing more information to me and so my focus has been on bringing some closure to families. Because there’s victims out there that haven’t been identified yet and maybe [events like these] can help us investigate that even closer.”
As for why people have become so obsessed with true crime and events like “Serial Killer: The Exhibition,” Kimberlin has his theories, too. “I think our human nature is we want solutions and we want answers to everything,” he said. “And I think with so much content out there, it can be educational if done right. If you can see how forensics works, how psychology works, how the criminal justice system works and how it’s changed with technological advancements, I think that’s evident here.”