Stereotypes Of Serial Killers

Every human being has feelings and emotions. While some cry when they are frustrated, others scream, swear and even commit crime to cure some frustration. A serial killer is whom everyone knows as a friend, lover, or even father but no one knows about his or her killer instinct until it is too late. Serial killers are made not born; it has been person that a person’s early years are the most important years. A child’s first few years are a time of trial and error, a time of figuring things out and most importantly putting the pieces of their life together in place. As an infant, brain development is dependent on its surroundings as a young child’s brain is similar to a sponge, soaking up information through observation. The surroundings

of a toddler can greatly influence how their brain matures. Certain experiences such as child abuse, divorce, drug abuse, and child neglect can be extremely detrimental to the development of a toddler. Because of their upbringing and early life experiences, many serial killers turn to psychotic killing rampages.

A majority of serial killers are known as “mentally disturbed” meaning they suffer from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, and depression. “It is easy to condemn serial killers as monsters, however it is important to explore beyond the stereotypes and consider what we learn about women and men who kill repetitively.” Myra Hindley stated in her research article about serial homicide.

Jann Scott explains in his post Serial Homicide that “While most serial killers have severe personality dysfunction, this alone cannot explain their behavior.” He went into detail saying, “…serial killers experienced impaired childhood attachments, formative traumatic experiences, and a private internal world of violent thoughts and fantasies” (Scott). Serial killers are most usually diagnosed with fetishism, (having an excessive regard or attachment; worship or belief in a magical obsession) because they have a fetish with the thrill of killing. Because of the way killers brain works, they see the good in hurting people rather than all of the things that are wrong about it. Serial killers form different kinds of paraphilia’s based off of their likings. Paraphilia’s are sexual deviations or perversions that they start having. This includes

sexual urges with unusual objects, fantasies, activities, or situations, having a sexual urge with non-human object, sexual behaviors that cause another human to suffer, or even having sex with animals. An article I read by the FBI explained the way that someone who investigates serial killers sees the topic of mass murder. Written by Robert J. Morton, he stated “The answer of why someone becomes a murder lies in the complex process based on biological, social, and environmental factors” (Morton 3) Meaning that there is more behind why someone chooses to hurt another human being. The casualty in mass murders is what separates normal human behavior, with someone whose brain is not functioning correctly. The biological difference that can cause murder thoughts is the physical damage that is done to the brain. At such a young age, the brain is still forming, and the pre-frontal cortex is extremely vulnerable. (Raine) When a baby is shaken at a young age, it messes with the development of the brain. The amygdala can be damaged, and that is the part of our brain that generates our emotions. (Which is extremely important) When the amygdala becomes damaged, the way an individual handles emotions becomes extremely different, causing problems in the future. According to an article from Scientific American, “People with damage to this almond shaped part of the brain…are more likely to take bigger risks with smaller potential gains.” De Martino’s study found. People with that brain damage do not understand the risks of the action they are taking.
Some of the fantasies that serial killers develop happen around late childhood or adolescence, and then continue into adulthood. According to Psychology Today, “fantasies start by sexual components adding to mental processes, completely changing the cognitive process” (Bonn). With that change in their mind, it causes them to result in actions that are not of their sorts. Bonn stated “Eventually, fledging serial killers reach a point where they need to actually live out their darkest fantasies.” When someone reaches that point where they want to harm someone so deeply, there is a chemical imbalance in their brain. Infamous serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer and David Berkowitz stated that their strange and bizarre fantasies thrived within their youthful isolation, masturbation, and their powerful feelings of anger and rage. Serial killers see a greater reliance on their fantasy for pleasure, which gives them a relief from anxiety. Serial killers often fantasize about murder and sexual violence for years before claiming their first victim.
Adults who had been physically, sexually, and emotionally abused as children become three times more likely than were non-abused adults to act violently as an adult (Dutton & Hart, 1992); this aggression is a big factor in what turns men and women into serial killers. The aggression surfaces through what the child went through, and a sense of getting back. All of this is to repress the years of defenselessness and degradation the serial killer went through when they were younger. Children who are punished by their parents in bizarre ways result in wanting to “give revenge” or “get back at their parents” for what they did to them. Not only does it have to be killing the parents, it could be proving a point by murdering other people who degraded them at some point in their life. An article I read from BBC explained what life was like for a young girl; knowing her father was a serial killer. The article was titled, My evil dad: life as a serial killer’s daughter. It gave a different perspective on the way Melissa Moore sees her biological father, even though she knows what he has done in his life. As Moore stated in her article, it is hard for people who are not sociopaths to understand the reasoning behind why someone decides to murder. People base their assumptions off of what they hear and what people hear isn’t necessarily true to accurately describe someone.
There are numerous different theories proposed as to what goes through a serial killers mind, as they are about to kill. One particular theory that has been researched thoroughly is the “diathesis-stress model”, which explains why and how all serial killers act and think a certain way due to environmental stressors. An article by Rashmi Nemade, Ph.D., explains the vulnerability a person goes into in a certain environment, which ultimately triggers particular stressors in their life. Through a combination of other factors such as self-control and social skill issues, the personal ends up going into “serial killer mode.” At that point the killer believes they can correct all of their problems in their life though killing. Holmes and DeBurger (1998) specified that there are four distinct categories of serial killers: visionary killers, mission-oriented killers, hedonistic killers and power/control killers. Visionary serial killers are categorized as being out of touch with reality and usually hear voices in their head; Mission-oriented serial killers state that their life’s mission is to kill certain types of people; hedonistic serial killers gain their joy from the act of killing; power/control serial killers seek more satisfaction through having complete control over their victims. Serial killers allay their self-esteem and self-control issues through violent acts against others.
Research shows that female serial killers have been found to kill for money or pure excitement while males have other reasons for killing.

