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Serial killers
How would you describe the history of mental asylums
How would you describe the history of mental asylums
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Albert Fish, born Hamilton Howard Fish, was an American serial killer. He was born on May 19, 1870 in Washington, D.C. He said he had been named after a distant relative named, Hamilton Fish. His father, Randall Fish was 43 years older than Fish’s mother, Ellen. Randall Fish was American of English ancestry and his mother was Scots-Irish American. Randall Fish was 75 years old when Albert Fish was born. Albert Fish was the youngest of the four children. He had three siblings: Walter, Annie, and Edwin Fish. He wanted to be called “Albert” after his dead sibling and to avoid being called “Ham and Eggs.” That was a name given to him at an orphanage, where he spent the majority of his childhood.
His family was said to have a history of mental illness. His uncle suffered from religious mania, his mother had “aural and/or visual hallucinations,” his brother was in a state mental hospital, his sister was diagnosed with a “mental affliction,” and a few other family members were diagnosed with mental illnesses as well.
His father was a River boat captain and became a fertilizer manufacturer by 1870. Fish’s eldest sibling died of a myocardial infarction in 1875 in Washington, D.C. His mother then put him into Saint John’s Orphanage in Washington, D.C. where he was constantly treated “sadistically.” It was when he was being beaten that he realized he enjoyed physical pain. Fish stated, “I was there til I was nearly nine, and that’s where I got started wrong. We were unmercifully whipped. I saw boys do many things they should not have done,” (Princeton University).
In 1890, Fish’s mother was able to find a government job so she took Fish out of the orphanage and was able to look after him. In 1882, at the age of 12, Fish ...
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...l fetishes, including drinking urine and eating feces. Some disagreed however, that if such practices meant he was really insane. Defense's chief expert witness was Fredric Wertham, who was a psychiatrist that focused on child development. He conducted psychiatric examinations for the New York criminal courts. He said that Fish was insane. Mary Nicholas, another defense witness, who was Fish's 17 year old stepdaughter explained how Fish taught her and her brothers and sisters a "game" involving overtones of masochism and child molestation. The jury found him insane and guilty, and the judge ordered the death sentence (Murderpedia).
In March of 1935, Fish had arrived at Sing Sing prison in New York and was executed on January 16, 1936, in the electric chair. He entered the chamber at 11:06 p.m. and was pronounced dead three minutes later (Princeton University).
Born in a woman 's correctional facility, abandoned by his convict mother and his father murdered two months before his birth, Fisher was raised in the abusive home of a storefront preacher and his wife where he was beaten and sexually abused on a regular basis. Abandoned by friends, family and caregivers, Fisher turned to the Navy for a sense of both himself and family; a goal put in jeopardy by his frequent outbursts of violence. Through his relationship with Dr. Davenport and his girlfriend Cheryl, he was able to gain the release of Oxytocin in order to form attachment and feel a sense of safety and security for his brain to heal and develop a healthy bond and
that he was insane and that "a person with a normal background who was brought
David Berkowitz unleashed his random malicious scats during the summer of 1976. He is known today as one of New York’s most notorious serial killers. Berkowitz was born on June 1st, 1953 in New York, New York. He was adopted by the Berkowitz couple a few days after his birth. When Berkowitz was 18 the joined the U.S. Army. After the army, he got a job as a security officer and moved into an apartment in New York. No one even noticed the danger that slept next door.
He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but some thought he might actually be suffering from drug-induced toxic psychosis. He visited the emergency room for testimonials that bones were coming out the back of his head, someone stole his pulmonary arteries, his stomach was backwards, and his heart stopped beating sometimes. He was also diagnosed with hypochondria, where he believed his heart was in danger of shrinking until disappearance. He then came to the solution that drinking blood of animals or humans would stop the shrinking. He was also interviewed and said that he killed to stay alive. He was admitted to a mental institution and was prescribed antidepressants. He was allowed to leave anytime he wanted. He was left unsupervised and his mother told him that he did not need the
Erick Larson wrote in Devil in the White City, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing – I was born with the Evil One standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered in the world, and he has been with me since” (Troy, Taylor). This statement was a quoted confession from Dr. H. H. Holmes himself in 1896. Holmes was the first major serial killer in America, even though he came after many others in his time. Thomas Neil Cream, the Austin Axe Murderer, the Bloody Benders, and Jack the Ripper came before him. His name was originally Herman Webster Mudgett. He was born on May 16th, 1860 in Gilman, New Hampshire. He was raised by his mother and father, who was a wealthy and respected citizen for 25 years. As a boy, Mudgett was always in trouble and was well known in his community for his rather sociopathic behavior. He would show cruelty to both animals and other children. The only thing keeping hope to society was the fact that he was an excellent student. He later changed his last name to Holmes in order to pursue both his medical and criminal careers. He had many other aliases in which he would hide under and try to derail the cops from finding him (Juan, Blanco). Holmes was medically trained to be a doctor and received his degree from the University of Michigan. He was not just into insurance fraud scams. His evil doings included forgery, claiming to find the cure for alcoholism, real estate scams, and pretending to have a machine that turned natural gas into water. He was quite the ladies man, had many wives, whom often had become his victims. Many of his medical partners became subject to him, also. He once even had three wiv...
