Serial Killer: Difference between revisions

* 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.

* ''[[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.

* 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.

* 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}}.

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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).

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.

* 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.

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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."