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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|"''We all go a little mad sometimes.''"
|'''Norman Bates''', ''[[Psycho]]''}}
Which [[Cop Show]] has one ''not'' appeared in?
A '''Serial Killer''' is defined as someone who commits multiple murders, out of some kind of mental or sexual compulsion, in separate incidents with at least a few days in between killings. This is their "cooling off" period, when they temporarily lose the compulsion to kill, and distinguishes them from Spree Killers, who kill in much more regular intervals of weeks or days, if they don't simply go on a murderous rampage that usually ends only when someone captures or kills them. The minimum death toll to be classified as a serial killer is 3-5 people, providing they were killed in separate incidents over a period of more than 30 days. If numerous people are killed in a ''single'' incident (e.g. someone murders an entire family in their home), that is mass murder, though mass murderers can and do become serial killers if they act multiple times.
Now, in [[Real Life]], the ''legal'' definition of a "serial killer" (by the FBI's definition) is someone who has committed three or more murders over an extended period of time, but for all other means of definition, it's never that simple. Serial killers are usually divided into 4 categories, and fictional killers tend to fall into one or more of these categories as well, if not by design, then by their nature.
* '''Visionary''' -- The killer suffers a break from reality, delusions, and/or hallucinations, that compel them to murder. They might believe [[God]] or [[Satan]], or simply voices, are telling them to kill, or that killing will prevent some kind of disaster. Tends to result from some kind of trauma and/or a mental illness like schizophrenia. The [[Insanity Defense]] will usually only apply to this type (though even this only counts if their mental illness impaired their sense of right and wrong), and as such if a killer is going for that defense, they will usually claim to be
* '''Mission Based''' -- The killer believes that their actions are [[Utopia Justifies the Means|for the greater good]], or in the service of some higher purpose, because they are performing some kind of social, political, philosophical, or religious service, generally targeting people they blame for society's ills, or view as sinful, distasteful, or dangerous. Though they may be deluded, they are not psychotic like the Visionary killer, having a rough grasp on reality. Vigilante killers are a sub-type of this.
* '''Hedonistic''' -- Someone who kills for '''lust, thrill''', or '''comfort/profit'''. The first two kill principally [[For the Evulz|because they enjoy it]]; lust-based killers get sexual satisfaction out of murder, while thrill-based ones simply find it exciting. Comfort/profit killers are the type who kill to maintain or fund a life of luxury, or otherwise for money; [[Professional Killer|hitmen and assassins]] fall into this category, but it usually refers to cases of fraud, embezzlement, or robbery that involves killing somebody. Women serial killers are usually comfort killers, though not all comfort killers are women.
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* '''[[Black Widow]]''' killers cash in on the insurance of murdered relatives (or friends with wills). Typically serial spouses who murder their new husbands/wives and then move on, though they have been known to murder other relations, including children. Almost always women.
* '''[[The Bluebeard]]''' killer is a male counterpart to the Black Widow killer, except that this specifically refers to men who kill their wives, not other relatives. Also, the motive is usually power, not financial gain, though that often plays a part.
* '''[[Professional Killer
* '''Cost Cutters''' are those who kill to save money, such as a person who murders employees to avoid paying them.
* '''Lethal Caretakers''' are nurses, carers, or other such who kill patients and carees for profit, e.g. to cash in on social security checks in their name. Usually women.
* '''Angels of Death''' are similar, but kill patients for feelings of power and control, or sometimes [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|serial mercy-killing (or believe their crimes to be such)]], and are thus harder to trace. Again, usually women, though Harold
* '''Munchausen By Proxy''' is a personality disorder where the perpetrator harms another for
* '''Sexual Predators''' are killers who lure victims to their death with promises of sex or intimacy, or simply chatting the victim up. May drug their victims to make it easier. Usually Lust killers, but other motives are suspected in certain cases.
* '''Sexual Sadists''' are lust killers who torture their victims before killing them; the torture is usually more important than the actual murder. The torture may be psychological and can last for a matter of seconds or minutes, or it can last for hours or days, depending on the offender.
* '''[[The Sociopath|Antisocial]]''' killers are those suffering from [[Hollywood Personality Disorders|Antisocial Personality Disorder]]; impulsive, impatient sociopaths with deep-seated rage who pathologically violate social norms and values, such as repeatedly committing serious and petty crimes, and always social deviants. Serial murder is usually just one of many crimes they regularly commit, and they often do so in the course of other crimes, such as robbery, rape, and various forms of [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulation]].
* '''Supernatural''' killers are what happens when a normal, flesh and blood killer for any of the above types dies. Or rather, ''[[The Undead|doesn't]]''. He may discover [[Evil Makes You Monstrous]], get turned into a [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampire]] or [[Our Werewolves Are Different|werewolf]], or linger on as a [[Our Ghosts Are Different|ghost.]] This usually makes them (perhaps literal) nightmares as they [[
Serial killers can further be divided into '''Organized''' and '''Disorganized'''. The former plan their crimes carefully and often well in advance, and are thus always premeditated. They may even hold a stable job and have a good education, and appear [[Evilly Affable|perfectly normal in every way]]. Such people are very likely to be [[The Chessmaster]]. The latter are much more impulsive and careless; their crimes may or may not be premeditated, and they are recklessly executed when they are, without due care for witnesses or leaving evidence. These tend to be poorly educated and not in steady employment.