Many female serial killers result in using poison for killing and are also known for having put more time and thought into their murder process. Kelleher and Kelleher (1998) in a study on serial killers selected seven different categories for women who kill: black widow, angel of death, revenge killer, murder for profit or crime, killer whose sanity is in question, team killer and sexual predator. There is a small amount of women who have been charged for murder as a sexual predator: crime being based off of sexual motivation. An article I read from psychology today about female serial killers explained that in a 2011 study, “most ladies are less to have a criminal history, and kill those closest to them. Also, they use much quieter methods of elimination (poison, drugs, smothering).” Many people underestimate what women can be like, and assume that all women are sweet, and innocent. People do not understand that women are capable of the exact same things men are capable of; they just do it in a quieter and more thought out

way.
There are two different types of serial killers, an organized serial killer and a disorganized serial killer. An organized serial killer is extremely intelligent; they plot their plans of killing. They usually have a murder weapon, which is brought to kill, and they are careful to leave no evidence behind. Some may even leave a trademark or try to use out of the ordinary clues to throw detectives off. Psychopaths are usually organized serial killers. Psychopaths usually know the difference between right and wrong. A disorganized serial killer, on the other hand, kills whenever an opportunity. They are messy; leave clues such as fingerprints or blood. Psychotic serial killers seem to be disorganized, making it easy for them to be apprehended. These types of serial killers are usually disconnected from society.
Serial killers have the capability to blend in with their surroundings. Serial killers seem utterly normal; nevertheless, beneath the surface lays two uncontrollable qualities: an unbearable need for power, and sexual abnormality. Killing satisfies with the ultimate control over life and death. They feel as if they are much higher than their victim, having a person’s life in their hands. Killing gives them an addictive pleasure. They prey on vulnerable victims; reflecting their childhood. Many were born into a household where they dealt with physical and mental abuse, making them what they are, monsters with the capability to blend into society. Reality is never as good as their fantasies; this is why serial killers choose to kill. A wild imagination resulting in inflicted feelings of resentment towards society, followed by sexual frustration and not being able to be socially accepted. Serial killers are made not born; balling up inside of them is a memory of dysfunction and feelings of shortage.