The Mind of Monsters

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).

People who have been diagnosed with this cluster are sexually inappropriate, prone to a grandiose view of their own uniqueness and abilities, emotionally unstable, self-centered, lacking and sense of guilt, shame or empathy and are often superficially charming, manipulative and exploitative. Most serial killers exhibit a well known triad of behaviors in childhood: a fascination with fire, cruelty to animals and prolonged bed-wetting. Many become almost uncontrollably interested in pornography as teenagers and anti-social when they reach adulthood. Most were physically and/or sexually abused. However, they appear normal in surface appearance and behavior. Typically with this illness, comes overpowering waves of compulsion to kill that wax and wane over time but normally get worse with age. Serial killers are described by law enforcement as organized or unorganized. Organized killers often appear normal in their appearance and socially. They typically plan their killing, have a mode of transportation and bring some sort of murder “kit”, containing the tools they will need. Most serial killers don’t use guns. The victims usually fit into a certain profile (e.g. gender, race, hair color etc.) and they will hunt down their victims. The organized killer is more likely to have a crime scene picked out, take or discard the weapon, and move or transport the body to a hiding place. In contrast to the organized killer the

To begin, one must understand a serial killers background to get an understanding of how childhood trauma could lead to their need to kill. Although there are no exact factors that would absolutely cause a child to grow up into a serial killer, research found by Laurence Miller in “Serial killers: II. Development, Dynamics, and Forensics,” suggest that there are several common factors found in multiple serial killers’ childhoods. For example, some of the leading childhood characteristics found among serial killers include being adopted, being the sons of a prostitute, and have underwent sever physical or sexual abuse (Miller, 2013, p.13). This demonstrates that such experiences, at a young age, can be very traumatic and create this need of comfort that most serial killers satisfy through the murdering of multiple innocent individuals. However, the most shocking yet prevalent form of abuse comes from the mothers. This can be noted as Miller states that an increasing amount of serial killers had, “…intensely ambivalent, smothering relationships with their mothers that were characterized by both maternal abuse and sexual attraction to the mother (Miller, 2013, p.13). Miller also noted that many of these individuals came from dysfunctional families that indeed had a history of either psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, or legal problems (Miller, 2013, p.13). With such information, one begins to understand where these individuals turned cold but even then, nothing justifies

One motivation that quickly becomes apparent within a serial killer is that of psychopathy. Psychopathic traits include narcissism, irresponsibility, lack of empathy, promiscuity, poor behavior, lying, and impulsivity (Arrigo & Griffin, 2004). Because psychopaths lack the ability to care or feel for their victims, it is easy for the perpetrator to disregard them and perform whatever acts they wish upon them. A psychopathic person also feels a low sense of self-worth, which can be

Dexter Morgan is the main character in the T.V show "Dexter" He is a blood splatter analyst and a forensic tech for the Miami metro police department, but on the side of solving murders, he also creates a few of his own. Dexter is a serial killer but not like the typical one, he only goes after certain kinds of people. When he was only three years old he witnessed his mothers murder and was found at the crime scene of a homicide detective Harry Morgan, who would later become is his adoptive father, Harry, noticed he was different a few years prior to taking him in and took him to see a doctor and that is when Dexter was diagnosed as a psychopath. Right after that Harry started to take Dexter hunting and allowed him to release some anger via killing animals because Harry feared if he allowed Dexter to bottle up his emotions then he would start killing people.

Dennis Nilson stated "a mind can be evil without being abnormal". If this is the case, then what makes a serial killer tick? The definition of a serial killer is; a series of two or more murders committed as separate events usually, but not always, by one offender standing alone. (Brookes, 1988) Over the years, many murderers have been given this term. From the early days of Jack the Ripper, to the most recently publicized case of "the sniper", all have different motives and reasons to the crimes that they commit. Most of the serial killers suffer from mental illness/addictions or have had traumatic life experiences. This is not always the case though; some can also be racially motivated. The typical serial killer is a lower to

Serial killers aren't any different. Some were raised with wonderful childhoods but suffered from mental illnesses. Others grew up with traumatic childhoods but did not suffer from mental illnesses. Abuse (sexual, physical, or mental) or head injuries that might have cause brain damage have the effect to create a serial killer. Some illnesses like schizophrenia, personality disorders, and or psychopathy can affect serial killers’ thinking.

