As investigators brought out the bagged remains of several dozen young men
from a small Chicago ranch home and paraded them in front of a crowd of TV
reporters and spectators, attention quickly turned to the owner of the house.
John Gacy was an upstanding citizen, active in local politics and charities, famous
for his themed parties and appearances as Pogo the Clown. But in the winter of
1978–79, he became known as one of many so-called sex murderers who had
begun gaining notoriety in the random brutality of the 1970s.
As public interest grew rapidly, victims became footnotes and statistics, lives lost
not just to violence but to history as well. Through the testimony of siblings,
parents, friends, lovers, and other witnesses close to the case, Boys Enter the
House retraces the footsteps of these victims as they make their way to the
doorstep of the Gacy house.