50 Most Terrifying and Disturbing Serial Killers

50 Most Terrifying and Disturbing Serial Killers

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be discussing history’s most heinous and troubling serial murderers.

Michael Bear & Suzan Carson

It’s more than a bit morbid, really, to consider the minimum number of victims required for an individual to be considered a serial killer. Michael Bear and Suzan Carson earned this terrible and infamous distinction after they murdered three people over the same number of years, between 1981 and 1983. The pair indoctrinated themselves into the new age movement, living in the Haight-Ashbury area of California and living under self-imposed rules of occult theory and mysticism. Bear and Carson killed their roommate in 1981, while Michael committed a second murder a year later, shooting Clark Stephens. Finally, both Bear and Suzan killed the driver of a car that picked them up while they were hitchhiking near Bakersfield in 1983.

Vlado Taneski

This Macedonian serial killer committed self-destruction before justice could be carried out against the allegations that charged him with at least three murders. Vlado Tanseki was a journalist who actually wrote articles that contained detailed information about these crimes, details that hadn’t been released to the public by authorities. The motives for all three of the attacks seemed to be driven and related to the accidental overdose of Taneski’s mother in 2002. All three of his victims knew his family and shared the same occupation as his mother. They were also violently assaulted prior to being strangled with some manner of cord or wire.

Ahmad Suradji

There was a disturbing, ritualistic methodology to the murders committed by Ahmad Suradji between 1986 and 1997. A mystical quality whereby Suradji believed that, by positioning the remains in a certain way, he could somehow gain metaphysical power by gazing at his victims. Suradji routinely kept the human remains buried in a similar fashion, keeping them in a field near his home. All of them had been women, and all were strangled, with their heads above ground level, facing in the direction of Suradji’s house. The killer believed that he was a sorcerer, and he didn’t have to travel far in search of new victims, since he was visited often by those seeking his aid. Ahmad Suradji was eventually executed by firing squad for his crimes.

Nannie Doss

She was known colloquially as “The Giggling Granny,” a reputation earned by images such as Nannie Doss’ infamous 1954 mugshot. Her story is a sinister one, a tale where that creepy smirk on Doss’ face belies the legacy of her allegedly being responsible for at least eleven murders. Doss’ methodology leans largely into “black widow” stereotypes that still permeate true crime culture today, whereby four of her husbands perished while married to Doss. She also confessed to killing her mother, sister, mother-in-law and grandson, with financial gain often coming up as a motive for her crimes. Meanwhile, Nannie Doss’ final husband, Samuel Doss, died from arsenic poison during his brief, fatal marriage to this Giggling Granny.

William Bonin

The story of serial killer William Bonin was just one that’s been associated with the word “freeway” over the years, with Bonin earning the nicknames of “The Freeway Strangler” and “The Freeway Killer” over the years. Bonin’s early homelife was troubled, while his teenage years didn’t fare much better. Years of trauma and abuse eventually spilled into a killing spree that left Bonin with fourteen convicted homicides, although a potential thirty-six-plus victims have been attributed to his roadside rages. William Bonin was eventually executed by lethal injection, after indulging in a somewhat infamous last meal of three six packs of Coca-Cola, two large pepperoni and sausage pizzas, and three pints of coffee ice cream for dessert.

John Allen Muhammad & John Lee Malvo

We often take our minds back to the 1970s and ‘80s when it comes to history’s most profoundly disturbing serial killers. Yet, the reign of terror overseen by John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, The Beltway Snipers, isn’t something of the faraway past, but a comparatively more recent story from the 21st century. The cold and detached methods by which Muhammad and Malvo took out their victims was clearly terrifying, yet news outlets at the time also picked up on some disturbing calling cards left at the scenes. Items such as the tarot card for death, inscribed with the phrases “Call me God,” “For You, Mr. Police” and “Do not release to the press.”

Richard Speck

The lives and crimes of serial killers have routinely served as inspiration for both television and the silver screen. There’s absolutely nothing glamorous about 1976’s “Born For Hell,” however, a film that loosely adapts the shocking murders of eight Chicago-area student nurses by Richard Speck in 1966. The film, which was also released under the title “Naked Massacre,” captures the troubling depravity that characterized Speck’s life and crimes, a gritty grindhouse affair that ties into Speck’s legacy as one of America’s most morally bankrupt mass murderers. The truth was definitely stranger than fiction here, however, as stories of Speck’s antisocial behavior continued long after his incarceration, to his death in 1991.

Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs

The internet certainly wasn’t meant for situations like this one. The “Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs” is the term used to describe Viktor Sayenko, Igor Suprunyuk and their accomplice Alexander Hanzha. The two former boys routinely committed heinous and violent attacks with a hammer, resulting in twenty-one victims before Sayenko and Suprunyuk were finally apprehended in 2007. What’s even more troubling was how the murder of one of these victims, Sergei Yatzenko, was uploaded to the internet, in graphic detail. Further video evidence also emerged during the trial, including clips of reprehensible and disrespectful visits by Sayenko and Suprunyuk to the burial sites of their victims.

Elizabeth Báthory

Her legend was so fearsome that she was receiving cinematic adaptations as early as 1971. Elizabeth Báthory was her name, a Hungarian noblewoman who is said to have bathed in the blood of young girls and women in order to preserve her youth. Hammer Horror icon Ingrid Pitt famously portrayed a character inspired by Báthory in 1971’s “Countess Dracula,” while metal bands such as Venom and yes, Bathory, have composed songs dedicated to her infamous memory. This is a situation where historians debate how much truth lies within the events that allegedly took place between 1590 and 1610. Was Elizabeth Báthory framed? A victim of a political smear campaign designed to remove her from power? Or was she truly a “Blood Countess?” You decide.

Belle Gunness

Did Belle Gunness escape from her burning home… only to get away with murder? Some historians think so, since the corpse that investigators claimed to be Gunness was headless and differed in physical details to this real life “black widow.” Speculatory evidence connects Gunness to between fourteen and forty victims; some of them children and many of them suffering fatal “accidents” on her property. Belle Gunness also frequently married, only for husband after husband to suffer similar fates while under her care. Gunness, or “Hell’s Belle” as she’s sometimes been called, would then retain an insurance policy and carry on to her next victim.

Alexander Pichushkin

There was a notable gap between the crimes committed by Russia’s Alexander Pichushkin, also known as The Chessboard Killer. This serial murderer was intelligent, despite suffering a childhood injury that allegedly contributed to a brain injury that influenced Pichushkin’s violent and antisocial tendencies. This injury left Pichushkin angry and violent, with chess serving as the killer’s primary outlet for his aggression. This wouldn’t last, however, with Pichushkin’s first murder occurring in 1992. He took a break after that year, and didn’t resume these actions until 2001, with each attack becoming known for Pichushkin’s violent habit of bludgeoning his victims to death.

Ángel Reséndiz

There was only one victim of Ángel Reséndiz’s violent assaults that lived long enough to tell the tale of their encounter with The Railroad Killer. Holly Dawn Pendleton was walking along a set of railroad tracks with her boyfriend, Christopher Maier, when they were attacked by Reséndiz. The killer earned his nickname via his propensity for hitching rides on railcars in order to avoid immigration officials, although Reséndiz also utilized this method of travel in between his attacks. Reséndiz usually sought out victims that were smaller than he was, and he bludgeoned Maier to death before turning his attention to Pendleton. The latter eventually escaped, however, and detailed her harrowing experience to outlets such as The Guardian.

Leonard Lake & Charles Ng

Leonard Lake seemed to know that the end was near for his murder spree, since this serial killer escaped retribution for his crimes by intentionally swallowing cyanide pills upon his arrest in 1985. His accomplice, Charles Ng, was eventually implicated and incriminated via the evidence authorities found after searching Lake’s home. The pair had collaborated on murdering at least eleven victims, with some estimations placing their final total at twenty-five. Lake and Ng utilized a remote cabin to commit many of their murders, while both were also military veterans with varying degrees of trauma after their time in the service. The pair also filmed some of their attacks, leaving gruesome, snuff videotapes in their wake.

Robert Pickton

There’s been a lot of retroactive discussion among true crime enthusiasts when it comes to the failures and shortcomings of police investigations. Personal bias often comes up as a reason why the screams from so many victims of serial killers such as Canada’s Robert Pickton historically go unheard. Pickton’s focus on sex workers plays into the larger narrative of marginalized peoples not being considered as valid reasons for intense investigation, based upon either their occupation or ethnicity. Pickton was convicted of taking six lives, but confessed to nearly fifty. A potential fifty voices that were forever silenced, perhaps needlessly so, due to stunted or hamstrung police work.