It can be said that most serial killers share some of the same personality traits, such as being characterized as power hungry, charming, and manipulative; traits all of which can be expressed by non-murders as well. So what makes serial killers different from normal people, non-murderous people, but also different from what we think of when discussing people with an abnormal mind? Some say, this specific type of psychopath may be a product of nature rather than nurture. Undoubtedly nurture does play some role in the formation of these covertly manic people. In many cases, such as with Charles Manson, reports of neglect throughout both childhood and young adulthood could have also been a key factor in “making a murder” out of a presumably normal human being, as is discussed throughout many studies of abnormal psychology.

A serial killer is known for being a psychopath. According to The Merriam Webster Dictionary, “a person who is mentally ill, who does not care about other people, and who is usually dangerous or violent” is known as a psychopath. There are multiple reasons for people becoming serial killers. However, psychopathy is linked to becoming a serial killer. Some people become actual serial killers because of their childhood, mental

The orbital cortex is the part of your brain that is believed to be involved with your ethical behavior, moral decision making, and impulse control. Many different researchers have compared the brains of serial killers to other serial killers and also to a “normal” person's brain and the findings have been identical if not extremely similar; disconnection to the orbital cortex. When questioned about their childhoods serial killers reports were surprising; some type of maltreatment, regardless of type - 68% Physical abuse - 36% Sexual abuse - 26% Psychological abuse 50% Neglect - 18% No abuse - 32%. Considering 32% of serial killers did not have any kind of abuse and still ended up on the same path as the other 68% proves my statement to a degree that serial killers are born. These people are incapable of feeling any type of remorse and often times don’t feel anything unless they are killing.

According to FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit serial murder is defined as “the unlawful killing two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events”This definition does not give insight into what these killers are actually thinking. While some other definitions by other Bureaus may give a little more information, it is impossible for a single phrase to cover all forms of what they embody. No two cases are exactly alike there may be similarities, but there will always be new information with every case. The thoughts of Serial Killers can be narrowed down and prioritized through their motivations, how they commit the crime, their interactions with law enforcement or the media and in our perception of them.

     Serial killers tend to be white heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties, who are sexually dysfunctional and have low self-esteem. Serial killers generally murder strangers with cooling off periods in between each murder. Serial killers are twisted in nature. Some return to the place the murder happened or the gravesite to fantasize about their deeds. Serial killers have made many excuses for their killings and behavior such as: Henry Lucas blamed his upbringing, Jeffrey Dahmer claims he was born with a “partâ€? of him missing, Ted Bundy said porno made him do it and John Wayne Gacy turned the blame around and said the victims deserved to die. Many

Three viewpoints of these offenders, researchers have found, as far as why they kill are, a brain disease related to neuropsychological dysfunction in the left side of their brain, a tumor, head injury or low cerebrum arousal. The second viewpoint is that these offenders have experienced childhood abuse, neglect in school, and unsuccessful social services. Finally, the third perspective of why serial killers murder, is just because they want to

Serial killers often commit murder for some sort of psychological benefit. As research continues in the studying of the brain of serial killers, it is safe to say that they (serial killers) have some form of brain abnormalities. Biologically speaking, Neuroscientists have discovered that a psychopath’s brain has a noticeably thinner tissue in the subcortical areas. If this tissue is damaged, or even possibly underdeveloped, then that person may have a decreased ability to process feelings or even link emotional value to certain experiences. This explains a great deal about a psychopath’s behaviour and why they have difficulty feeling different emotions. With regards to psychopaths, a weak paralimbic system leads to the weakening of their ego

A serial killer is to be known as a killer that will pause for a long period of time before killed more peope. After a serial killer killed one person, they would wait months or years before they killed another and pause after that and they did that till they were caught. But, a man or woman doesn’t just decide one day that they will kill people, it all starts when they were a child. What makes a person want to kill and why can’t we get into a serial killers mind? It may be the way they were raised. It also might be that they were beaten as a child, or their parents abused them, or maybe they were being bullied because they were different from the others. Most of these caused one thing prior to them wanting to kill, and that is because of