Serial killers... seemed to gain some prominence in the second half of the of the 20th century, record of the practice can be found at least as far back as London's Jack The Ripper...

The term serial killer was first used on Ted Bundy.

Although the terms "serial killer" and "mass murderer" are often used synonymously, criminologist distinguish the two. The following distinctions are commonly made:

• A serial killer is one who commits a number of murders over a long period of time, with the killings separated by often long periods of apparent normalcy.
• A mass murderer, on the other hand, is an individual who kills several people in a single event.
• A spree killer kills in a series of closely connected events.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a serial killing as: "[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events." This definition is especially close to that of a spree killer, and perhaps the primary difference between the two is that a serial killer tends to "lure" victims to their death, whereas a spree killer tends to go "hunting".

Serial killers are often acting on extreme sadistic urges and are often classified as sociopathic, lacking any ability to empathize with the suffering of others. Some serial killers also engage in torture murder, a loosely defined term involving killing victims slowly over a prolonged period of time.

In many cases, a serial killer will plead not guilty by reason of insanity. In the United States this defense is almost universally unsuccessful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_killer

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I can't seem to find the statistical number of serial killers in the US or world wide, but think it's fairly low.  I believe the sensationalization and fascination with these types of crimes tends to make them seem bigger than they are. It could also  be because of their sociopathic nature that they easily blend into society and therefore statistical numbers are rather had to gather, until they're caught, and it often takes years to catch one.

But I did find some interesting statistics about their nature online.

76% of serial killers are from the good ol' U.S. of A.

84% of serial killers are white.

90% of serial killers are men

65% of serial killer's victims are women.

89% of serial killer's victims are white.

94% of serial killers are in their thirties or younger.

86% of serial killers are heterosexual.

80% of serial killers enjoy hard-core pornography.

It is rare for a serial killer to pray on members of another race.

26% of serial killers start out in their teens. 44% in their twenties and 24% in their thirties.

Prostitutes are the most common serial killer victims career-wise.

15% of serial murder victims were said to have been chosen entirely at random.

Serial killers tend to be intelligent, but had trouble in school and holding a job.

Serial killers often had very unstable families or families with unstable backgrounds. Serial killers often dislike their families and were abused as children.

Many serial killers have attempted suicide or have had psychiatric problems (duh).

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I found this on many serial killer sites - they are 3 warning signals, which could help determine if a child may end up a serial killer, called on one site the "Serial Killer Triad". They are as as follows:

• bed-wetting past the age of 12
• severe pyromania
• sadistic animal torture

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There are sites on these sicko's?

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If you look at the statistics, many serial killers faced abuse as children, so it would make sense about abused children and bed wetting.

As for web pages - serial killers often obtain a cult celebrity type status.  I've seen sites that show John Wayne Gacy's clown paintings, for example, as art. I believe there's a serial killer web ring. It's not hard to find general or specific serial information online.

People become extremely fascinated by serial killers, partly because they get a lot of publicity, and partly, in my opinion, because their crimes are so incomprehensible to the average person. From Jack the Rippers dissections to Jeffrey Dahmer's cannibalism, these killers are working on a psychological level that's so abnormal there's kind of a freak show quality about them. Not to mention, they've been "popularized" via Hollywood in movies like Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. All this has created a cottage market for serial killer paraphenalia. I've seen collector cards, graphic novels, T-shirts... It's sick, but so is the society that creates these monsters.

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I have found some more interesting info on the 14 characteristics of a serial killer, from the Dr. Phil website:

http://www.drphil.com/advice/advice.jhtml?contentId=cbsspecial_14traits.xml&section=Parenting&subsection=Raising%20Kids

He lists these as a warning for parents to be on the look-out for these behaviours in their kids.

Fourteen Characteristics of a Serial Killer

Could you be raising a criminal? Acts of violence don't come out of nowhere, and every parent should be aware of the clues along the way. For the most violent of criminals, there are warning signs that often start in childhood. Below is a list of the 14 most common traits of serial killers.