Joel Rifkin

Why do so many serial killers focus their malevolent energies upon those working in the sex trade? Is this oldest profession a victim of demonization, or do serial killers such as Joel Rifkin escape the hands of justice due to his victims' relative anonymity? It’s tough to say, but Rifkin intentionally targeted these individuals during his ruthless killing spree. Interestingly, his final victim actually had ties to the punk rock scene, since Tiffani Bresciani’s boyfriend, Dave Rubinstein, was the former singer of the influential group, Reagan Youth. It was through Rubinstein’s direct action in following up Bresciani’s disappearance that allowed for Joel Rifkin to finally be captured.

Richard Chase

The story of Richard Chase sounds like something out of a horror movie. He was dubbed “The Vampire of Sacramento,” due to Chase’s propensity for consuming the blood of his victims. This cannibal killer was also a necrophile who continued to debase the remains of his victims after their demise. Chase’s youth was marked by bouts of antisocial behavior and mental health emergencies, to the point where he was institutionalized in 1973. Meanwhile, the aftermath of his actual murders were gory and beyond disturbing, and Chase’s legacy became forever linked with this disgusting lack of empathy or respect for human life.

Rodney Alcala

It isn’t everyday where pop-culture adjacent footage becomes so infamously connected with a serial killer. Then again, not every serial killer appears on “The Dating Game.” Yet, this is how we seem to best remember Rodney Alcala, the killer with eight confirmed victims and connection to around a hundred-and-thirty other murders back in the late sixties and into the seventies. Alcala often used his experience as a photographer as a means of introducing himself to potential victims, and there remains a startling amount of visual evidence connected to young women that came into contact with Alcala. Haunting expressions of women who looked down the camera lens of Rodney Alcala, remaining forever frozen…and forever young.

Joachim Kroll

The story of Germany’s Joachim Kroll is somewhat similar to that of Richard Chase, in that both displayed cannibalistic and necrophilic tendencies. Kroll’s crimes venture beyond the pale, however, since “The Duisburg Man-Eater” also targeted children. More incredible still is how Joachim Kroll wasn’t even the only serial murderer prowling the Ruhr metropolitan area during the time during which he was active, that being 1955 to 1976. This crowded demographic, alongside police blunders such as accusing multiple, innocent men for Kroll’s crimes, allowed for these killings to continue, unabated. Kroll was finally incarcerated for his bloody, disgusting crimes in 1982, and died in prison less than a decade later.

Gilles de Rais

He’s one of the few historical serial killers who’s also been lauded as a war hero. Gilles de Rais was a former knight, a comrade to Joan of Arc that allegedly targeted young children. It’s also been said that de Rais indulged in necromancy and the occult, seeking out a life of luxury, while selling off land belonging to his family in order to finance an extravagant lifestyle. Still the story of Gilles de Rais is similar to that of Elizabeth Báthory, in that many historians today question how much local rumor had to do with his infamous reputation. Still, de Rais DID confess at his trial to killing over a hundred children, a crime for which Gilles de Rais was hanged and burned.

Albert DeSalvo

The further we’re removed from shocking and sensationalized crimes such as those of the Boston Strangler, the more faint and distant stories of the victims also become. It’s perhaps unfair that we fetishize men like Albert DeSalvo and others of his ilk, serial killers with grotesque calling cards, such as DeSalvo’s discarded stockings or greeting cards left at the scene. Yet, the story of the Boston Strangler isn’t only that of Mary Sullivan, or Mary Mullen, or Mary Ann Brown. It’s for everyone left behind after the Strangler’s ruthless crimes, including alleged accomplices that some historians think aided DeSalvo during this era. It’s of the utmost importance that we don’t forget how the victims should be remembered, and these killers remain buried and forgotten.

Karla Homolka & Paul Bernardo

It isn’t often that the aftermath of a case becomes more infamous than the crimes themselves. In Canada in the early 1990s, couple Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka committed a series of sexual assaults and murders against young girls – including the latter’s younger sister. They recorded themselves committing lurid acts against their victims before killing them – evidence that was instrumental in their capture. The two had conflicting recollections of the misdeeds, with each partner attempting to downplay their own involvement. Bernardo received a life sentence for the slaughters and his involvement in previous cases. Holmolka managed to secure a plea bargain after claiming manipulation – and while it allowed her to be released in 2005, it also branded her as a permanent enemy of the public.