Based on a true story, this biographical drama centered around Antwone “Fish” Fisher. In the beginning of the story, he was a sailor prone to violent outbursts. On the verge of being kicked out of the Navy for repeated fighting, he is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing to open up, Dr. Davenport slyly slips his way into getting Antwone to talk. Antwone eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood with neglect and abuse. With the help of Dr. Davenport, he is able to face his past and strive for success to find the family he has never met. At the same time, he is able to turn his life around and change it dramatically. In the end, he is reunited with both his father’s side of the family and his mother who has abandoned him.
In Daniel Wallace’s novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and Tim Burton’s film, Big Fish, the relationship between the dying protagonist, Edward Bloom and his estranged son, William Bloom, is centrally to the story in both the novel and film. Like many fathers in today's society, Edward Bloom wishes to leave his son with something to remember him by after he is dead. It is for this reason the many adventures of Edward Bloom are deeply interwoven into the core of all the various stories Edward tells to mystify his son with as a child. Despite the many issues father and son have in their tense relationship as adults, Daniel Wallace and Tim Burton’s adaptation of Wallace’s novel focalizes on the strained relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom. In both Wallace’s novel and Burton’s film, they effectively portray how the relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom is filled with bitter resentment and indifference towards each other. Only with William’s attempt to finally reconcile with his dying father and navigating through his father fantastical fables does those established feelings of apathy and dislike begin to wane. With Burton’s craftily brilliant reconstruction of Wallace’s story does the stories of Edward Bloom and his son blossom onto screen.
After the death of his brother Edward Gein lived alone with his mother until her death after suffering from numerous strokes. Her death devastated him she was his only friend and companion. Even after a lifetime of mental and physical abuse he loved her I believe he developed a Dependent Personality Disorder with his mother because he never separated from her. Once considered maybe a little odd not Gein started to show multiple escalated behaviors that were and still to this day are considered some of the most abnormal ever witnessed.
He killed women in several different states. The number of victims he had is still unknown to day but some believe it ranges from 30 to 100 women. Also, no one knows exactly why he began his killing. Psychologists have a few leads and theories of what may have set him off. They believe maybe it was because of the way he was raised and the environment he grew up in. Another, reason he could have become such a prominent murderer in the US is because of his broken relationship he had with a girl in college. The most possible motive he had may have been his obsession for
Albert Fish is the man who some believe to be the "most deranged killer in American history" (Rampo Catskill Library system, Biography resource center, Albert Fish ). So much so, that the character, Hannibal Lector in the movie Silence of the Lambs is partially based on him. Murder was not the only thing that Albert Fish indulged in. He also dabbed in cannibalism, fetishism, pedophilia, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and masochism.
...ically unpredictable, and most of his actions can be swayed from time to time by the suggestions coming from his environment.” They later on diagnosed Heirens with dementia praecox, split personality, and disassociated psychotic schizophrenia (Kennedy, Hoffman, Haines).
The story began, familiarizing the setting and laying the groundwork for the book by introducing the plot and characters, and amplifying the dramatic tone for forthcoming happenings. The story is told from the point of view of a fourteen-year-old-girl whose name “was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie” ( Sebold 1). Susie was murdered by her neighbor, George Harvey. He plays an innocent widower and has the boldness to approach and express condolences for Susie to her mother and in response to this Susie says, “The man has no shame” (Sebold 8). He doesn’t care and shows no remorse for what he did. He in fact was so self-assured that he has gotten away with the crime he has committed; he had the “audacity” to apologize to Mrs. Salmon. Mr. Harvey is a character who unfortunately, seems to have many “mommy issues” and to the shock of many, Susie is not his first prey, but just one of numerous victims.
Bishop next relates to the fish on a personal basis: "I looked into his eyes.
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.
Dr. Seuss’ works were written for children but he often hid political issues within them. He wrote the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish in 1960 which was the start of the Civil Rights Movement. In the first stanza of the story, one of the two narrators, Ned describes the many different fish he sees all around him. He describes how the fish around him vary in m...