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* The killer sends a note to the police, or a newspaper, or both, with a [[Criminal Mind Games|taunting message]] that ends in a challenge along the lines of "You can't catch me." A [[Finger in the Mail|gruesome souvenir]] may also be included.
** A variation is to have the killer send a message saying "Please catch me before I kill more."
* Serial killers are often, but not always, portrayed as [[The Chessmaster]], brilliantly layering one [[Evil Plan]] onto another. Often, this takes the form of a series of [[Batman Gambit
* They have a [[Room Full of Crazy|wall full of newspaper clippings covering their actions]]. Sometimes they keep a photographic record of their kills, or even a souvenir of the victim's.
* If it's part of a [[Story Arc]], one cop is probably going to fall victim (which is part of the requisite [[Tonight Someone Dies]] hype).
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* There might be some sort of [[Poetic Serial Killer|poetic/ironic theme]] to the victims and methods.
Over the last few years, daytime soaps have had an unusually high number of serial killers. ''[[One Life to Live]]'' has had at least two in as many years. It's the chic way for producers to pare down their casts.
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In fact, this is more common than actual serial killers, though characters often confuse the two, as time contraints mean the killings in a story usually take place over the space of a few days, whereas real serial killers by definition usually have weeks, months, or years between their kills.
Note that the Real Life section below is only a very small sampling of well-known serial murderers. Also, many potential Serial Killers get caught quickly because they use an MO, and also because a lot of them are so sick and demented that they ''want'' to get
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* Barry the Chopper from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' is a comically violent serial killer even after his death. Incidentally, he serves as an evil counterpart to Al, who is also in the body of a suit of armor. Barry looks much more intimidating, however.
** That said, the images of his backstory are rather unnerving, and the only reason he stops killing is because of his involvement with the various conspiracies.
*** In the first anime, he was encountered earlier as a [[Villainous Crossdresser]]. When we see him again as #66, he keeps on killing right up until he is killed by Scar.
** Scar is of a different (and often overlooked) variety. He only targets state alchemists with the motivation of revenge for the massacre of his people. This makes him a "mission-oriented" serial killer. He becomes more of a sympathetic [[Anti-Villain]] and then [[Anti-Hero]] over time. And in the case of Shou Tucker, killing him was completely justified.
** Also Zolf J. Kimbley, who is a pretty smart psycho who manages to do most of his killing on government assignments and so avoids having to hide. He did eventually kill his commanding officer when they tried to take away his Philosopher's Stone after the war, and got thrown in jail until the time of the series.
** This series also gives us The Slicer, who (like Barry) is [[Animated Armor]], created to guard Lab 5 following the execution.
* Gaara from ''[[Naruto]]'' constantly murders anyone who gets in his way, all because he believes that this is his sole purpose.
** Although since he and everyone he is known to have killed are combat personnel, he fits this trope considerably less than most.
** Orochimaru is, or rather was, a straighter example; he fled the Leaf village after being exposed as a serial killer who had abducted and killed close to a hundred ninja, civilians, and ''babies'' to perform gruesome human experiments, though a number of these were technically unintentional in that he was usually trying to find safe ways of performing said experiments on ''himself'' and therefore wasn't really wanting them to die (not that he gave a crap if they
* Light Yagami, the protagonist of ''[[Death Note]]'', uses the titular [[Artifact of Doom]] to anonymously [[Serial Killer Killer|kill criminals]], under the guise of [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]. Near even lampshades this.
** Misa Amane, the Second Kira, and Teru Mikami, the Hand of Kira, both do the same while in Light's service.
* Beyond Birthday, in the ''[[Death Note]]'' spin-off ''[[Another Note|Another Note: the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases]]''
* The Laughing Coffin Guild from ''[[Sword Art Online]]''. When it became known that the game had become a deathtrap, most sane players avoided [[Player Killing| deliberate "ganking"]], of other players, but this guild of cruel players did so for sadistic enjoyment. Worse, the surviving members got away with it for a long time as blame for the deaths fell completely upon [[Big Bad| Akihiko Kayaba.]] Although, most got what was coming to them in later arcs.
* Johan Liebert, [[Complete Monster|the]] ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]''. He even {{spoiler|manipulated other killers into doing his work for him, most of whom ''also'' ended up dead}}. Johan is an unusual example in that it is debatable whether he has a ''compulsion'' to kill, since he shows that he can stop whenever he wants, and {{spoiler|his [[Freudian Excuse|traumatic childhood]] is revealed to have happened to someone else. It should be noted that having these false memories is the only sign of insanity he demonstrates; all of his killings and manipulation may be motiveless and irrational, but Johan himself comes across as terrifyingly sane (with the exception of one [[Freak-Out]])}}.