1. Over 90 percent of serial killers are male.

2. They tend to be intelligent, with IQ's in the "bright normal" range.

3. They do poorly in school, have trouble holding down jobs, and often work as unskilled laborers.

4. They tend to come from markedly unstable families.

5. As children, they are abandoned by their fathers and raised by domineering mothers.

6. Their families often have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories.

7. They hate their fathers and mothers.

8. They are commonly abused as children — psychologically, physically and sexually. Often the abuse is by a family member.

9. Many serial killers spend time in institutions as children and have records of early psychiatric problems.

10. They have high rates of suicide attempts.

11. From an early age, many are intensely interested in voyeurism, fetishism, and sado-masochistic pornography.

12. More than 60 percent of serial killers wet their beds beyond the age of 12.

13. Many serial killers are fascinated with fire starting.

14. They are involved with sadistic activity or tormenting small creatures.

Source: Internal Association of Forensic Science, an article written by FBI Special Agent Robert K. Ressler
"The Serial Killer," Harold Schechter

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The term "serial killer" was actually applied to HH (Henry Howard) Holmes who murdered numersous persons in his "castle" in Englewood IL (a Chicago suburb) before the turn of the century; 1886-1896. (ie Chicago's world fair)

note: Depraved The Shocking True Story of America's First Serial Killer by Harold Schechter, 1994 Simon & Schuster. 

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http://zodiackiller.com/

http://charliemanson.com/

These are just a couple...

I read about serial killers for a hobby. My intrest comes from an incident that happened to me and my first husband back in 1972 at Lake Berryessa, CA. I totally believe we were almost victims of The Zodiac. If anyone is interested, I could tell you about it....my arms have gooseflesh on them as I write this.

I can also provide a good list of reading material.

,

Christy

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Hi!  I would be very interested in knowing your story about the Zodiac!!  Did you ever tell the police about it and if so, what did they say/do? 

I think this is an interesting topic, and actually, my mom has a story about a man in her neighbourhood when she was about 19 or 20 years old, (about 35 years ago) and she would see him occassionally when she came home from her night shift at the hospital as a nurse, and he would be washing his car, or vaccuming it out etc., in the early dawn or earlier.  She found it odd, but didn't pay too much attention to him.  Later she found out he had killed several women, and was washing evidence out of his car.  I had forgotten her story til just now, so I will email her for more info and put it in here also.

Anybody else have a brush with a killer or know someone who turned out to be a killer?

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One summer my soon to be husband and I went to Lake Berryessa to camp. It was the early 70's. We found a place by the lake where we pulled off up a dirt road. We were sleeping in the back of a station wagon around 2:00 am. We woke up because everything was bright. We realized there was a car behind us with it's brights on and at first thought it was the police. Except it wasn't. The car stayed behind us with it's brights on and I freaked out. I can honestly say I've never been more scared before in my life. I had a feeling of sheer terror. Deep down inside something told me to move or you're dead. I jumped up and opened the back door. We had Phil's dad's dog Dexter with us who was going nuts, Dex charged out the door snarling and ran toward the car. It seemed as though forever before this person slowly, almost insultingly, backed away and down to the main road, where he sat for a minute before flicking the high beams off and on once. Then he drove away. 

No, we never went to the police with the story. I'm willing to bet there are many stories like ours from around that time frame and area. I did make Phil drive us to a cabin rental place where we spent the rest of the night. I didn't sleep a wink, in fact I trembled all the rest of the night.

Christy      

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Wow, I know what you mean about something inside your soul tells you when something isn't right...I have ignored my instincts many times in my life and it turned out that I should have listened!  We all know when our guts are speaking to us, bcuz it just doesn't feel right to ignore it.  And when we do, it almost always comes back to bite us.

I emailed my ma about that story, but haven't heard back from her yet, but as soon as I do I will put her story on here too!

They never did catch the Zodiac killer...and actually I saw a program on TV awhile ago about him, and they think he has re-emerged or something--does this sound right?  Do you keep up with the info on Zodiac?  The program I saw dealt with handwriting analysis on notes written by him etc. 

