List of Famous Serial Killers

A serial killer is defined as a person who kills several people one after the other, seemingly in a random fashion. However, all the killer's victims share a common trait - usually they have activated some psychological trigger in the killer's mind, or they have similar physical appearances. The modus operandi or the method of killing all the victims is same.

Many serial killers are found to have come from a dysfunctional family. Often they may suffer from complex emotions such as feeling of inadequacy or worthlessness. Some of them kill compulsively due to power or sexual urges. Most of these serial killers have a rich imaginary life where they are superior and powerful, women are attracted to them and they are successful people.

Here is a list of famous serial killers of all time: Male

Jack, the Ripper: Responsible for murders of prostitutes from the Whitechapel Area of London in 1888, Jack, the Ripper's identity is yet unknown. However, he is one of the most famous serial killers in history. His victims were prostitutes who were brutally murdered. Some of their internal organs were also surgically removed by the killer.

Ed Gein: He was a famous serial killer and proved to be an inspiration for Thomas Harris for creating the infamous character of Buffalo Bill in the movie, "The Silence of the Lambs". Ed Gein would skin his victims, exhume corpses and then decorate his home with parts of their bodies. He would also use human skin to make clothes and furniture items. He died on the 26th of July, 1984 in a mental institution.

The Zodiac Killer: He was responsible for five known murders in North California in the 1960s. His identity remains unknown till date. He would target men and women between the ages of 16 and 29, and would leave a taunting sign of a crosshair like symbol in subsequent letters to the Police Department. A few of his cryptic messages are still not decoded.

Charles Manson: This serial killer had redefined evil. He was the leader of a hippie cult in San Francisco known as "The Family" formed around 1967. Members were mostly men and women who were rebelling against their parents and were in deep emotional trouble. He used drugs and convinced them to go on killing rampages to rob the wealthy to provide for "The Family". They would then write taunting messages soaked in the blood of the victims on the walls of their house.

Ted Bundy: One of the most notorious serial killers in history, he was responsible for the rape and murder of as many as 35+ women between 1974 and 1978. An educated and charming young man, he either raped and then killed the women, or killed and then raped them. His method of killing was either by strangulation or by bludgeoning the victim. He was arrested on the 16th of August, 1975, but escaped within 17 hours of his capture. He was subsequently arrested on the 15th of February, 1978. On the 24th of January, 1989, Ted Bundy was sent to the electric chair.

David Berkowitz: Known as the "Son of Sam", he was responsible for killing six women and wounding several others in shootings using a .44 caliber pistol in the 1970s in New York City. He was arrested by the Police on the 10th of August, 1977 outside his apartment in New York.

Apart from these, there are many other infamous serial killers in America and other parts of the world. The following is a brief list.

• Albert Fish
• Andrei Chikatilo
• Coral Eugene Watts
• Dennis Rader
• Gilles de Rais
• Gary Ridgway
• Jeffrey Dahmer
• Joachim Kroll
• John Wayne Gacy
• Richard Chase

There were many female serial killers who were as rulthless as male killers. Here is a list of famous serial killers of all time: Female

Mary Ann Cotton: She was an English serial killer who killed more than 20 people, including her own children, by using arsenic. She is the most notorious female serial killers of all time. She murdered her 3 husbands, a lover and numerous children in order to collect their insurance money. She was hanged on the 24th of March, 1873 at the Durham County Jail.

Marybeth Tinning: Tinning was notorious for having killed nine of her own children by strangulating them and taking them to the hospital almost dead. She went un-noticed by the hospital authorities for a very long time, since they thought that these deaths were a genetic problem in the family. When she brought her adopted son to the hospital in an unconscious state, and he was later declared to be dead, the doctors began to suspect foul play. She was convicted on the 17th of July, 1987 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Nannie Doss: Also known as the "Giggling Granny" she was responsible for the killing of 11 people between 1920 and 1954. Her victims included her two sisters, her mother, a grandson, a nephew and her four husbands. She was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1955 and died 10 years later of leukemia.

Belle Gunness: Born in 1859, she was responsible for the killings of more than 20 suitors and all her children. Belle was also famous for burning down houses and collecting insurance money for the property and for her dead husbands. Later on, she progressed to placing an advertisement for a husband in a newspaper and luring prospective suitors to her home and killing them. She would bury the bodies in her farm and hog pen. She, either faked her own death, or was actually killed in the fire on her farm.

Dorothea Puente: In 1988, this 60 year old woman was sentenced to serve two terms of life imprisonment for the murders of at least 9 people. She would run a boarding house for elderly disabled people, and rob them of their benefit money. She would also kill them and keep on taking the government benefits by forging their checks.

Aileen Wuornos: An American serial killer, she was a prostitute and was put to death by lethal injection on the 9th of October, 1992. She was charged for killing seven men, who (as she claimed) attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute.

Apart from these, the female serial killers list also includes the following names:

• Amelia Dyer
• Amelia Sach and Annie Walters
• Beverly Allitt
• Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed
• Diane Downs

If we take a closer look at the early life of these serial killers, we find that certain social factors or psychological disturbances are the root causes for the twisted mentality of these killers. Whatever the reasons, it is a fact that the acts, or rather, crimes of these killers have shook the society to the core.