** [[It Got Worse|Also]], he does not appear to get any sort of benefit from killing; he shows no signs of getting a thrill or sexual pleasure from his acts, nor does he seem to get any kicks from domination, and the killings are usually carried out as pragmatically as possible (no wasting time through torture, etc.), which suggests that his use of other people to kill might be simple expedience rather than enjoying his ability to manipulate. In addition, with many of his victims, there is no financial gain or any real progress towards whatever plan he may have at the time, making their deaths totally pointless. The lack of any recognisable motive is [[Your Mileage May Vary|arguably]] the main reason why he's widely considered [[Nightmare Fuel]] incarnate, as well as the poster-boy for the [[Complete Monster]] page.
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* In ''[[Ibitsu]]'', Kazuki is horrified to learn, far too late of course, that he's not the first person approached by the "Strange Lolita" killer. The others who became the Strange Lolita's "older brothers" were never heard from again.
* ''[[Underdog (manga)|Underdog]]'': Naoto's first opponent, Masaya Hiuchi, is an 18 year-old who was just recently released from a mental institution after brutally murdering several of his female classmates in middle school. His first actions in the [[Deadly Game|tournament]] show that he's already up to his old tricks.
* {{spoiler|Cho Hakkai (AKA Cho Gonou)}}, one of the main characters in ''[[Saiyuki]]'', is a mass revenge serial killer who goes [[Ax Crazy]] [[Yandere
* Kabuto from ''[[Parasyte]]''. We don't know much about him, since by the time he first appeared he was already in jail, but a few flashbacks show that he used to be a big fan of mutilation, cannibalism, and necrophilia. He is brought to help the police catch parasites because he has the ability to see who is infected. It's implied to be because he sees other humans the same way parasites
* Stain from ''[[My Hero Academia]]'' is an extremist who murders pro-heroes. Much like [[Marshal Law]], he feels the term has been perverted and than pro heroes are selfish gloryhounds with no heroic goals, who are detrimental to society. He's not completely wrong (some pros do indeed fit that description) but he's far too narrow minded in his views; many members of the main cast repeatedly prove him wrong.
== Comic Books ==
* [[Batman]], of course, has dealt with many of them, and several members of his rogue's gallery fall into the category from time to time. [[Rogues Gallery|The most recurring ones]] are [[The Joker]] (obviously) and Victor Zsasz. But by far the most notable serial killers in Batman history (by virtue of their actions being the main plot of an entire mini-series) are [[The Long Halloween|Holiday]] and [[Batman: Dark Victory|The Hangman]].
* ''[[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]]'' is a serial killer [[Villain Protagonist|protagonist]]. Psychologically, he see-saws between being a visionary and a thrill/control killer: On one hand, Johnny is very obviously psychotic, talks with his own furniture, suffers memory loss, and believes there's a thing<ref>fun fact:It's not a moose!</ref> living inside one of his walls (it's never consistent which wall), which he needs to paint with fresh blood regularly to keep the thing inside from escaping. On the other hand, [[Heel Realization|Johnny is aware he's a psychotic serial killer]] and cherry-picks his targets from perceived [[Asshole Victim
* ''[[The Sandman]]'' has an issue where a bunch of serial killers have a convention, in the style of a comic book or sci-fi convention. They, of course, advertise it as a convention for the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|cereal]] industry. {{spoiler|The escaped nightmare who draws the plot's attention there is, of course, the Corinthian -- who became one of these for his own amusement in Morpheus' absence. For over half a century.}}
** Has a crossover connection to ''[[Hellblazer]]'', where John Constantine was having a run-in with the Cereal Convention's absent guest speaker at the time. ("Anyone seen the Family Man?")
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* One story from [[Alan Moore]]'s famous run on ''[[Swamp Thing]]'' was told from the perspective of a serial killer who called himself the Bogeyman. His career comes to an abrupt and anticlimactic end when he runs across the eponymous plant-man.
** He gets a [[Continuity Nod]] in the Sandman story mentioned above.
* Onomatopoeia, a mask-wearing
* At least one writer for ''[[The Punisher]]'' has described the character as a serial killer who kills criminals.
* ''[[Arkham Asylum: Living Hell]]'', in addition to regular ''Batman'' villains, introduces Jane Doe, who kills people to take their identity and life, and Doodlebug, who drains people of their blood for [[Mad Artist|his paintings]] {{spoiler|but also to free several demons trapped beneath Arkham Asylum.}}
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* In ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' [[Alternate Universe Fic]] ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7189428/1/Prison_Island_Break Prison Island Break]'', Shadow the Hedgehog is a Serial Killer-Rapist. His crimes had a Power/Control motive, with rape as another method of control. It is also implied that there are more victims out there.
