An open letter to the deliciously demented:

Here's a chance for your pen to be mightier - and less messy -than your sword. For $9.95, you can send your wicked words in the authentic script of killers, such as Jack the Ripper, John Dillinger and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, thanks to the dark mind of Stuart S. Shapiro who produces independent film in Los Angeles and lives with his wife and son in Austin, Texas.

His creation: "Killer Fonts," a twisted line of typefaces that you can download with your computer.

Think of the possibilities. How about a nasty resignation in Billy the Kid's scrawl? Or, say you've been dumped and you still have a few parting words. How about sayonara in the print of Lizzie Borden; her font, along with Jesse James', comes out this week. It's up to you how - or whether - you let your targets know whose handwriting is being used. "This is something that's funny and unique with a touch of Hollywood, something that people will laugh at," says Shapiro, who produced the film Only the Strong in Miami and Key Biscayne four years ago. "People say they are having fun with it."

"This guy paged me to tell me he had sent the money for a font," Shapiro says. "He said his wife got fired and they were dying to send a letter in Jack the Ripper's handwriting."Not all are killers. Beethoven and Christopher Columbus are available. The most popular are Thomas Jefferson and Dahmer. The most requested is O.J. Simpson, who's off-limits because he is "alive and has rights," Shapiro says.

Each font is recreated based on handwriting samples found in manuscripts and public documents. Shapiro says he sells about 10 a day, some to people as far away as Korea,New Zealand and Switzerland.

"We've found a way to take the disease as you see it under the microscope and transform it into a handwriting," Shapiro explains, adding the line should be ready in about a month.