The Connection Between Us And Serial Killers

By Emily Eade

For the past few decades, the popularity of serial killers has grown substantially. From television, movies, podcasts, and books; serial killers are a major topic in our pop culture. With serial killers frequently in our entertainment, shows that I’m not alone with being so fascinated with them.

The stereotypical serial killer tends to be a white male that has a lot of the same attributes of either dealing with abusive or absent parents and may have suffered from mental illnesses. Where some killers don’t have any of the same attributes as your stereotypical serial killer. Other serial killer tendencies point towards sexual pleasure where others do it just because they feel invincible. This shows that serial killers could be anyone if you think about it.

FBI special agent John Douglas wrote in his book “Mindhunter”, “I knew the way these guys operated; I’d seen it over and over again. They needed to manipulate and dominate their prey. They wanted to be able to decide whether or not their victim should live or die, or how the victim should die.”

Our real-life serial killers are created to become these infamous monsters. You could bring up Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, or even Charles Manson in a conversation, and you could tell that serial killers are an infamous topic. So, what causes us to be so fascinated with serial killers?

Our fascination with serial killers comes from many different sources. There are so many mysteries surrounding serial killers, the fascination lies within wanting to know and understand how serial killers became who they are. All we want to do is get inside the minds of these killers and understand our questions such as, how does the killer’s mind work? What causes them to snap? Why is it satisfying to kill? Why do they feel the need to act out in spontaneous ways for attention? These are only some of the many questions that create fascination in our minds.

As stated by criminologist Scott Bonn in his article, ‘What Drives Our Curious Fascination with Serial Killers?’, “Serial killers are so extreme in their brutality and so seemingly unnatural in their behavior that people are drawn to them out of intense curiosity. ... Many people are morbidly drawn to the violence of serial killers because they cannot understand it and feel compelled to.”

Here are just some examples of prolific serial killers that fit our fascination:

Ted Bundy was not like your stereotypical serial killer. He may have had the same physical features by being a white male, but he never really had any traumatizing experiences that triggered him to become how he was. Bundy was a sociopath that used his charm and wits to win over women and later on kill them in the night. He would kill women for sexual pleasure. Bundy went after women because he felt the need to be more dominant than his victims. The act of murder was his most satisfying and final expression of power and control over his victims.

Jeffrey Dahmer was like your stereotypical serial killer. He was unwanted by his family and everyone around him. When he was in school, he was bullied for being weird and fascinated by murder. Dahmer was a psychopath that would pick up men either hitchhiking or at bars and kill them later on that night. He would kill men for not only his sexual pleasure but also for dominance. Dahmer liked to feel power and control over people who would make fun of him or use him.

John Wayne Gacy, also known as the ‘Killer Clown’, had the same attributes as your stereotypical serial killer. Gacy was a white male that had an abusive childhood which created his psychopathic tendencies. The mixture of his psychopathic tendencies and his closeted homosexuality created who he was. A man who would use his day job as a clown to kidnap little boys and sexually assault them later on to kill them.

Ed Kemper, also known as the ‘CO-ed Killer’, is your stereotypical serial killer but with a twist. He is a white male that had a traumatizing childhood, his mother was abusive and his father was absent. Kemper is a very intelligent man who knows how to read you just off of your looks. Kemper started killing because he couldn’t handle being hurt any- more. He mostly killed women not only for sexual pleasure but because they reminded him of how his mother made him feel. I honestly find Kemper the most fascinating of them all.

The average person doesn’t understand why these “monsters” want to torture, rape, abduct or kill other people. Our fascination with how to read their minds creates a reason for these serial killers to become the main focus in our pop culture. Having shows, films, books, and podcasts gives us a way to understand and read their minds.

Sources: 

Douglas, J., Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter, 1,(pg 1). New York, NY. Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Bonn, S.A. (2017). What Drives Our Curious Fascination With Serial Killers? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201710/what-drives-our-curious-fascination-serial-killers