{{quote|'''Shadow:''' Eleven rapes, nineteen murders. And that's just what they caught me for.}}
** Scourge the Hedgehog is also a Serial Killer-Rapist, but with a much more Hedonistic motive.
* ''[[Cupcakes]] ''casts [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Pinkie Pie]] as one.
* The ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]'' fanfiction
* In ''New Dawn'', Nebiros is a Revenge Killer, taking very petty vengeance on those who he thinks were born into better circumstances than him. He also fits the Supernatural mold, due to the whole "he's a demon" thing.
** In a similar vein, most villains in ''New Dawn III'' are Serial Killers, the [[Big Bad]] being a Revenge / Mission Based Serial Killer. Its worse in Robin's case because his Modus Operandi leaves no trace of his victims behind.
== Film ==
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** The most disturbing thing about him is not only his intelligence and sadism, but that {{spoiler|everything goes according to his plan and he is victorious in the end.}}
* Mitch Leary from ''In the Line of Fire''. John goddamn Malkovich.
* In ''Hunting Humans'', the main character is a serial
* Richard from ''[[Dead Man's Shoes]]'', though [[Anti-Hero|his motive makes him more sympathetic than most]].
* Rare female example: Erica Bain from ''[[The Brave One]]''. Doubles as a [[Vigilante Man|Vigilante Woman]].
* Jigsaw of the ''[[Saw]]'' movies arguably fits here, though he is fairly
** As for his apprentice {{spoiler|Amanda, well... Not so much}}.
* ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (film)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'', who murdered his customers and sent them down the chute, where his partner Mrs. Lovett baked them into pies. His initial motive is revenge for what happened to him and his wife at the hands of the corrupt Judge Turpin, and his first killing is a man who recognized him from his days as Benjamin Barker and tried to blackmail him, but after "Epiphany", he starts committing the murders that would make him infamous.
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* Mike and Bart in the black comedy ''How To Be A Serial Killer''.
* Carl Panzram in ''Killer: A Journal of a Murder'', memorably played by James Woods. Disturbing in its way since the story is based on an [[wikipedia:Carl Panzram|actual serial killer]], although the film isn't nearly as gruesome as Panzram's real career.
* ''[[The Element of Crime]]'' subverts many of the expected associated tropes by featuring a [[Hidden Villain|very elusive]] child killer whose identity is {{spoiler|never revealed (in fact, he may be have been dead already even before the events of the movie)}}, and by having some of his murders {{spoiler|actually committed by the people who pursue him, [[Go Mad
* The protagonist of ''[[The Poughkeepsie Tapes]]'' is an especially terrifying example.
* Hugo Stiglitz of ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]'' was basically a serial killer that targeted Nazi officers despite being one himself. This got him immediate entry into the Basterds after they busted him out of prison.
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* A few of the main characters in ''[[Predators]]''.
* The murderer in [[Untraceable]] abducted and killed people in gruesome ways while broadcasting over the internet that he would spare the victim only if it didn't meet the number of viewers that he attracted, as it turns out the people he was killing were people connected to his father's suicide.
* Monsieur Verdoux, the [[Villain Protagonist]] of the eponymous [[Charlie Chaplin]] film, is a [[The Bluebeard|Bluebeard]]-style killer, inspired by the actual serial killer [[wikipedia:Henri
* ''[[Changeling (film)|Changeling]]'' features Gordon Northcott, who kidnapped and murdered more than 20 young boys on a small farm in California.
* ''[[Monster (film)|Monster]]'', the one with [[Charlize Theron]] (but not Charlize Theron's eyebrows) as Aileen Wuornos.
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* ''[[Zodiac (film)|Zodiac]]'' is about the hunt for the real-life Zodiac Killer.
* ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace]]'' pits [[Only Sane Man]] Mortimer Brewster against two separate serial killers: his old maiden aunts, Abby and Martha, who poison lonely old men as a "charity" and bury them in their cellar (falling under Visionary as they are clearly insane); and his older brother Jonathan, who is a psychotic murderer with kills all over the world (falling under Power/Control). When they discover each other's crimes, they wind up comparing notes, [[Body Count Competition]]-style, which is played for [[Dead Baby Comedy]].
* ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' has Freddy Krueger, who started off as a relatively normal serial killer (he killed children, specifically) only to gain supernatural abilities as a result of a deal with the Dream Demons. Unsurprisingly, his victims tend to follow a pattern...in that he kills his victims in an ironic sort of way. For example, he takes advantages of their fears...or desires as their case may be. For instance, he turns a comic book fan into a paper version of himself, then slashes him to pieces.
** ''[[Shocker]]'' (which was made by the same producer, Wes Craven) follows the same premise with fellow serial killer Horace Pinker, though instead of receiving a vigilante execution he's actually executed by the state of law.
== Literature ==
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* Subverted in the [[Agatha Christie]] novel ''[[The ABC Murders]]'', where [[Hercule Poirot]] receives a series of letters from 'ABC' threatening to kill a series of victims in alphabetical order and challenging Poirot to unmask him. {{spoiler|Alexander Bonaparte Cust is being used as a front by the real killer, who wants to murder his brother for the inheritance and plans to cover it up by disguising it as the act of a serial killer}}.
