I introduced my husband to a concept that he has never gotten over. It is the concept of the serial killer. I find their mental illnesses and understanding there thinking paterns very interesting. I was wondering what serial killers might people find of the most interest. Mine is, as many other people, the Zodiac. What sets them off?

Jack the Ripper

my friend's son... seriously he's exhibited lots of signs... I think 5 of the 7 since the age of 6.  I keep waiting to see what happens when he reaches adult hood... he's the only kid who ever scared me...


otherwise Ted Bundy, Richard Ramierez, Kenneth Bianci Green River, Zodiac, John Wayne Gacy, Charles Ng....basically all of them

No worries on that little guy yet. Just watch him closely. I had the tendencies as a child, but grew out of them when I hit adult hood. I would take my sisters Barbie dolls and hang them from the ceiling with nooses and black bags over their heads with their legs and arms tied. My parents swore that is what I was going to be. I did that until about the age of 16. They thought I was really disturbed, I was just expressing myself. Deep inside the recesses of the mind hides everyones serial killer. We just have to find them.

No worries on that little guy yet. Just watch him closely. I had the tendencies as a child, but grew out of them when I hit adult hood. I would take my sisters Barbie dolls and hang them from the ceiling with nooses and black bags over their heads with their legs and arms tied. My parents swore that is what I was going to be. I did that until about the age of 16. They thought I was really disturbed, I was just expressing myself. Deep inside the recesses of the mind hides everyones serial killer. We just have to find them.


the kid threatened to cut off his sister's fingers and shove them up her arse, he tried to impale me with a broom stick after hurling at me like a spear... I said he wanted to kill all cops.... yeah I'm keeping my distance thanks

I can see your concerns for him. I have a cousin that I was watching as a teenager and he came after me with a Vegetable knife and told me he would kill me and laugh at it. He really did not care. That was an interesting situation. He is grown now and is doing alright. As a child of 7 he really had no conscience.

I can see your concerns for him. I have a cousin that I was watching as a teenager and he came after me with a Vegetable knife and told me he would kill me and laugh at it. He really did not care. That was an interesting situation. He is grown now and is doing alright. As a child of 7 he really had no conscience.


my friend his mother had a cut... he said he wanted to see it, she showed him, he squeezed it and laughed at the fact he caused her pain....

also she would bring him to work and he would just stand in the corner and stare at me...creepy!

I would suggest some counseling for the little guy. It is not to late if it is caught early and he is showing some big flags.

unfortunately his mom is in denial and I don't wanna be anywhere near him...also not so little anymore... he's a teen now just been exhibiting this behavior for years..........

Well it usually takes a few other warning signs to make the jump. Is he doing strange things with animals? If so that might be a way to get him help.

Well it usually takes a few other warning signs to make the jump. Is he doing strange things with animals? If so that might be a way to get him help.


nah I'm just gonna be that person on the news that said I told you so after he goes to prison...

Well there are a few warnings that someone is headed there before it actually happens. If he can be caught with one of those. There is hope. I took Crime and Criminology when I was in college in 1996 and was doing well in the course. I loved learning about the serial killers and found it interesting. My instructor use to escort Charlie Manson to his court hearings. I just found it so intriguing to hear about that time of my instructor's life and how Charlie reacted to people.

Getting in on the "Psychos" thread here:

I started a similar thread on the "Ask Me" page, some time ago.

-It is true that she inducted me into the world of serial murderers, and now sometimes, I think she regrets it.  ;)

Concerning the ones that interest me: I find fascination with those who delve into what I call "skin mechanics": This includes things such as cannibalism, skin removal/manipulation, etc.

Consequently, I am intrigued by such infamous killers as Edmund Emil Kemper, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer....those sorts. However, the two who most interest me are Peter Kurten (the "Vampire of Dusseldorf", Germany) and Edward Gein (the "Ghoul of Plainsfield").

Interesting side note: Gein was the 1st serial murderer in America to have the label "serial killer" associated with him. He was also the inspiration for such stories & films as "Psycho", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "Silence Of the Lambs"- along with the "Green River Killer", and Bundy's recruitment to help capture him.

Getting in on the "Psychos" thread here:

I started a similar thread on the "Ask Me" page, some time ago.