Luis Gavarito

Although he’s one of the deadliest killers to come out of South America, he’s still relatively unknown. Often referred to as La Bestia, Colombian Luis Gavarito was found to have been guilty of the violent assault and murder of almost two hundred children throughout the 1990s. His horrific crimes spanned across multiple countries and methods, with many being purely sexual in nature. The extent of his vile behavior – which often included mutilation and dismemberment – led to an initial sentence of more than 1,800 years, but it was eventually reduced to 22 years. His lenient punishment ultimately led to the maximum sentence being extended in Colombia. And although he could’ve been eligible for parole in 2023, he died before that happened.

Ian Brady & Myra Hindley

Although their butchery took place sixty years ago, they’re still considered some of the worst people to come out of the United Kingdom. Working as a unit, they took the lives of several children while attempting to commit what they referred to as the perfect murder. The attacks were sexual and violent in nature, with some victims being subjected to intense humiliation before their deaths. After they were captured in 1965, Hindley insisted upon her innocence for years – all while being branded as one of the most evil women in the country. She in particular ended up becoming a notorious figure – and even her own mother advocated that she stay in prison.

Lawrence Bittaker & Roy Norris

Though their crimes spanned only five months, the evidence they left behind will send chills down anyone’s spine. Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris – known as the Toolbox Killers – targeted several teenage girls in California during their short-lived spree in 1979. They were known for the array of devices they used, from ice picks to hammers – and for recording the torture they inflicted. They were meticulous in their plans, even innocently picking up hitchhikers for months beforehand to practice for the real thing. After their arrest, their recordings were played in court– causing several people to walk out in horror. Although Norris claimed that Bittaker was the true mastermind, he still found enjoyment in their sexual torture– making his supposed remorse practically meaningless.

Peter Sutcliffe

It should come as no surprise that someone compared to the likes of Jack the Ripper would make this list. Yorkshire’s Peter Sutcliffe attacked and murdered over a dozen women, often in extremely violent and degrading ways. He claimed to have been following the orders of a higher power during his spree, even referring to his victims as filth and implying that their fates were deserved. He took advantage of flaws within the police system, allowing him to evade capture despite having been questioned several times. This gave him the opportunity to take even more lives. After he was finally arrested and sentenced, he was assaulted multiple times – giving him a small taste of the violence he inflicted upon his victims.

David Berkowitz

One man had the entirety of New York City looking over their shoulders. While his methods weren’t as intricate as others’, David Berkowitz was still able to take the lives of six people in the 1970s. He even mocked the police with letters as they struggled to identify him. This led to his nickname – the Son of Sam – being popularized in the media, adding to his notoriety. When he was finally apprehended in 1977, he showed no emotion, and in fact, seemed annoyed that he’d been found out. In recent years, he has claimed to be reformed. Despite that, many rightfully can’t see anything other than the killer he once was.

Aileen Wuornos

In just one year, she killed seven people in Florida. Beginning in 1989, sex worker Aileen Wuornos used her profession as a way of meeting – and choosing – her victims. While she claimed that each man had attacked her first, her constantly-shifting narratives and the sheer number of bullet wounds in each body suggested otherwise. Even after being sentenced to death row, she never showed any remorse for her crimes – and even doubled down on her own sanity being fully intact during the murders. Her anger lasted throughout her tenure in prison and up until her final moments, when she swore to return after her own demise. Her motives and acts still inspire debate today.

Dennis Nilsen

From the outside, his homes look unassuming – obscuring the unfathomable acts that took place within them. Dennis Nilsen would use his two London residences to lure his victims in before striking. He took the lives of at least twelve males via strangulation or drowning, but he didn’t stop there. He kept the bodies in his homes for weeks, changing their outfits and living beside them. It wasn’t until they decayed that he would dismember and dispose of them. He got away with it for years, until his plumbing became so clogged by remains that they were discovered. After hearing the evidence, it only took the jury a day to reach their verdict, leading to him spending his days behind bars until his death in 2018.

