Table of Contents
Abstract
In this research paper I will display informative research on the mind and history of serial killers. I will divide information on different parts of the essay and answer questions about the killers. I will explain results recieved from a survey that was personally made and answered by local respondants. I will also provide information about famous serial killers and their past alongside with the category of killers. All the information was gathered to liable resources which are cited at the end.
Serial Killers
The existence of serial killers globally has been a highly impacted situation because over a 25-year period there has been nearly 3,000 US serial killers and more than 10,000 killing by serial killers. I will display facts along side with information to show the reasons why serial killers murder people and why the population is greatly affected by this predicament. Furthermore, I will present evidence that will prove how psychologist know that a serial killer is a vile person due to the way they were raised and other psychological reasons.
Many of the most gruesome acts of violence are committed by serial killers, they are always trying to look for their next victim. Serial killers are the most terrified humans because they do not show any emotion, empathy, or remorse, while serial killers are very well known today, Serial killer can be hiding behind the smiles of your neighbors, co-workers, and could be the most unforeseen person you would think as a serial killer. This group is covered into a different variety of categories ranging from they killed a person, whether it was premeditated murder or an unplanned murder. Although, no two serial killers are alike, they all can fit about the same description.
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What is a Serial Killer?
The definition of a serial killer is traditionally noted as a person murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological indulgence, with the murder taking place over more than a month. The murders are usually performed in a unique fashion and the killer has a signature that they are often known for. In fact, serial killers are often compared to mass murderers; however, serial killers do not typically follow the mass murderer format where there are no breaks in between the murders. Serial killers tend to have characteristics that highlight the fact that they are murderers. (Ultius, 2019)
Unique Killers
Killers like “The Son of Sam” are unique because he started off by making fires in buildings, studies show that nearly 1500 fires were made by the killer. Before his shootings he first attempted to kill someone, on Christmas eve 1975 about 6 months before his mass shooting Sam attempted to sneak up on a lady in a parking lot and started to stab her, but during this altercation Sam recognized that his knife did not penetrate the lady’s thick jacket, which lead him to freak out and run. In the course of his run he ran into a 15 year old girl Michelle Foreman who he stabbed countless amount of times, she was hospitalized and doctors found nearly 6 stab wounds in the head and in the body. When Sam was questioned by police he described the way he murdered her, “I stabbed her, she looked at me. I stabbed her again. It was terrible. I never heard anyone scream like that. The way she screamed constantly, I kept stabbing, and nothing would happen. She kept fighting harder and screaming more”.
Do homocides affect families in a big manor?
Killings around the world are affecting families and friends leaving them to live life without their loved ones and providing an unfilled gap of emotion. Families that are affected by traumatic homicides experience several physical and emotional symptoms and are lead to a shift in their personal lives. (NCADP-Rachel’s Fund-September, 2010) While experiencing post homicidal recurrences the family and friends of the victim may experience the following physical symptoms which consist of: physical shock, numbness, disorientation, increased adrenaline, heart palpitations, nausea, vomiting, sweating and hyperventilation, hyper alertness, panic attacks, difficult breathing, tightness of chest, and constant crying or the inability to cry.
Following through the path of harsh physical symptoms the victims loved ones may also experience emotional symptoms such as: recurrent nightmares about the actual murder, rage toward the person responsible, anger toward the victim for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, depression and helplessness or powerlessness, hatred toward God, loneliness and isolation. All these symptoms affect the person’s psychological health causing them to change their lifestyle in order to avoid past memories which may lead into emotional downfalls. Studies show mental inflammation in the hippocampus lobe which leads to the death of brain cells (Sarah Wilson, PhD- October, 2018).
Killers and Psychology
Following up the brain studies on the lobe affected by depression, studies have been done on the brain of serial killers which play a big role in comparison between them and a normal subject. (Dr.Fallon, 2009) Dr.Fallon studied killers brains for thirty-five years and found a similar pattern within each of their minds which plays a big part in the psychological influence of a murderer’s mind. The similarity carried on is the malfunction of the orbitofrontal cortex and the temporal cortex which are the the frontal lobe of the brain and affect the moral part of their decision making which distinguishes what is right and wrong. Another flaw that is commonly carried is also the fact that these serial killers have a gene named MOAO which is connected to the X chromosome that is provided by the mother found in males, explaining why most serial killers are males.
MOAO also affects the brain by overly producing serotonin which serves the purpose to calm the brain but since it is overly produced the brain creates a tolerance from the hormone causing it to be immune and enhances anger, stress, and anxiety. Aside from the anatomical and physiological influence that plays a huge role in serial killing, Dr.Fallon states that most serial killers also experience a traumatic experience when young which leaves a huge impact and hole within the killer’s conscience. These types of influential events consist of intense violence, some kind of murder or beating, and experiencing other crimes all in person or directly to that person.
What king of serial killers are there?
