For those who are familiar with the so-called “Topix era” of Luke Wenke’s seemingly lifelong campaign to meddle in others’ lives, you don’t need the introduction. For everyone else: If you’ve never heard of it, the now-defunct Topix website hosted local message boards based on zip code. It quickly became the gossip hub of Salamanca, New York, and no one was immune to landing in the hot seat, especially considering how bold and outspoken some people become when they can hide behind a screen.
Like many people, I had my turn in the spotlight on Topix. It happened during my divorce in 2011 and 2012, and for the most part, interest eventually shifted to other small-town scandals. But there was one Topix user who seemed particularly fixated on me (and certain other individuals). They used several screen names, but based on their vocabulary and behavior, it was evident that the same person was likely behind all of the accounts.
Long story short, this mystery person became so obsessed with me that they posted about me constantly, even after everyone else had stopped participating in conversations about me. It was as if this person was desperate to smear me in a highly public fashion until the end of time. I even remember people more-or-less saying, “that’s old news, no one cares anymore.” But the Topix Troll just kept going and going.
Luke Wenke Began Stalking Me Before We Were Even Friends
The Topix Troll’s harassment and stalking eventually reached a point where I became scared to leave my home. Oftentimes, when I was out in public, the Troll would update the message board with my whereabouts. The Troll also provided the specific location of my residence, described the vehicles parked in my driveway at any given time, and even mentioned who they saw coming and going from the property on at least a few occasions.
I became so scared that I moved over an hour away to another city. The Troll’s obsession wore greatly on my mental health, at times even interfering with my ability to hold a job. And the trolling continued after I moved, but with no one else taking much interest in the “old news” of my personal life, the obsessive posts gradually slowed down. But it took a few years, and when the Topix website finally shut down for good, I was indescribably relieved. But I still didn’t feel like I was far enough away from it, so I moved even further away, to a very large city where people are too busy to care about each others’ personal lives.
Befriending Luke Wenke
I met Luke Wenke in the fall of 2011 at a martial arts class, right before I landed at the center of the Topix grapevine. He looked no older than 16 and I was in my early 20s, so I initially saw no basis for a friendship. But when he friend requested me on Facebook, he seemed harmless enough, so I accepted. As the Topix trolling accelerated, Wenke and I became friends. I realized we were closer in age than I had thought, and we got along well. We were friends for many years, and at one point I considered him one of my best friends.
If you’re familiar with Topix and Salamanca, then you already know where this is going. The entire time Luke Wenke was acting like a friend to my face, he was viciously trashing me on Topix. He was the Topix troll. And he knew how badly his stalking, slander, and harassment affected my mental health — in fact, he had a front-row seat to it because I leaned on him for moral support and talked about my struggles on social media. He knew he was causing my anguish, and the sick fuck secretly relished in my pain.
Confronting Luke Wenke About Topix
It took several years for me to realize that Luke Wenke was the Topix troll, but in hindsight, there were some dead giveaways: his vocabulary, the people he talked about, the nature of his criticism and mockery toward others, and his obsession with Topix in general. Long after the site had ceased to exist, Wenke continued to talk about it nonstop, as if the time he had spent on there represented the peak of his existence.
After realizing he was the Topix Troll, I confronted him. This was probably in 2018 or 2019 (a good seven or eight years after the trolling began, and several years after it had ended). I told Wenke that if he told me the truth and owned up to being the Troll, I would respect him enough for being honest to forgive him. In other words, I made it clear that I wouldn’t necessarily cut him out of my life over the matter, but that I wanted to understand why he targeted me when he was supposed to be my friend, especially because he had no discernible reason to dislike me or harbor any grudges against me.
Despite these reassurances, Wenke denied being the Topix Troll (only to later admit it on multiple occasions after I ended our friendship). I could usually tell when he was lying, because he’s a terrible liar, and this was one of those times. Needless to say, I was disappointed but not exactly surprised. This marked a major milestone toward my ongoing, years-long and counting attempt to disentangle from Wenke and move on with my life.
Our friendship continued for a few more years after this conversation, albeit in a strained fashion. I never looked at Wenke the same again, and after testing the limits of my trust in various unrelated ways, his refusal to own up to his trolling broke my trust permanently. I also lost the vast majority of my respect for him, and I eventually realized that I was only still associating with him because I was terrified of the smear campaign I knew he’d go on if I tried ending the friendship.
The saddest part about Luke Wenke’s Topix fixation is that he remains incredibly proud of all the damage he caused to people’s lives and psyches on that trash website. I wasn’t the only victim. Far from it, actually. There are people who remain traumatized, to this day, by their experience being targeted by the Topix Troll. And Luke Wenke continues to talk about his activities on that website like they reflect his most glowing achievements, which is terribly fucking sad and disturbing. Without further ado:
Screenshots: Luke Wenke’s Topix Obsession
The following conversation took place in the spring of 2021, when I received the following text message from a phone number I didn’t recognize. (I later discovered that during the same time period, Wenke had impersonated WNY businessman Carl Paladino in text messages to other people using the same phone number.)
Some More Examples:
I don’t believe, for one second, that Luke Wenke ever truly felt remorseful about his trolling. At best, he was sorry he got caught and called out.
The above post is a direct jab at me, containing references to some of the rumors Luke Wenke tried to spread about me during the “Topix era.”
At times, like in the above post, Luke Wenke has acted as if we were equal participants, or perhaps “partners in crime” on Topix. I believe that by choosing to look at it as a consensual and fun game, Wenke actively avoids acknowledging that he deliberately and directly harmed people in cruel and diabolical fashion.
Categories: Luke Wenke, Obsessions: Katie Obsession; screenshots, social media posts
Tags: Cattaraugus County, cyberstalking; Little Valley, NY; Olean, NY; Salamanca, NY; Topix