Richard Ramirez

His violent acts would make even the bravest person feel sick. Beginning in 1984, the man known as the Night Stalker went on a reign of pure terror in California. Using a wide variety of methods from live wires to guns, he would put his victims through intense pain before taking their lives. What made his crimes even more horrifying was the arbitrary aspect to them, as he would choose what houses to break into at random. He even forced multiple people to swear on Satan, adding another sickening layer to his abhorrent acts. After he was finally convicted on over forty different charges in 1989, he was set to be executed – but ended up passing away before he could face the ultimate consequence.

Gary Ridgway

One of the most prolific killers in the country is still alive to this day. Known simply as the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway took the lives of at least four dozen women throughout the 1980s and 90s. His violent streak began as a child, and only continued to spiral well into adulthood. He strangled each victim– but the evil didn’t stop there. He would even return to some of the corpses after the act and abuse them in death. It wasn’t until 2001 that he was finally caught and sentenced – where a plea deal saved him from being executed. With his victims still being identified as recently as 2024, the full extent of his violence may never be fully revealed.

Dennis Rader

Having named himself BTK after his modus operandi, for twenty years Rader was a massive thorn in the side of the police in Kansas. Like the infamous Jack the Ripper, he sent mocking letters to the cops and media. But in person, Rader seemed nice. He had a loving family and was president of his local church congregation. His first victim was the Otero family in 1974, and his tenth and last victim was Dolores Davis in 1991. Then he dropped off the map. But in 2004, he began taunting them once again. However, he got sloppy with a floppy disk, and it was traced to his church. In 2005, Rader pleaded guilty and got ten consecutive life sentences.

Robert Hansen

As a teenager, Robert Hansen would take part in hunting to escape his rough home life. But, as he got older, his victims went from animals to human beings. He would abduct women, often sex workers, and assault them before driving or flying them out to the wilderness. Here was where he would hunt them down like prey, toying with their lives. Nicknamed the “Butcher Baker” by the media, Hansen was confirmed to have assaulted and killed at least seventeen women. In 1983, a teenage sex worker named Cindy Paulson was set to be on that list. However, she managed to escape when he was stocking his plane and alerted the authorities who would arrest him. He received a sentence of 461 years and died in prison after serving thirty-one years.

Israel Keyes

What’s most terrifying for the police and the public is a killer with no M.O. But, to make things worse, how about one who was also trained by the U.S Army? This was the case of Israel Keyes. Across the country, Keyes had set up “kill kits,” which gave him access to equipment wherever he decided to attack someone. After he killed eighteen-year-old Samantha Koenig, the FBI was able to track his bank account use and make an arrest following the demand for a ransom. Once he was in custody, however, it was discovered that Keyes was responsible for the murder of multiple victims. Before he faced trial in 2012, Keyes took his own life, and took with him information that might have been used to solve other cases.

Marcel Petiot

With France under German occupation in the 1940s, Marcel Petiot, a doctor, preyed on those attempting to escape persecution. Later claiming he was working for the resistance, even though there was no evidence, Petiot set up a fake escape route under the name “Dr. Eugène.” He gave those running a fake vaccine that contained cyanide before stealing their valuables and disposing of their bodies. Twenty-three remains were discovered, but Petiot’s lifetime victim count is suspected to be as high as sixty, if not higher. In 1946, Petiot was executed by guillotine, which was still the country’s method of capital punishment at the time.

Karl Denke

Born in modern-day Poland in 1860, Karl Denke appeared to be a beloved member of his community. After all, they had nicknamed him “Papa” as he let homeless people live in his house for free and volunteered at his local church for a time. But away from prying eyes, he held a very dark secret. In 1924, a badly injured Vincenz Olivier alerted townsfolk that he was attacked by Denke. While the authorities didn’t believe him, they later arrested their stand-up citizen as they investigated. Shortly after, Denke took his own life. The police then found human remains of at least thirty people in his house, some of which were made into items. There’s also speculation Denke sold the remains to unsuspecting locals.

Joseph James DeAngelo

Police officers are meant to be honorable and find justice for victims, not cause a wake of destruction like Joseph James DeAngelo. In 1976, he began his spree of assaults and burglaries in Sacramento, California. In the space of three years, he had committed fifty attacks. By 1978, DeAngelo progressed by slaying Brian and Katie Maggiore. He morphed into the “Original Night Stalker” and later the “Golden State Killer” before the crimes stopped in 1986. Then, in 2018, the police used genetic genealogy from the DNA found at DeAngelo’s crimes to trace it back to him. In 2020, amongst several charges, he pled guilty to thirteen murders as part of a deal to avoid capital punishment and got a life sentence.

