H.H. Holmes is known to be the first American serial killer. Holmes would murder people, mutilate their bodies, and sell their skeletons to science. His most famous work was the “Murder Castle”. His Murder Castle was his very own hotel, which had secret rooms, to kill multiple people in, most were women. The Castle was located in Chicago and gave Holmes a good chance to kill many people in 1893 during the World’s Fair.…
Since the 1900s, Sacramento,(Capital for California), has been popularity well known for its famous serial killers; One of various which remarked the most, Richard Chase,also known as the vampire of sacramento. With 30 years old of age ,Chase changed serial killer history by just being one of the most youngest and outstanding criminals who showed abnormal characteristics and behaviours.…
Many researchers have studied the fascinating yet horrifying world of serial murderers. The discoveries made since the phrase "serial killers" was coined, have amazed society. Despite all the knowledge discovered related to this topic, much more still needs to be disclosed.…
There are many myths that describe, or stereotype a serial killer. You may have heard that serial killers are all dysfunctional loners or that all serial killers are white males. One might also hear that serial killers are only motivated by sex, they travel and operate interstate, they cannot stop killing, they are all insane or evil geniuses, and serial killers want to get caught. As easy as it might be to believe these stereotypes, and although some serial killers meet a few of the descriptions, they are not necessarily true. Through studying Dexter, Perfume, Silence of the Lambs, Frankenstein, Dead Until Dark, and the Walking Dead it can be determined that serial killers are all driven by their own unique motives, they have committed more than three murders, not limited to any specific demographic group, and are committed over a short period of time with a “cooling off” period. Aside from these characteristics it is undetermined why a serial has a desire to kill, they all have their own unique reason.…
At one time he opened up a camera shop in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and began doing freelance photography for the newspapers all around the state. Eventually he moved his shop to the first level of their two story home where he could keep an eye on Jean and the four children. Lou was very distrusting of Jean, he always was accusing her of cheating on him. The back room of the camera shop that was converted into a darkroom and he would develop all of his own photographs. He had taken photographs of murder scenes where women had been chopped into many pieces and those pieces were scattered around in a field. He showed these photographs to his daughters to frighten them into submission. Lou would tell his daughters that if they talk to anyone about anything or if they would be bad they would get cut up just like that woman did. Violence daily was Lou’s method of control within the home and fear controlled Jean and the children. For Lou it was do as I say and I will not beat you…
The mindset of Serial Killers as depicted in Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters…
They often see a category of people, such as women or prostitutes, as “unclean”, and see their removal of those beings as improving the world. Or, they think that killing the victim, usually in some sort of a ritualistic manner, redeems the victim their wrongdoings. In that case, the killer is a special being and the victim is “chosen” and should be grateful. They often find the victim’s ingratitude infuriating, though unfortunately foreseeable. Serial killers must continuously kill simply because they are addicted to the feelings they get when they do. They also rationalize every aspect and detail of their behavior so there is no reason in their head as to why they should stop. They know what they’re doing, the consequences of their actions, and how to avoid getting caught. Most serial killers, and psychopaths in general, are “consummate chameleons” who are able to hide their rage and true intentions behind a charismatic, civilized facade called the “mask of sanity” (Newton). Psychopaths are amoral and though they knowing the difference between right and wrong, they do not care and lack feelings of remorse or guilt. They tend to objectify other people and treat them as if they were…
To become a serial killer by definition you would have had to kill two or more people over a period of time from hours to years. There are even different kinds, there are the ones that do it for profit, for political reasons, and even the occasional professionals that do it for a “family”. Most serial killers have a compulsion or sexual need that drives them to kill, and John Wayne Gacy was no exception. His killing spree lasted for years and his addiction to torturing, raping, and eventually killing them lead him to hiding their bodies beneath the floorboards of his home. Although the end result was his death by lethal injection in 1994, what can be noted before in his life that could have been seen as early warning signs? In the study of…
