Serial Killer Essay

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

Statistically, the average serial killer is a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background, usually in his twenties or thirties. Many were physically or emotionally abused by parents. Some were adopted. As children, fledgling serial killers often set fires, torture animals, and wet their beds (these red-flag behaviors are known as the “triad” of symptoms.) Brain injuries are common. Some are very intelligent and have shown great promise as successful professionals. They are also fascinated with the police and authority in general (Scott).

Serial murder is one of the most baffling crimes that occur in the U.S. and all over the world. Knight (2006) defines serial murder as the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period. The cooling off period may be weeks, months or even years long. Researchers have proposed various psychological, biological and sociological theories that offer a partial understanding of the nature of serial murder. Some propose that the basis for criminal behavior is a predisposition to violence as well as a mix between environment, personality traits and biological factors. Serial killers are predominantly male. Only 3 percent of serial murders are committed by women (U.S. News and World Report,

Serial killers learn how to show sympathy by observing others because of their psychopathic nature. Also, while they are killing they pretty much have flashbacks of their fears and motivations, like their childhood (Psychological Disorders). No one knows for sure what makes them kill, but they do know that you must have patience in order to catch them. Catching killers who have plenty of time on their hands are much harder to catch, simply because they have drawn out their plans and are very organized with themselves. There are many different serial killers and reasons behind what they do, some are not even psychologically crazy they just want power or control.

Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are are generally vicious, fierce beasts and have an unusual inclination to murder. The questions that people ask about serial killers and mass murderers are what gives these people the desire to kill? What inspires them to continue murdering? Do these killers get fulfillment from slaughtering? Is there a contrast between mass murderers and serial killers or would people say they are the same? How do they pick their victims and what are some of their characteristics? This paper will highlight the answers to these questions and give a better insight of what goes on in the minds of mass murderers and serial killers.

Serial killers are the byproduct of many different things: trauma, death of loved ones, abuse, neglect, adoption, and even witnessing abuse (Are Serial). Serial killers have had to endure a massive amount of something such as trauma or abuse to an unimaginable extent to become what they are; the extent of the abuse, the trauma, the psychological damage they endure is incomprehensible to many. The destruction of one’s innocence can occur at any given time in his or her life, but he or she is more impressionable in his or her youth by the negativism of someone else’s actions (Scott, Shirley L. What Makes Serial Killers Tick ~ Childhood Event). People are susceptible to what they endure in their adolescence, and cruel upbringings, such as

In order to understand how serial killers are affected by social changes, one must understand their psyche. A serial killer is "sexually motivated but the underlying reason is power" (Newton 197). The killer wants power over his victims. Serial killing, itself, is a "distinctly modern phenomenon, a product of relatively recent social and cultural conditions to which criminologists can provide fresh insight by accentuating the broad institutional frameworks, motivations, and opportunity structures within which serial killing occurs" (Haggerty and Ellerbrok 6).  According to John E. Douglas, co-author of Mindhunters, the reason that murders committed by serial killers, at first blush, seem to be senseless crimes is because serial killers are often "motivated by a strong emotional feeling" (Dokterman), such as hate, vengeance, or regret. FBI agents have identified domination,

4. Serial killers also show signs of a psychopath though this is not always the case. Psychopaths lack empathy and guilt, are egocentric and impulsive and don’t conform to social, moral, or legal norms. Psychopaths have a distinct set of rules for themselves. They appear normal and are often very charming and charismatic.

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

The organised serial killer can be seen as an individual that is in control of his surroundings and the circumstances at hand. The crimes committed show evidence of careful planning and the murderer would have put in a lot of thought in to the attack of the individual before committing to the crime. The serial murderer would take specific criteria of the victim into account before he or she commits the crime these consist of one's age or appearance their lifestyle and occupation. A organized serial murderer will approach their victim through means of socializing with them. They will usually try and charm them gaining their trust which is where they will further trick them into a overpowering situation. Many

Additional satisfaction that a serial killer lust for is power. Serial killers want to have control over their victims. They love to torture their victims to a slow painful death. This why a bulk of serial killers attempt to be police officers but most do not pass the test. So some become security

The first recorded serial killers date back to the Roman Empire when men were poisoned by a group of matrons putting it on a ring. Psychologist and Criminologist have identified 5 key elements commonly found in all serial killers: them being having real affinity with power, being manipulative, a bragging oversized ego, ability to pick up on others weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and appear to be every day “average joes”. Each one may vary in strength or background of the killer. For example, most that have an affinity of real power often tend to hold control of those close to them, even when they’ve been caught, lost their twisted game where they have a warped but most authoritorial sense in the situations that follow. This sense of control/power

The top three most reported behaviors are daydreaming, compulsive masturbation, and isolation. Daydreaming seems like a healthy, normal phase in every child’s life, but this behavior actually makes sense for serial killers. The reason is that one of the most important components to the creation of a serial killer is fantasy. The killings are usually part of a complicated fantasy that builds to a climax at the moment of their deadly outburst (Serial Killer Info Polls). The creation of this fantasy starts as a child when the child is frequently left alone for long periods of time. This isolation bores the child and they resort to their minds for company. We can all remember the days of imagining our knight in shining armor coming to the rescue, or pretending to have immense strength, like the Incredible Hulk or Superman, to help them escape from any situation. In the cases of serial killers this fantasy/daydream world has been taken to an extreme. Masturbation begins during these fantasies and contributes much to the

Many things today confuse, yet enthrall the masses. War, murder, medical science, incredible rescues, all things you would see on The History Channel. There is another topic that is also made into documentaries however, serial killers. Dark twisted people that commit multiple murders are of interest to the population, but what caused them to be this way. What horrible tragic set of events could twist a man to murder one or many people. Could Schizophrenia, psychopathy, or sociopathy? Many people have researched this topic and believe that childhood trauma, heavy drugs during the growing phase of life, as well as many other things have twisted the minds of men such as Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson,

and causes them to act. This may be the result of a stressful situation or