Dean Corll

After leaving the army in 1965, Dean Corll returned to Houston, Texas to work in the family candy business. He was known to hand out free treats to children, earning him the nickname the “Candy Man.” Shortly after, he began a relationship with the underage David Owen Brooks. When Corll began his killing spree in 1970, Brooks helped him select victims. Corll then got Elmer Wayne Henley involved, too. In 1973, after slaying twenty-eight people, Corll decided to take out Henley, along with two other victims. The teenager managed to convince Corll he was on his side. But when the opportunity arose, Henley fatally shot his former mentor. Both Brooks and Henley received multiple life sentences.

David Parker Ray

Sometimes, killers go that extra, terrifying mile with their modus operandi. David Parker Ray modified a trailer that would be labeled his “toy box.” The trailer was soundproofed and filled with instruments for his violence. He would abduct women, abuse them for months in the trailer, and presumably, eventually end their lives, sometimes with accomplices, one of them being his girlfriend, Cynthia Hendy. In 1999, a woman managed to escape the “toy box” after three days and get help from a neighbor. The police immediately arrested Ray and Hendy. On a plea deal, Ray was sentenced to 224 years in jail, while Hendy, who testified against her former partner, got thirty-six years. It’s unknown how many women Ray killed, but some estimates are upwards of sixty.

Edmund Kemper

At six-foot-nine, Edmund Kemper was an intimidating figure. But with his gentle demeanor, he seemed harmless. However, as a teenager in 1964, he fatally shot his grandparents. Five years later, he was released from a psychiatric hospital and went to live with his abusive mother, Clarnell Strandberg. By 1972, Kemper began driving around Santa Cruz, California, picking up young women who were hitchhiking. He would act impatiently, which enticed them inside the vehicle since they believed he was too busy to be an attacker. But he was. This MO earned him the nickname the “Co-Ed Killer.” In 1973, he brutally killed his mother and her friend before handing himself to the police. With ten victims altogether, Kemper received a life sentence.

Andrei Chikatilo

Having grown up in difficult circumstances in rural Ukraine under USSR rule, something broke in Andrei Chikatilo. But to the outside world, all seemed okay. He had a wife, two kids, and began working as a schoolteacher in 1971. But not long after getting the job, Chikatilo began assaulting pupils. By 1978, he moved on to killing, with his wife providing him an alibi. Using jobs that required traveling as a cover, by 1990, Chikatilo claimed to have slain fifty-six people, mostly in the Rostov Oblast, earning him the moniker of the “Butcher of Rostov.” After being arrested and later confessing to his tirade of crimes, Chikatilo was held in a cage in court. He was found guilty and executed in 1994.

Ted Bundy

In the 1970s, many women came to the aid of a man, often appearing injured, who needed help in one form or another. With his good looks and charisma, this mystery guy seemed genuine. Instead, he was one of the most infamous killers in history as he forced his victims into his car. Ted Bundy escaped capture multiple times, continuing his grim spree as he did. But by 1980, he faced court for the final time. Bundy had confessed to slaying thirty women and teenagers across multiple states in the US. However, there’s speculation that the true figure could be over 100. For the third and final time in his life, Bundy was sentenced to capital punishment, which took place in 1989.

Ed Gein

Serving as inspiration for several horror movie villains, such as Buffalo Bill in “The Silence of the Lambs” and Leatherface in “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” Ed Gein was a disturbing killer. He was raised by an abusive mother that taught him that women were evil. In 1957, one Bernice Worden vanished in Wisconsin. Following a lead, the police arrived at Gein’s isolated house and discovered a terrible scene. On top of Worden’s body, they found a catalog of items made from human remains. Altogether, there were pieces made from around forty people. Gein claimed he grave-robbed most of the remains. In 1968, he was deemed fit to stand trial and was found guilty of Worden’s slaying. Gein spent his remaining years in psychiatric hospitals.

John Wayne Gacy

One pretty common phobia is clowns. And the case of John Wayne Gacy certainly didn’t help ease any of those fears. Gacy regularly performed in a clown persona at parties and events; but, behind the scenes, he was a rampant killer of boys and men. In 1978, after suspecting the police were onto him, a paranoid Gacy would confess his crimes to his lawyers. The police had what they needed to search his house, where they would find several remains in his crawl space. He was charged with the assassination of thirty-three young men and would spend fourteen years on death row before being executed by lethal injection.

