Today's serial killers are often immortalized in true crime books, fiction, and television, and even made into media celebrities. People are obsessed with what makes serial killers think and act in such destructive manners.
Since the subject of serial killers is sometimes filled with more myth than truth, and is riddled with propaganda and media misconceptions, one has to keep a very open mind. Why serial killers murder in the fashion they do is still a paradox. Unfortunately, there are no simple answers to understanding serial killers and what makes them tick.
My first introduction to serial killers was in the 1970s, when the infamous Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins, supposedly the most prolific serial killer in South Carolina history, appeared on the scene. His horror encompassed no boundaries, and included torturing, killing, cannibalizing victims, both male and females, and young and old. Gaskins once boasted, "I never killed anybody I didn't like."
Serial killers, like Gaskins, are very good at embellishing their crimes, but, in simple terms, their murders all about power. While most serial killers are influenced by a variety of deviant sexual behaviors, it is a mistake to label these monsters as "sex maniacs." The reality is that all their destructive behavior is motivated by power. In his taped memoirs for the book, Final Truth by author Wilton Earle, Gaskins said, "I have walked the same path as God, by taking lives and making others afraid, I became God's equal. Through killing others, I became my own master. Through my own power I come to my own redemption."
The majority of serial killers are sociopathic personalities. It fits the very nature of the evil behind their murderous behavior. It is erroneous to assume that their flaws are a cause and effect relationship that somehow helped shape their personalities. Like a junkie who can't live without drugs, serial killers crave the psychic energy expended by their victims or the high derived from the danger involved in committing such horrendous acts. As a result of this addiction, serial killers are driven to seek increased levels of danger or commit even more increasingly horrific crimes.
Serial killers are parasites. They all need to feed a particular and sometimes insatiable appetite.
Serial killers are nobodies desperately trying to be somebodies, who want to desperately demonstrate their power over society to show how great they are. Their greatest pleasure is derived from controlling and exerting power over life and death. These killers enjoy and feed off of the fear of their victims, and have made a career out of inflicting trauma on others.
The Psychopathic Personality and Common Characteristics - The study of the psychopath reveals an individual who is incapable of feeling guilt, remorse or empathy for their actions.
Multiple Murderers - Based on the patterns of their murders, multiple killers are classified into three basic categories -- mass murderers, spree killers, and serial killers.
Criminal Profiling: Fact, Fiction, Fantasy and Fallacy - There is a great deal of hype and myth surrounding both the phenomenon of serial murder and the process of criminal profiling. This Criminal Library report looks at the facts and the fiction.
Evaluating a Psychological Profile of a Serial Killer - To discover what makes a serial killer function, it is necessary to look back into their past, particularly their adolescent life.