* A staple of the ''[[In Death]]'' series.
* {{spoiler|Martin Vanger}} from ''[[The Millennium Trilogy]]'' defies all stereotypes and all rules on top of this page. He is the kindly CEO of a corporation, a nice but troubled guy, and a friend who even saves the protagonist's life. {{spoiler|And he is a serial killer who has been imprisoning, raping, and murdering hundreds of young Russian girls. This has been going on since he was a ''teenager''. The most chilling thing is Martin's explanation for his actions: "This is every man's innermost dream. I take whatever I want".}}
* John Dread from [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Otherland]]'' series is an excellent example. He was raised by a violent, drug-addicted mother who fulfilled her revenge fantasies against the world by intentionally turning him into a sociopath. He started killing as early as six, was moved from institution to institution and deemed "incorrigible", and finally escaped into society after [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] Felix Jongleur noticed his abnormal [[Technopath|psychic powers]] and began training him as a [[Psycho for Hire]]. He murders women for pleasure in fetishistic ways (basically acting out a [[Revenge Fic]] against his mother) and records all the killings in his private video library. He taunts the police by leaving bizarre clues at the scene and "fogging" security cameras with his "twist". He chafes at Jongleur's leash, and eventually breaks free by [[The Mole|infiltrating]] the heroes' group in Otherland and discovering how to break the network's security, upon which point he proves how [[Eviler Than Thou]] he is by going on a [[A God Am I|godlike]] [[Sugar Apocalypse|killing spree]].
* Serial killers are the main subject of ''[[I Am Not a Serial Killer]]''.
* In ''The Hellfire Club'' by Peter Straub, Dick Dart is most definitely this, despite how much he ''hates'' being called this by the media.
* In ''Stationery Voyagers'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20111105111452/http://dozerfleetwiki2.wiki-site.com/index.php/Cybomec_%28Consto%29 Clandish Consto] toys around with the idea of making a career out of being a
* Gretchen "the Beauty Killer" Lowell, first introduced in ''Heartsick'', has tortured and killed over 200 people, whether alone or by manipulating her lovers into killing for her.
* ''[[Kafka on the Shore]]'', by Haruki Murakami, has a strange example: a character known as Johnny Walker (very strongly implied if not proven to be {{spoiler|the dad of the main character, Kafka}}.) Why is it strange? {{spoiler|Instead of people, he kills cats, and eats their hearts}}.
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* ''Cat of Many Tails'' by [[Ellery Queen]] has Ellery being hired as a special investigator to assist the NYPD to catch a serial killer who has been terroising New York. Initially, the only pattern Ellery can find in the killer's targets, who vary in sex, race, and marital status, is that each victim is younger than the one before.
* Two stories in [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[Night Shift]]'' features a serial killer: "Springheel Jack" in ''Strawberry Spring'' and the hammer murderer in ''The Man who Loved Flowers''. {{spoiler|In both, the protagonist is the killer; in the former it's a case of [[The Killer in Me]], in the latter an extreme example of [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick]].}}
== Live-Action TV ==
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** The series also features a [[Villain of the Week|serial killer of the season]] that the police focused their attention towards.
*** Season 1/"Darkly Dreaming Dexter: - The Ice Truck Killer, dabbling in the murders of prostitutes by methods quite like Dexter's methods. {{spoiler|Turns out it's Dexter's own brother, Brian, who is later killed by Dexter.}}
*** Season 2 - Dexter himself, after his garbage bags are found. {{spoiler|Doakes takes the fall for it, and [[Yandere
*** "Dearly Devoted Dexter: - Dr. Danco, a former interrogation specialist and [[Mad Doctor|surgeon]] who was employed by the US government in El Salvador, who was sold out and starts to hunt down the people who caused it. A former comrade of Doakes. {{spoiler|Killed while experimenting on Doakes with Dexter tied down. Doakes comes out of it missing a few body parts. A lot of them. He gets slightly better.}}
*** Season 3 - The Skinner, a man known for, well... [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|skinning people]]. {{spoiler|He kidnaps Dexter and tries to get him to tell where Freebo, an associate of the Skinner, was. Dexter snaps his neck and then throws him into the incoming path of a police car.}}
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** Most villains that aren't serial killers are spree killers (a slightly different classification, but one that still ends up with a ton of people dead). The sheer variety of them covered in the show is one of its most interesting aspects.
* Plenty in ''[[Wire in The Blood]]''
* Sylar from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|
{{quote|"Wow. So you're like a serial killer."
"I'm not a serial killer."
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* ''[[True Blood]]'': the main villain of the first season is a serial killer who strangles women {{spoiler|who are sleeping with vampires or use their blood as a drug. Also, it's Rene.}}
* ''[[Rizzoli and Isles]]'': Charles Hoyt.
== Mythology ==
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** Cercyon, who would challenge passersby to wrestling matches, then kill them after they had lost.
