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 murder before 1900

See also List of serial killers before 1900

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Although the phenomenon of serial murder is generally regarded as a modern one, it can be traced back in history, albeit with a limited degree of accuracy.

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In the 15th century, one of the wealthiest men in France, Gille de Rais, is said to have abducted, raped and murdered at least a hundred young boys. The Hungarian aristocrat Elizabeth Báthory was arrested in 1610 and subsequently charged with torturing and butchering as many as 600 young girls. Although both De Rais and Báthory were reportedly sadistic and addicted to murder, they differ from typical modern-day serial killers in that they were both rich and powerful. Based upon the lack of established police forces and active news media during those centuries, it may very well be that there were plenty of other serial killers at that time who were either not identified or not publicized as well.

Related Topics:
15th century - France - Gille de Rais - Hungarian - Aristocrat - Elizabeth Báthory - 1610

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Between 1790 and 1830 Thug Behram allegedly took part in the murder of 931 people by strangulation, later confessing to have personally strangled 125 of this total. He committed these killings as a member of the Thuggee cult, to which between 50,000 and 2,000,000 deaths in India are attributed. The cult's activities prompted a campaign against them by the British authorities in India. As a result of misinterpretation of the original manuscript sources, Behram is often considered to be the most prolific serial killer in history, yet this could be questioned not merely because the number he confessed to personally strangling was far lower than the 931 he is often stated to have killed, but also depending on the precise definition of serial killer, a definition which takes into account not simply numbers killed, but the manner in which they were killed and the killer's motive (see below).

Related Topics:
1790 - 1830 - Thug Behram - Strangulation - Thuggee - Cult - India - British

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Some historical criminologists have suggested that there may have been serial murders throughout history, but specific cases were not adequately recorded. It may even be the case that mythological beasts such as werewolves and vampires were inspired by medieval serial killers. After all, a werewolf is said to be a normal person who is occasionally overtaken by an animalistic urge to kill people savagely, and such a myth may have made an adequate explanation for cases of serial murder when the concept of psychology was several centuries away from being defined and studied. The idea of historical serial killers motivating the concept of such myths, however, is little more than speculation, although perhaps significantly there are a number of killers who were obsessed with blood and often even drank that of their victims.

Related Topics:
Werewolves - Vampires - Medieval - Psychology

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In his famous 1886 book Psychopathia Sexualis, Richard von Krafft-Ebing notes a case of serial murder in the 1870s, that of an Italian man named Eusebius Pieydagnelle who had a sexual obsession with blood and confessed to murdering six people. The unidentified Jack the Ripper killer slaughtered prostitutes in London in 1888. Those crimes gained enormous press attention at the time because, although there were plenty of murders in Victorian Britain motivated by robbery and theft, it was almost unheard of for someone to kill people simply for pleasure. London was also the center of the world's greatest superpower at the time, so having such dramatic murders of financially destitute women in the midst of such wealth focused the news media's attention on the plight of the urban poor and gained coverage worldwide. Joseph Vacher was executed in France in 1898 after confessing to killing and mutilating 11 women and children, while American serial killer H. H. Holmes was hanged in Philadelphia in 1896 after confessing to 28 murders.

Related Topics:
1886 - Psychopathia Sexualis - Richard von Krafft-Ebing - 1870s - Italian - Jack the Ripper - London - 1888 - Victorian - Britain - Superpower - Joseph Vacher - France - 1898 - H. H. Holmes - Philadelphia - 1896

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