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IRL Serial Killers

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DiesIrae:
I'm sure I'm not the only one who read IANASK because they share John's fascination with Serial Killers.
Which Serial Killers do you most like to read about?  Do you have a--for lack of a better word--favourite?

Shivertongue:
It's so hard to pick a favourite. Part of me wants to go with Dahmer, 'cause he was local (as were Gein and Spanbauer, and several others I can't think of off the top of my head - Wisconsin is kind of known for 'em).

The reason I research and read about serial killers is because they're one of the few things that I find truly scare me. Most horror doesn't do this - anything that involves monsters I know not to be real. Serial killers, however, are real. What they did actually happened, and there are more of them out there right now. And they can be almost anyone. This terrifies me, yet compels me, because... well, people like to be scared.

I bring all of that up because the more I think about it, the harder it is to pick a favourite (and, also, favourite implies admiration, and I do not admire these people; they're horrible and vile excuses for human beings). Dahmer is one of the most horrifying, although Richard Ramirez comes close as well - both knocked into that upper level reserved for people like Albert Fish simply because of the cannibalism aspect. Among the most interesting, I could rattle off names like Ted Bundy or Dennis Radar or Edmund Kemper...

Really, it's hard to pick just one. And some might not even count as serial killers. H.H. Holmes and Carl Panzram were serial killers who I never felt were very serial killer-like, with the exceptions of their body counts (I have a friend who considers Jack Kevorkian to be a serial killer, and I argue he isn't). Then there's the fascination with those that remain uncaught - Zodiac, the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, the Axeman of New Orleans, and, of course, Jack the Ripper...

I could seriously go on. And on. And on.

DiesIrae:

--- Quote from: Shivertongue on May 15, 2010, 07:20:26 PM ---". . .favourite implies admiration, and I do not admire these people; they're horrible and vile excuses for human beings. . ."

--- End quote ---
I couldn't agree more.  We should probably make this point early on: though we are compelled by serial killers, and at times our choice of words may imply admiration, we do not condone their actions and mean no offense.
That being said, I really like reading about Ed Gein and Ted Bundy.  Ed Gein inspired so many fictional serial killers, of course: Norman Bates, Jame Gumb, Leatherface.  Norman Bates is compelling enough on his own; I love knowing the real story behind the fiction. 
And Ted Bundy was kind of a class all his own, if you ask me; his "Dr. Jekyll" persona was so clean-cut and far removed from his "Mr. Hyde."  Who he was during the day was so sexy, and who he became at night was so terrifying in comparison. :o
I must admit I share your fascination with those who remain uncaught, especially Jack the Ripper. I mean, he was on a roll, and he just stopped.  I'm dying to know the story behind that.

ErikHolmes:
If you ask me, they don't get much worse then the Night Stalker:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ramirez

It always amazes me that someone so stupid could murder so many people in such stupid ways before he was caught. I don't know what makes me more upset, the fact that this guy hasn't been put to death yet or the fact that some idiot actually married him after he was captured and convicted.

Silk:

--- Quote from: ErikHolmes on May 16, 2010, 05:47:09 AM ---... or the fact that some idiot actually married him after he was captured and convicted.

--- End quote ---

That seems to happen quite a bit, for some reason. The mind boggles.

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