A Continued Study Of The Real Life Story Behind

The mind of a serial killer is not right and is considered a psychopath. This can be caused by brain damage. “After Henry Lee Lucas was convicted, he underwent numerous neurological tests that revealed fairly extensive brain damage. Small contusions indicated a frontal lobe injury, and there was damage to his temporal lobe and pools of spinal fluid at the base of his brain” (Vronsky, 2005). Lucas’s brain damage is just one cause. Another common reason is that the serial killer would of had an abusive childhood. “Traditionally, the answer has been a horrific upbringing. Most serial killers were abused as children, many hideously so.” (Sandi, n.d) This can have a range of different abusive activities. One example would be an abusive mother. The killer’s mother would have abused him therefore making him hate women. That would be an example of how a man killing female serial killer would relate. He would physically abuse the women just like his mother abused him. Another form of abuse is an alcoholic parent. The serial killer would wait outside of a bar and look to see of his potential victims were under the influence. If they were then they would most likely kill the person. A serial killer can also have a euphoric moment. He could see his

“Serial killers are human black holes; they scare us because they mirror us,” spoke Shirley Lynn Scott, known author and psychologist. This stands true throughout history, as most serial killers blend in with society. Serial killing is formally defined by the FBI as “a series of three or more killings, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” But what exactly drives someone to kill another human being? What plays as a more drastic motivator for their actions, nature or nurture?

In the essay “What Makes a Serial Killer?” author LaDonna Beaty discusses the causes of serial killers. Beaty states, serial killers are the most hated and feared out of all the criminals. Over 5000 people will be victimized each year by serial killers alone, says Beaty. Her research estimates there are 350 serial killers within a large society. Beaty stated that investigations on serial killers had been dated back to 1911. However, she also asks, what does a serial killer look like? Beaty gives the readers great details on her ideal serial killer. For example, he will typically have bloodshot eyes, curly black hair, strong jaws, abnormal ears, straight thin lips, and menacing grins. Although, today, we can’t expect serial killers to have

There are many theories as to why people become serial killers. Almost all of these concepts are associated with the Nature vs. Nurture theory. Are serial killers born with the need to kill, or is it something that they learn to long for as they grew up? Many believe that the nurture theory is the likely concept to believe; that serial killers are created from bad childhood experiences including being abused by their parents, or molested at an early age. Psychologist and sociologist have interviewed serial killers and picked apart their minds, to find out what it is that makes them feel the need to perform these heinous crimes. It is the nature theory that they are looking for when

As technology continues to evolve, our understanding of sickness and disease grows as well. Modern day technology is able to tell doctors what caused the disease and in ideal situations how to cure it. Recent scientists have begun to look at the desire to kill as a disease. This theory poses an interesting concept that if it is a disease, then maybe there is a cure that prevents serial killers from killing. In Christer Claus and Lars Lidberg’s article they look at the desire to kill as a disease. The article states that while using Schahriar Syndrome as a model, they are able to explain even the most vicious human behaviours, such as planned and repeated homicide (Claus/Lidberg 428). This disease is broken down into five main characteristics: omnipotence, sadistic fantasies, ritualized performance, dehumanization, and symbiotic merger. These five traits are not only common among people with the disease, but among serial killers as well (428). The article states that after a successful killing, the killer is surprised. When the killer is able to get away with murder, a sense of amazement consumes them. Once the killer has repeatedly killed their victim and escaped the authorities, they begin to feel like they are omnipotent. As time goes on, over fifty percent of serial killers experience sadistic fantasies that make them want to keep committing the crimes. Each killer uses their success and sadistic fantasies to form a certain ritual. They begin to believe that if they are

Joyce Carol Oates finds inspiration for her short story based on Charles Howard Schmid Jr, a serial killer who made his debut in 1960’s. Charles Schmid was a charming, older, bad boy who targeted young girls in Tucson, Arizona. The similarity can be seen in Joyce’s short story when Arnold Friend targets stunning, 15-year-old Connie. Manipulation as well as other factors lead Connie to make an irrational decision, which jeopardizes her life. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” aspects of belonging to neglectful family with an overachieving sister, an envious mother, and careless father particularly contribute in Connie’s kidnapping,