Another note about serial killers:  why does the press seem to pick and choose which ones to publicize?  I saw a website a few years back about serial killers and there were so many on there that I had never heard of.  Think of all the press that Charles Manson has and when you think about it, compared to other serial killers, his murders, or commissioning of the murders, are small in numbers compared to others like Henry Lee Lucas...(if his testimony is to be believed).  I guess the press picks the ones most likely to draw the most attention... 

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Oh yes, I keep up on Zodiac. A couple of the prime suspects in the Zodiac case have died. Many believe, myself among them, Zodiac is dead. As far as him re-emerging, you might be thinking of a copycat that was in New York some time ago.

I look forward to hearing your mom's story.

Some reading on Zodiac:

This is the Zodiac Speaking by Michael Kelleher & David Van Nuys

Suspect Zero by Michael Kelleher

Zodiac by Robert Graysmith

Christy  

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hear that story! Hope everything is ok...

Christy

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So, sorry it took me soooo long to get back to you on this...LOL...life has a way of sweeping me away!

Anyhow, this story is around 1968/69/70?  Before my mom was married, and she was a nurse's aid at a Calgary hospital.  She lived alone in a small apartment building, and was about 19 or 20 years old.  There was a man who lived on her street, and she knew him enough to say hello, how are you etc., because he was her neighbour, and also because a high school friend of hers had dated this man while she was in high school.  I don't know how old he was, but assume he was just a few years older?  I won't say the name of the man, as I am not 100% sure I remember it correctly, and have since tried googling info on this subject but didn't find anythign so far.

Anyhow, sometimes when she would come home from her work at the hospital, it would be late evening or early early morning, and she would see him outside, washing his car, vacuuming out his trunk etc.  She never really thought much of it, and sometimes they would exchange pleasantries or not. 

At the same time, there were some women that were being murdered, and a small panic went through the city.

Guess who it was?

My mom figured that this guy would be washing blood and evidence from his car after killing someone.  Strangely, I don't believe the police ever contacted her for questioning, but according to my mom, he was arrested and went to jail.  I really would like to find out more on this guy, and if he is out or not.

I will post more info when and if I get it.

And I would really like to hear from anyone else who has had a close encounter with a killer??

I think this is an interesting thread topic!!

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Thanks AliKat...very scary stuff!

Spooky

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The laws are too lenient on violent criminals. I feel that if anyone intentionally harms anyone, regardless of the criminal's

age, mental state, ethnicity, etc.   then, as long as there is

no doubt (DNA would prove it), then the scum should be zapped, and not put on "death row" at taxpayers' expense.

And don't make a "circus" out of it.  Just shoot 'em.  Hey, if they can commit the crime, they can take the sentence.

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I am just new here - by seconds - and actually stumbled onto your group - good for me!!!  Someone was asking if anyone had any contact with someone who killed.  Yes - myself.
 When I was young - and growing up in the west end of Toronto - all of us girls used to babysit for extra money - so we could see Elvis at the show on Saturdays lol.  There was an area not far from our house - where we used to do our shopping.  It was called "the Junction" - Dundas and Bloor.  There was a hardware store called "Stringer's" - and the owner was a lovely man.  We all liked him as kids.  Now - his stepson was another story - he gave me the creeps.  He would always try to get me to go to the back of the store - or hold my hand when giving me my change.  I would pick up small items for my Dad when I went to visit my friends - nails - screws and such.  I often told my Mom that Carl was a creep.  "Don't talk like that about your elders" - sound familiar???  We heard the news early one morning that there had been a murder in the Junction - they never said rape - but that also happened.  A little girl that we all babysat - Debbie Johnson - she lived in one of the apts. upstairs from the hardware - had been killed.  And yes - it was Carl Stringer.  The little girl had gone to the variety store next door for her uncle - he was babysitting - to get ice cream.  Carl Stringer raped - beat - and strangled that little six year old - and served 7 years!!!  We all knew that his Mom had money - her and her husband separated shortly after this.  Carl moved out to Maple, Ontario with his mother and that was the last we heard of it.
  I have being doing some research on this case - I plan on doing a book on it.  By the way - remember those scrub brushes that we used to clean our floors with???  I scrubbed my hands raw after learning what he had done.  To think that that monster had been up close with me - made my skin crawl.  Still does - maybe the book will bring some closure - De.

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