Serial Killers
Introduction
Increasing more than ever, American society is fascinated with serial and mass murderers. Throughout the decades, people have celebrated killers who have reached the peak of success within their field by glorifying them in movies, documentaries, magazines, and even on trading cards. In 1991, a trading card company in California created its first mass and serial card collection, which included notorious murderers such as Jeffrey Dahmer who killed 17 men between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer was known to have sex with the corpses of his victims, kept body parts of others, and ate some of the parts as well. Eventually, Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms and was killed in prison in 1994. . Television programs have also increased people’s fascination with serial and mass murderers by creating documentaries and mini series about them. Many popular actresses and actors who play serial and mass killers in movies unfortunately infuse these murderers with humanity and attraction (Fox & Levin, 2005). In this unit we look at the differences between serial killing and mass killing and investigate some of the motives that are behind the predominantly white middle class males who commit some of the most gruesome and legendary volume killing of other humans.
Our Fascination with Murder
Due to our increasingly morbid fascination with mass and serial murderers, a commercial market has been created with endless capabilities. After Gary Ridgway (Green River Killer) was discovered to have killed over 48 prostitutes in Seattle, admirers were eager to purchase Green River Killer merchandise on eBay, which included blood stained t-shirts, coffee mugs from his previous employer, and a business card. The majority of Ridgway’s victims were buried underneath his home in Chicago. He was executed in 1994. John Wayne Gacy, also known as The Killer Clown, grossed $100,000 off of artwork he created after he was convicted of killing 33 teen boys in Illinois.
In addition
Increasing more than ever, American society is fascinated with serial and mass murderers. Throughout the decades, people have celebrated killers who have reached the peak of success within their field by glorifying them in movies, documentaries, magazines, and even on trading cards. In 1991, a trading card company in California created its first mass and serial card collection, which included notorious murderers such as Jeffrey Dahmer who killed 17 men between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer was known to have sex with the corpses of his victims, kept body parts of others, and ate some of the parts as well. Eventually, Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms and was killed in prison in 1994. . Television programs have also increased people’s fascination with serial and mass murderers by creating documentaries and mini series about them. Many popular actresses and actors who play serial and mass killers in movies unfortunately infuse these murderers with humanity and attraction (Fox & Levin, 2005). In this unit we look at the differences between serial killing and mass killing and investigate some of the motives that are behind the predominantly white middle class males who commit some of the most gruesome and legendary volume killing of other humans.
Our Fascination with Murder
Due to our increasingly morbid fascination with mass and serial murderers, a commercial market has been created with endless capabilities. After Gary Ridgway (Green River Killer) was discovered to have killed over 48 prostitutes in Seattle, admirers were eager to purchase Green River Killer merchandise on eBay, which included blood stained t-shirts, coffee mugs from his previous employer, and a business card. The majority of Ridgway’s victims were buried underneath his home in Chicago. He was executed in 1994. John Wayne Gacy, also known as The Killer Clown, grossed $100,000 off of artwork he created after he was convicted of killing 33 teen boys in Illinois.
In addition