** Procrustes, who would invite passersby to [[Inn of No Return|stay the night at his place]]. If they were too short for the bed, he would stretch their bodies until they fit. If they were too tall for the bed, he would chop off the excess. If they fit just right, he would smother the victims between the mattress and a specially rigged canopy.
== Music ==
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* [[Steely Dan]]'s "Midnight Cruiser"
* [[Queen]]'s "Killer Queen"
** [[Word of God]] is that this is [https://web.archive.org/web/20101003032225/http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg
* [[Talking Heads]]' "Psycho Killer"
* Pretty much everything by Macabre, or really any [[Death Metal]] band.
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* [[Alice Cooper]]'s 2008 concept album "Along Came A Spider" is all about a fictional serial killer who wraps his victims in silk and cuts off one their legs to construct a flesh spider. {{spoiler|His rampage is quelled when he falls in love with his eighth victim and finds Jesus.}}
* [[Beck (musician)|Beck]]'s [[Lyrical Dissonance|cheery and catchy]] "Girl" takes the POV of one.
== Tabletop Games ==
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** Also notable as the rules presented allow you to make pretty much every character seen on this page:
*** Avenger/Legend: Paul Kersey from ''[[Death Wish]]'' starts killing criminal punks, but eventually becomes so fed up with "the filth on the streets" that he becomes ''[[Candyman]]'', haunting the urban projects.
*** Brute/Mask: Mickey from ''[[Natural Born Killers]]'' gets off on killing so much that he trades all that makes him
*** Charmer/Psycho: Reverend Powell from ''[[The Night of the Hunter]]'' gets by on the thin veneer of humanity for so long that it eventually turns inside out and he becomes the freak you can't help but stare at, not unlike [[The Joker]].
*** Freak/Mutant: The families from ''[[The Hills Have Eyes]]'' take to the caves and
*** Genius/Maniac: [[The Silence of the Lambs|Hannibal Lecter]] [[Hannibal Lecture|tells people how much they suck so many times]], he comes to believe he's the model example for mankind and goes on a [[Se7en|John Doe-esque]] killing spree with a message.
** Over in the [[Old World of Darkness]] are the Euthanatos of ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'', an entire group of the mission-based style. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] to some extent as there really ''are'' a number of [[Complete Monster
*** Although they have to be careful and not turn into the hedonistic type, otherwise they might become one of their colleagues' next targets.
* Subverted in the ''[[Ravenloft]]'' adventure ''Hour of the Knife''. What seems like a hunt for Jack-the-Ripper [[Expy]] "Bloody Jack" is complicated by the revelation that {{spoiler|A) "Jack" is a doppelganger, and B) the killings aren't insane at all, but a murderous ritual to empower an artifact-caliber cursed knife}}.
* ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'' has a spirit that manipulates people into this - Jack-a-Knives, the Murder Spirit.
== Video Games ==
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* ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]'' had a serial killer sub-plot essentially identical to the ''Dragon Age II'' one, except the killer was trying to build a new body for his dead sister rather than dead wife.
* ''[[Kara no Shoujo]]'': There are three serial killers, though one has disappeared from the police radar a few years back. They all appear to be a mix of type one and two.
* Sweet Tooth from ''[[Twisted Metal]]'' is of the hedonistic type with antisocial and disorganized sub types.
== [[Visual Novel]] ==
* Hinimizawa Syndrome in ''[[Higurashi]]'' tends to induce people to become the Visionary type. Most prevalent with {{spoiler|Sh}}ion Sonozaki, who also adds the revenge sub type in the Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening chapters.
==
* ''[[The Dragon Doctors]]'': The Doctors confronted a magical serial killer in their "Messenger of Death" chapter. The murderer killed several shamans using summoned spirits of his own; finding out what spirits were used to determine the character profile of the murderer was the main focus of the plot.
* ''[[Achewood]]'': Nice Pete, who combines type 1 (visionary) and type 4 (power/control) with a thoroughly creepy dead-eyed stare.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20120829045451/http://jared.smackjeeves.com/ Jared]'' features four serial killer characters. Mary and Shia are more Headonistic, while Lilac seems to like the power. Jared is more of an antisocial killer.
* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', [[Base Breaker|Vriska Serket]] and [[Dirty Coward|Eridan Ampora]] were both serial killers well before the story even started (although both [[I Did What I Had to Do|had their]] [[Horror Hunger|excuses]]). Much later, {{spoiler|[[The Stoner|Gamzee Makara]] goes [[Ax Crazy]] after a major crisis of faith and ends up killing a couple minor characters.}}
== Web Original ==
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* ''[[Cause of Death]]'' is [http://causeofdeath.weebly.com/ pretty much all about this]. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUEFxSOVd6A very first episode] shows the nameless killer {{spoiler|bust into the victim's house and kill him...with a granola bar.}} There seems to be some mystery behind {{spoiler|who the woman is in the picture}}, but the story is ongoing.
