Serial killers, psychopaths etc

[pennydreadful]

Originally Posted by Prowler

What I find it odd is how people are usually quick to point the weirdest person in the room to be a future murderer or rapist, and then when you watch journalists on tv interviewing the neighbors and friends of a murderer or a rapist all of them say "I never expected this. He was such a nice guy. A great father and husband who got along with everyone!"

Originally Posted by FoxBoxKid

Yeah, sociopaths are good at faking emotion.

This - people like Bundy and Gacy were well-thought of by their peers and community because sociopaths are known for having a great deal of charm (albeit at a glib, superficial level).

On the other hand, you've got Dahmer, who was not particularly socially functional and was very quiet and withdrawn.

What's fascinating about serial killers is that there are so many different sub-categories. Some of them are highly organized - like Gacy or Ivan Milat; they're methodical in planning out their hunt, choosing a victim, the body disposal etc. Then you've got the disorganized serial killers like Richard Ramirez or Ottis Toole, where there's minimal planning, victims are chosen at random and there's little effort made to cover up the crime. Disorganized serial killers tend to differ significantly from organized serial killers in that they have lower IQs and are obviously antisocial (for example, poor hygiene and scruffy appearance, unemployed, minimal effort made to fake normal human emotions etc).

Both disorganized and disorganized types are antisocial and psychopathic, but the psychology and behaviors displayed by the two generally have significant differences.

Not only that but then you have the additional sub-categories where there's further ground for psychological exploration; you've got your necrophiles, 'angel of death'/medical killer types, sexual sadist/torture-murderers, cannibalistic murderers, black widows...

There's this myth that serial killers are all these reclusive, dysfunctional losers, and generally, they aren't - they look just like us, they hide among us. In a way, they're the ultimate bogeyman because they're the real thing.