Serial killer

Serial killers are individuals who, on multiple occasions spread out through time, murder victims who are generally unknown to them beforehand. Their crimes are committed as a result of a compulsion that, in many but not all cases, has roots in the killer's (often dysfunctional) youth, as opposed to those who are motivated by financial gain (e.g., contract killers) or ideological/political motivations (e.g., terrorists). Many times, this compulsion is linked to the individual's sexual drive.

Serial killers in popular culture

Because of the horrific nature of their crimes, their highly varied personalities and profiles, and their terrifying ability to evade detection and kill many victims before finally being captured and imprisoned, serial killers have quickly become something of a cult favorite, and have been featured in many novels, movies, songs, comic books, true crime works, video games and other media.

Related Topics:
Cult favorite - Novel - Movie - Song - Comic book - True crime - Video game

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The public's fascination with serial killers led to some successful crime novels and films about fictional serial killers, including: Helen Zahavi's novel Dirty Weekend; Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho; Caleb Carr's The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness and especially Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs and its Academy Award-winning movie adaptation, whose main antagonist, the brilliant cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter, is a cultural icon.

Related Topics:
Crime novels - Fictional serial killers - Dirty Weekend - Bret Easton Ellis - American Psycho - Caleb Carr - The Alienist - The Angel of Darkness - Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs - Academy Award - Antagonist - Cannibalistic - Hannibal Lecter

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