In the article The Serial Killer Phenomenon Richard Whittington-Egan aims to explain what exactly a serial killer is and how they differ from a mass murderer. Whittington-Egan breaks down and showcases the defining characteristics of a serial kill with the help of numerous cases of evidence to confirm the accuracy of each statement. The article concludes with examining the future of this phenomenon, what has been done, and most importantly how difficult it will be to solve such an unpredictable behavior.

Throughout history, serial killers and murderers have received a significant number of news articles dedicated to them and have attracted audiences all around the world; however, the question that nobody can seem to answer is, “Why?” What causes people to grow up with the desire to kill and what can we do to prevent others from becoming serial killers in the future? “All serial killers are murderers, but not all murderers are serial killers,” as stated on The Undergraduate Times. A serial murder is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as “the unlawful homicide of at least two people, carried out in a series over a period of time,” while mass murder is the

Serial killers can be defined as a person who kills multiple people over a long period of time. American media spreads stereotypical information about serial killers. The media portrays serial killers as either a monster or a charming guy next door (Forsyth 868). Serial killers cannot be fitted into the medias cookie-cutter definition. Everyone has experienced unique events throughout their life that shapes their personality and serial killers are not an exception. Ronald Dominique, a serial killer suffered a traumatic event while in jail; he was raped, and this event triggered his serial killings. “Serial murderers like those who kill only once, fit into no single profile; and create too wide a burden to be explained with one idea. They do seem to have one similar characteristic –that is; to blend into society and appear normal” (Forsyth 872).

Throughout time many have had a fascination with serial killers and with help from the media they have become celebrities within our culture. There are many books, movies, television shows, and news coverage to introduce viewers to their lives. With all the interest behind serial killers, many wonder how they come to be this violent. The question is often asked, are serial killers born or made?

Unfortunately, it’s not unusual in this day and time to turn on the news and hear a warning about a new serial killer roaming our streets. It’s horrifying and hard to understand what could possibly make a person commit such heinous crimes. What is wrong with this person that drives him or her to commit such an act? The truth is that people have searched for the answer to that question for eons. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be many definitive answers to those questions.

Ever speculated what causes the compulsion in humans to gruesomely kill? An extensive amount of people lack the awareness of the various categorizations of serial killers. These disparate types of serial killers can be differentiated on the basis of their motives but the majority of them share a similar past. The occurrences of the past immensely impact the actions and demeanor of the future. Each occurrence can conceivably influence the future of an individual.

The definition of a serial killer is traditionally noted as a person who has a particular psychological motivation for killing. For centuries detectives and psychiatrists around have been curious as to what makes someone want to be a serial killer. Many theories have been proposed as to what make someone begin to be a serial killer, yet we still do not know for sure. There are many conclusions as to why people become serial killers, the most accurate being the diathesis-stress model, which states that all serial killers have a propensity to act and think a certain way due to environmental stressors, because of these stressors and a combination of other factors such as self-esteem and self-control coupled with social skill issues, the person is sent over the edge and into serial killer mode.

Serial killers are usually young, white males who are quite intelligent and often come from broken homes. They may have been abused either physically or sexually during childhood and they have serious personality defects, such as low self-esteem and a lifelong sense of loneliness. Although no two serial killers are alike, they all fit this description somewhat. In the sixth edition of Crime and

The idea of serial killers and the role they play in our lives has fascinated people since the cases of Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes, although serial murderers existed before them. The infamous and mysterious complexities of these cases have puzzled and terrified people for over a century. Perhaps due to the deviant and taboo nature of serial killings, people in our society and others have tried to attribute many reasons for why they occur. In this search for answers, one major scope has been widely left out of the research: the sociological imagination. It is through this method of understanding that I will attempt to explain the development of serial killers and apply theories that explain the frequency of serial killings in our society.