Apparently, all serial killers are murderers, but not all murderers are serial killers according to an article titled "Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture." There are major differences between murderers and serial killers and according to this article,“ Serial killers are only driven by instinct and a desire to kill. Due to these sexual desires and the need to fulfill their arousing fantasies it often urges these individuals to murder those who are complete strangers. Therein lays the fundamental difference.” Now, the article discusses the fact that typically a serial killer’s profile is that of a white male between the ages of 20 and 30 who commonly target their victims within the area of their living space. Note that not all serial killers fit this profile and this is apparent through history, as women have been known to develop into serial killers as well. Psychotics and psychopaths can have personalities in common, such as dull emotions, but they tend to diverge regarding whether he/she can mentally stay within reality. Psychopaths are cunning and manipulative, but they do not experience hallucinations nor delusions. They do not hear the voices of strangers in their minds nor do they hold inaccurate theories about the world. However, no matter his/her sex, age, or race a serial killer is a serial killer. Thus, the question remains: Was it nature or what it nurture? Could it be both? It is evident that nurture takes the principal role in the creation of a serial killer. According to Gina, who wrote the article "Nurture Over Nature: Mental Illness and Traumatic Life Events," while nature does play a chief role in their creation and is accountable for a decent part of the process, it does not take it…
Firstly, when the serial killer was not found, they feel their self a little bit shocked and then they committed a second crime. Following this, when they do not arrest again, they started to feel amazing and of course, they continue their actions. However, at this point in times they start to believe that they have a something like power which is only belong to them and also they sees their self much more powerful than the law. Besides, that believe is not a sign of the psychopathy since it is a clue of the narcissistic personality trait. Secondly, the serial killer has demonstrated an extreme sexual assault potential that illustrates that the serial killers prone to attack someone sexually by in words or rape. Thirdly, the serial killer has a repetitive activity that does not carry any meaning in their activity. For example, serial killer smokes before the killing or kill with the same method. Fourthly, the serial killers do not feel anything about the victim because they see that activity as ritual. Therefore, when they direct their emotions to the victim, their activity loses the meaning. Finally, they feel a need to sign their victim or activity by means of collecting a material which belongs to the victim or eat their some part. For instance, hoarding the objects which belong to the victims like watches or eat their body part of…
Some killers often get drunk and end up killing (e.g. Jeffrey Dahmer). Another thing to note about serial killer’s home lives is abuse. If you look deep enough into a killers past you more often than not find that they were abused by their parents. Abuse can stay with a person forever and childhood can shape who we are as people. Abuse could also be a reason why killers lack empathy; because the killer feels they felt similar if not worse pain and took it. Lastly, killers have a form of brain damage. Adrien Raine, a criminology professor said “research found criminals with psychopathic tendencies often had a shrunken ventromedial cortex - the area of the brain that controls decision-making.” This would explain why they often continue their bad behaviors until caught and why they do it in the first…
When thinking of someone to write about I preferred to research a rapist or killer of women. (You could say, “When thinking of someone to write about I prefer to research a murderer that preyed upon women.”) (Also could think about revising this statement to make it smoother) I felt I could relate to these innocent victims because I am a woman myself. The mind of a serial rapist and a murderer is something one that is sane may not be able to comprehend. A serial rapist and murderer that intrigues me is Gary Heidnik. His brutality and the way he showed no apparent remorse is beyond me. It takes someone to really look within the mind of a deranged killer to ever understand them, though I never fully will. It is important to look at all aspects of Heidnik’s life to gain knowledge of his pasts (past) and what made him notorious. For a preview of this notorious serial rapist and murderer this next sentence (the following) explains it all. “ In essence, Gary Heidnik ran a mini-slave colony of African American women in his basement, keep (keeping) them chained, abusing and beating them, and feeding them a blend of dog food and human flesh,” (Philbin & Philbin).…
One of the most famous questions of all time asks, “Why do serial killers, kill?” Everyone is different in their own way, so no one can really answer that question specifically. Dr. Helen Morrison, author of “My Life Among The Serial Killers” interviewed ten famous serial killers to try to answer this question. She found that almost all of them had similar characteristics besides killing. Unlike what most people believe, she surprisingly found that these characteristics did not include insanity, child abuse, or drug abuse. Instead she explains that their most common trait is that they have an emotional age of an infant. Other characteristics include fluent lying, the lacking ability to comprehend that they did anything wrong, and no memory of the murders however when they do remember they show no mercy.…
There are three symptoms that are exhibited among children which are believed to be the first sign of a child’s transition into a serial killer. The two most dominant of the three are sadistic cruelty towards animals and pyromania.…
As much as we want to fear them, we can’t help but be fascinated and perplexed by their nature. According to the FBI, “All psychopaths do not become serial murderers. Rather, serial murderers may possess some or many of the traits consistent with psychopathy.” They define psychopaths as being emotionless, impulsive, and lacking in empathy, to name a few characteristics. There are psychopaths everywhere: CEOs, doctors, and lawyers are often classified as psychopaths.…