Fred & Rosemary West

Occasionally, serial killers come in pairs. While Fred had murdered in the past before meeting Rosemary Letts, Rose’s first victim was, purportedly, Fred’s stepdaughter. The two then went on a rampage, assaulting and killing nine other people together, including West’s first wife Catherine Costello and their daughter Heather West. Many of the bodies were buried on their properties. After investigating assault charges against the couple, the police found evidence of the violence. Although officially charged with twelve killings altogether, that number is estimated to be higher. In 1995, before his trial, West took his own life and Letts was sentenced to life in prison.

Jeffrey Dahmer

From his late teens, Jeffrey Dahmer began a horrific killing spree. His victims were all men or boys, and many of his later crimes involved unspeakable acts to the bodies. In 1991, Dahmer enticed Tracy Edwards back to his apartment with the promise of beer and payment for photographs. However, Edwards realized something was wrong and managed to escape. After he flagged down police officers, Dahmer’s apartment was investigated and grim evidence was found, leading to Dahmer’s arrest. He was convicted of fifteen murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, in 1994, he was fatally attacked by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver.

Albert Fish

Nearly 100 years ago, New York had a killer on the loose nicknamed many things including “The Gray Man” and even “The Boogey Man.” (Honestly, it’s not too far off.) Albert Fish was a disturbed individual who targeted children. While we can’t exactly list off his crimes toward them, just know they’re terrible. To make things even more disturbing, the unhinged Fish sent the mother of one of his victims a letter describing what he did. Ten years after Fish began his acts, he was captured in 1934 after witnesses claimed to have seen him with the missing children. Fish would admit to the murders, but would also claim he had over 100 victims. At his trial the following year, he was sentenced to execution, which was carried out in 1936.

H.H. Holmes

Thought of as one of the US’s first serial killers, Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H. H. Holmes, dabbled in fraud in his early years to earn cash. Then, he constructed what would be nicknamed the “Murder Castle” in Chicago, Illinois. It contained secret passageways and trap doors that allowed Holmes to slay privately and dispose of the evidence in the basement’s furnace. He would usually entice women into the building and later opened it up like a hotel. In 1894, Holmes was arrested for a different crime before his killing was discovered. He confessed to twenty-seven victims, but loftier speculations have the number over 200. In 1896, Holmes was executed for his grim crimes.

Samuel Little

In 2019, the FBI confirmed that they’d identified Samuel Little as the most prolific serial killer in US history. After being convicted for slaying three people in 2014, the unsettling extent of his crimes began to leak out over the next few years. By 2018, Little had confessed to killing ninety-three women across the country. Little provided the FBI with details on many of the cases from 1970 to 2005 and even drew the victims from memory to prove he was telling the truth. Before he passed away in 2020, more than sixty of Little’s confessions across at least fourteen states had been confirmed by the authorities.

Harold Shipman

Doctors are meant to be people we all trust. This makes the case of Harold Shipman especially chilling. He was a general practitioner in England who took people under his care only to end their lives. In 1998, one of his patients suddenly passed away, and a will – one that the family knew nothing about – gifted a lot of cash to Shipman. Police investigated the doctor and found evidence of forgery. Upon further examination, they found that many of his patients seemed to pass from overdoses of diamorphine. In 1999, Shipman was charged with the murder of fifteen patients, many of whom were older women. He was sentenced to life in prison and, in the aftermath, there were thought to be as many as 250 victims.

Pedro López

What’s worse than a serial killer? Well, how about a known one authorities can’t currently locate? Born in Colombia, Pedro López was a serial murderer across South America and was nicknamed “The Monster of the Andes.” In 1980, after attempting to abduct someone, López was arrested in Ecuador. He was soon charged with 110 homicides; however, López reportedly confessed that his victims could total more than 300. In 2006, the Guinness World Records actually named him the “most prolific serial killer” before it was taken down in bad taste. Unfortunately, López was released for “good behavior” in 1998 and was declared sane. But, as of 2002, after being linked to another murder, his whereabouts are unknown.

What do you think obsessed us about true crime? Are we bad people for harboring this fascination with the bleak and morbid? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.