-It is true that she inducted me into the world of serial murderers, and now sometimes, I think she regrets it.  ;)

Concerning the ones that interest me: I find fascination with those who delve into what I call "skin mechanics": This includes things such as cannibalism, skin removal/manipulation, etc.

Consequently, I am intrigued by such infamous killers as Edmund Emil Kemper, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer....those sorts. However, the two who most interest me are Peter Kurten (the "Vampire of Dusseldorf", Germany) and Edward Gein (the "Ghoul of Plainsfield").

Interesting side note: Gein was the 1st serial murderer in America to have the label "serial killer" associated with him. He was also the inspiration for such stories & films as "Psycho", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "Silence Of the Lambs"- along with the "Green River Killer", and Bundy's recruitment to help capture him.



I just find their mental make up to be

Getting in on the "Psychos" thread here:

I started a similar thread on the "Ask Me" page, some time ago.

-It is true that she inducted me into the world of serial murderers, and now sometimes, I think she regrets it.  ;)

Concerning the ones that interest me: I find fascination with those who delve into what I call "skin mechanics": This includes things such as cannibalism, skin removal/manipulation, etc.

Consequently, I am intrigued by such infamous killers as Edmund Emil Kemper, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer....those sorts. However, the two who most interest me are Peter Kurten (the "Vampire of Dusseldorf", Germany) and Edward Gein (the "Ghoul of Plainsfield").

Interesting side note: Gein was the 1st serial murderer in America to have the label "serial killer" associated with him. He was also the inspiration for such stories & films as "Psycho", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "Silence Of the Lambs"- along with the "Green River Killer", and Bundy's recruitment to help capture him.


I just find their mental make up to be intriguing. I have often wondered what point of their childhood creates them. Most of them state that their mother is to blame. What about their memories of their mothers sets them off? How do we stop breading them?

Well, in Gein's case, his mother was Puritannical in many ways, according to what is known about her.

She detested weakness, yet shielded him from often brutal beatings at the hands of his father, who was a butcher, by trade.

There was an obvious feeling of safety for him,  which may have led to an Oedipal complex.
Gein simply took his feelings of safety to an unhealthy level, by killing off his own brother, so he wouldn't have to share Mother with him.

Then there is the aspect of the "skin mechanics".
Gein's home was found to contain many items of clothing made from human skins, including:

-A belt made from human nipple skin
-A vest, taken from a skinned female's entire torso
-Lamps and chairs constructed from human spinal columns and leg bones
-Underwear containing female vaginal lips & pubic hair
-Shrunken human's heads, which Gein claimed were sent to him from an "old buddy in the War"

Gein was also a victim of gender dysphoria. He had the yearning to be female, but didn't quite know how to accomplish the transformation. This was prior to sexual re-assignment surgery and such, so it couldn't happen.
The cannibalism aspect is to a great extent still unanswerable.
Gein was a believer in voodoo/reincarnation rituals, and often robbed graves of women who reminded him of his mother.

He also killed women, and obtained their parts, by methods he had witnessed his father use on animals.

My point is what started him into the UNHEALTHY levels? Is there a mutant gene? Is it entirely the raising of the child? That one I am not likely to believe. A lot of people come from disfunctional families and go on to lead normal lives. I think that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain that under the right circumstances through childhood develop into an unusual thinking pattern. Nobody can determine which imbalance it is though. I know many Bipolar individuals that can live normal lives. So where is the imbalance? What is it? How do we prevent it?

That delves into territory that is still largely uncharted.

Most believe it is a combination of chemical imbalance and background/environment.
I know that scientists believe that there is a "killer gene", but they haven't been able to isolate it.

I imagine that when the story of Jekyll & Hyde first came out, that sparked a lot of the same questions.

If it can be determined which chemical is lacking, then the world will have its first piece in an ever-confusing puzzle.
Keep in mind also, that each person is different, each case unique, no matter how many common threads in background, or environment.

That is exactly why I find them sooo intriguing!

The infamous Paul Bernardo is prisoned in my lovely hometown.  Just knowing he is here often is enough to give one the chills

The infamous Paul Bernardo is prisoned in my lovely hometown.  Just knowing he is here often is enough to give one the chills


That is one I am going to have to do a little research on.