* A [[Played for Laughs]] version from ''[[Echo Chamber]]'': In ''[[Terrible Interviewees Montage]]'', there was one terrible interviewee known only as [[No Name Given|"???"]] who ''might'' have been one. He had a large knife, seemed [[Axe Crazy]], and talked about a large freezer...
* Tyrian Callows from ''[[RWBY]]'' -- Salem's [[Axe Crazy]] [[Psycho for Hire|Psycho on Staff]] -- is explicitly described as a serial killer in V7.
== Western Animation ==
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** The [[Ax Crazy|obviously insane]] Hat McCullough from "Free Hat", though his defenders claim he killed those twenty-three babies in self-defense.
** "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson"
* [[Ax Crazy|Flippy]] from ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]''. Though unlike other examples, he's not really in control of himself. He suffers from PTSD from his time in the Vietnam. One episode has him seeking help.
* Diane Simmons becomes one in the episode "And Then There Were Fewer". Though Brian believed that the serial killer was planning to kill everyone at James Wood's party, she was planning simply to kill James Woods and frame Tom Tucker for ruining her life following her fortieth birthday party. Due to people witnessing her trying to frame Tom, (and Derek attempting to call the police before she had finished framing him), she ended up killing other guests at the party as well.
* An episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' dealt with the "Fat Guy Strangler", who [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|strangled fat men]]. It turns out to be Lois' brother Patrick (voiced by [[Robert Downey, Jr.]]), who was sent to an insane asylum as a child after being traumatized by seeing Jackie Gleason having sex with his mother, and from there concluded that all fat people were evil and so went on a killing spree.
** An earlier episode had The Mass Media Murderer, who specifically targeted members of the press. Another episode briefly featured a Quahog encyclopedia of crime, which mentioned such figures as "The Berserk Hobo" and "The Golden Autumn Day Strangler".
* A ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short entitled "Bye Bye Bluebeard" involved Porky Pig being paranoid about a serial killer named Bluebeard who raids houses to kill the residents and steal their food
* A couple of ''[[Beavis and Butthead]]'' episodes dealt with serial killers, in "Most Wanted" the duo hunt for a serial killer with a tattoo on his forehead of the word "KILLER" whom we later find out is named Tom, so they can collect the prize money. They end up encountering him in their backyard and he attempts to kill them but due to their stupidity they think he is also looking for the killer. He becomes friends with them because Beavis is just as crazy as he is and as a reward he gives them tattoos of butts on their butts, we see him in a later episode calling a dating service to invite women over to his jail cell so he can kill them.
** Another episode "A Great Day" they encounter another serial killer whom resembles real life killer Jeffrey Dahmer after following a trail of blood to his house he gives them 20 bucks to forget what they saw, later on he can be seen loading a dead body into the trunk of his car and the duo present him with the body of a canary presumably belonging to the victim that had been stabbed to death he again tells them to forget what they saw and gives them another 20 bucks.
* In his first appearance on ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'', [[Complete Monster|Katz]] ran a [[Hell Hotel]] where he fed his guests to spiders for no discernible reason other than to just do
** In his second appearence, he turned his victims into machines to have them battle to the death for his amusement. He also tried to blow up a submarine with all aboard and, despite having a motive this time, still relished in killing a huge number of people. His only appearence where what he's doing isn't a front for commiting murders is his candy shop. Then again, he seemed to [[Fridge Horror|be well versed in]] [[Human Resources|turning people into candy]]...
** Benton Tarantella and Eroll Von Volkheim. Amatuer film directors who managed to slay 12 people before their deaths. Then they came back from the dead to ''keep doing it!''
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** In the same episode, Klaus claims that after university he traveled around Italy, stabbing students.
* On ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', this was Heloise's original characterization, before they decided to make her a [[Mad Scientist]] instead. She's still pretty [[Ax Crazy]].
== Real Life ==
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* One of the most prolific in history, [[wikipedia:Andrei Chikatilo|Andrei Chikatilo]], who killed over fifty women and children. The reason he got away with it for so long was because the Soviet Union, where he lived and killed, was totally in denial and believed serial killers to be a consequence of the "decadent west". He may actually be the partial basis for Roark Jr, aka That Yellow Bastard, in ''[[Sin City]]'', particularly the part about "can't get it up without hearing his victims scream".
** Although it is debatable just how many victims were really his, and how many were simply unsolved murders that the Soviet authorities pinned on him once they had someone to blame for them. He certainly was a prolific killer, but just how prolific may never actually be known.
* [[wikipedia:Manson Family|Charles Manson]] himself may not have been a serial killer, but his followers absolutely were. A serial killer is defined as someone who kills more than three people with a "cooling off" period in between the killings. Music teacher Gary Hinman was murdered by the family on July 25, 1969. On August 9, 1969, they murdered five people, six if you count Sharon Tate's unborn baby; the next night, they killed grocers Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. On the 26th, they killed Donald "Shorty" Shea, a Hollywood stuntman. That's nine people (ten if you count Tate's child) in just a few weeks. In addition, other people are suspected of having been victims of the family, including Ronald Hughes, one member's defense attorney (believed to have been killed for balking at letting his client sacrifice herself to clear Manson). Although he was a chief conspirator in all of the killings, Manson did not personally draw a single drop of
* [[wikipedia:David Berkowitz|David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz]].