Most serial killers are categorized into three categories which are the most popular according to records. These distinct categories describe an inside perspective to what might be going through a killers mind and how they may carry on their bloody doings. The easiest serial killer to catch is categorized as the disorganized serial killer which rarely has any kind of set plan and baits on random subjects and then flees into other destinations such as other cities or states and continues their trail along the way. The medical serial killer is an educated murderer that employed in the medical field as either a doctor, nurse, or anyone else who interacts with patients, kills them and then lets the death fall onto some kind of natural death to hide the crime.
This kind of serial killer is difficult to catch not just because of their trustworthy reputation but because of their skillful camouflage within the community. The final category and hardest to catch serial killer is said to be the organized serial killer. This serial killer is a highly educated and well organized individual who studies their victims and elaborates a set plan with techniques leaving no trail of evidence allowing them to increase their body count with stealth and pride for the elaborative and appreciative work that they call art. Once the killers are categorized into these three categories they are then labeled as the type of killer they are falling into three distinct types of serial killing.
The power and control serial killer experiences sexual gratification from domination and humiliation of the victim which portrays a true sociopathic mind and follows a set of personal rules and guidelines. The visionary is a killer that is compelled by visions and voices and are considered psychotic due to these influences telling them to kill certain types of people. The mission killer which is considered to be the most humane due to their feel of need to kill a certain type of people or class based on their status, racial categorization, or religious status.
The hedonistic being the final type of killer is a person who makes a strong connection with the violence and sexual gratitude within their work which allows them to take pleasure from the homicide and has eroticized the experience. They usually kill their victim slowly and take their time to torture and mutilate their victim to increase their overall satisfaction. This type of killer is generally used for entertainment such as movies or shows.
How does the public act to this situation?
(The Atlantic, 2012) A display of actual acts of violence are reflected within certain individuals in society due to media exposure with damp and revealing experiences. The doubled sided issue about media released information has been an ongoing issue due to hiding information from the public and releasing it as well. Officials state that certain stories about suicides and homicides should not be released due to the public trying to mirror or copy the act of violence presented. The influence from these acts of violence were considered contagious and increased criminal rates and targeted the youth which impacted them the most leading to the decision to keep the violence under the radar and away from the possession of the public.
Countering opinions stated that information should be released because the people deserve the truth and that nothing should be kept from them in the corrupted world allowing all bits of information to be released with descriptive detail which can be harsh and dangerous psychologically and emotionally. An example of what the release of this viral information can do would be compared to the mass shootings that were occuring. The reports that were released through the news and social media brought out “copy cats” which increased the amount of shootings and threats putting the general public in danger which was the opposite outcome that the authorities were trying to pursue.
Are all serial killers the same?
The orignality of the most common serial killers come from their distinctive style of homocide and their excrutiating past. Ted Bundy was an intelligent young man with a long juvenile record for theft and grew a reputation for sexually stalking people which then grew to homocide. Albert Fish, a random man who claimed that he lived on a farm with his six children. He offered an 18 year old kid with a job oppurtunity at his farm and ended up killing his sister, along with various children after. His technique was his friendly and trustworthy personality which allowed him to draw in people before his kills.
Philip Markoff, The craigslist killer, he was a scholar in medical school and nded up gambling and orderig women who specialized women who specialized in erotic work and never really finished their jobs cause of their disappearence. How are all these psychologically insane serial killers the same? All these men were geniuses. Intellegent scholars that were planned to thrive in life, but that is what made them the perfect killers. Their intelligence was crucial to their planned homocides which were orchestrated perfectly.
According to a survey that was created by me I collected a series of results given from twenty-eight respondants. 92.1% off the respondants on the survey were female and 7.9% were male. 84.62% were single / never married, 11.54% said they were married or were part of a domestic relationship, 3.85% stated that they were widowed. 92.31% were hispanic, and 7.69% were white, 100% of the respondants were of the age 18-24 years of age and 80.77% were high school graduates leaving 19.23% that did not have a high school diploma. 78.57% said that serial killers are made and 21.43% said they were born as serial killers. 17.87% of the respondants claimed that serial killers kill due toa harshly influenced past, 10.71% said that had nothing to do with my they kill, and 71.43% partially blamed the past. 42.86% answered that it is vital to know whether a serial killer is born or made, 35.71% said not really and 21.43% said it depends. 85.71% of the people who took the survey claimed that they have heard or read of a female serial killer while 28.29% said otherwise.
Conclusion
In conclusion, serial killers are an interesting group of people who are psychologically challenged not just by their past but by their morality and choice in actions. We stated whether a serial killer is born or made and how this specific group of peole are so unique to our community. They give the public fear for the truth and makes them untrusting for their violence is malicious and brutal.
References
- https://www.ted.com/talks/jim_fallon_exploring_the_mind_of_a_killer?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
- https://www.ted.com/talks/jim_fallon_exploring_the_mind_of_a_killer?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201706/how-the-news-media-make-monsters%3famp
- https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/types-of-serial-killers/
- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.seeker.com/amphtml/serial-killers-shaped-by-society-study-claims-1764728754.html
- https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ppxm88/how-the-media-encourages-copycat-killers-1105