* [[wikipedia:Zodiac Killer|The Zodiac]], who was never caught during his lifetime. Authorities seem to have narrowed their area of suspicion down to about a dozen different men, almost all of whom are now dead.
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* [[wikipedia:Elizabeth Báthory|Countess Elizabeth Báthory]] is one of history's most prolific serial killers, tortured and killed over 500 women, although she was only convicted for 80. Legend has it she did this so that she could [[Blood Bath|bathe in the blood of young virgins and maintain her vitality]], but it is believed Báthory did it for the [[For the Evulz|fun of it]], which is far more chilling.
** However, modern Hungarian historians have attempted to give her a [[Historical Hero Upgrade]] claiming that maybe she wasn't a serial killer at all, but a victim of a show trial by the Habsburgs to get her land and fortune. However the reports of the murders, which her husband joined in with, are far closer to contemporary though and it seems fairly likely that she killed at least some. The notaries in the case took testimony from more than 300 witnesses, several of whom lost relatives. Two of the accused named around 36 victims (although they may well have been tortured so the reliability of that is up for debate).
* [[wikipedia:Pedro Alonso
* [[wikipedia:Gilles de Rais|Gilles de Rais]] was a French nobleman, war hero, compatriot of Joan Of Arc and murdered at least 80 children between 1432 and 1440, the majority of whom were also raped or sexually abused. Much like Bathory, a few people have tried claiming that he was framed by the church to acquire his lans but that's extremely unlikely since firstly, the church didn't have a hope of acquiring his lands (which ended up going to the Duke of Brittany); secondly, his confederates gave very detailed testimony and thirdly, around forty bodies were discovered. Margaret Murray has also tried claiming that he was a Dianic pagan who was subject to religious persecution but the evidence for this is virtually nil.
* Australia had [[wikipedia:Eric Cooke|Eric Cooke]], an unusual serial killer who changed his M.O. Two innocent men were also charged with crimes Cooke committed, but have since been exonerated.
* "BTK" (Bind, Torture, Kill): [[wikipedia:Dennis Rader|Dennis Rader]], who murdered 10 people in the Sedgwick county area of Wichita, Kansas from 1977-1989 while sending taunting letters and poems to the police, and was caught approximately a decade and a half after his last victim, because after such a long time he got bored and [[What an Idiot!|started sending letters to the police again, announcing that he was plotting his next murder.]] Lots of televison shows have since had a take on him, though most commonly the reason for their killer's lengthy absence is that he was seriously injured in some way and had to temporarily stop.<ref>
* [[wikipedia:Henry Lee Lucas|Henry Lee Lucas]] is an interesting case. While he confessed to the murder of nearly 600 people (including people who turned out to ''still be alive''), he often would recant his confessions, only to confess to ''other'' murders. He often became the "go-to" guy by police departments who wanted to clear their unsolved murder files. Since he was already sentenced to death, he relished in the attention that the confessions brought him. When he died in prison in 2001, forensics were only able to confirm 3 of his confessions, which technically did make him a serial killer. His supposed exploits inspired the brilliant ''[[Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer]]''.
* [[wikipedia:Gary Ridgway|Gary Ridgway]], better known as the Green River Killer, is one of the most prolific serial killers of the 20th century. He was convicted for the murder of 48 women over the course of three decades. However it is believed that he killed up to 90 women.
* [[wikipedia:Richard Ramirez|Richard Ramirez]] is notorious for his completely random modus operandi as well as choice of victim. He literally managed to terrorize the whole LA area in the 80's.
* [[wikipedia:Cleveland Torso Murderer|The Cleveland Torso Murderer]] is an especially gruesome example of an unsolved serial killing case. As the name suggests, the victims of this killer were dismembered and some of them were disembowled. Only a handful of the victims could be identified, making it an even more disturbing case. He/She also might be the culprit behind the infamous [[Black Dahlia]] murder. Eliot Ness himself (you know, the guy who took down [[Al Capone]]?) was assigned to this case, and ''even he'' failed to identify the killer.
* [[wikipedia:Peter
* The Servant Girl Annihilator, in turn of the century killer from Austin, Texas. Noted for stalking black and white women with an axe, his crimes predate Jack the Ripper by only a few years, leading the newspapers of the time to claim the two were the same man. Two men were tried for the crime, but no one was ever convicted. The killings were supposedly the indirect inspiration for the famous moon towers that dot the Austin cityscape.
* [[wikipedia:Edmund Kemper|Edmund Kemper]], who started with his grandparents (at 15) and worked his way from there. When asked by the judge what he thought a suitable punishment for his crimes would be, Kemper answered, "Death by torture."
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