The Making of a Serial Killer

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Not to be confused with psychopaths, psychosis is also a cause of serial killers. Psychotic patients, unlike psychopaths, have lost their sense of reality (Brogaard). For example, Carl “Coral” Eugene Watts was charged with strangling twelve woman with many more suspected victims because he believed they had “evil in their eyes” (Brogaard). Psychotic serial killers mostly tend to be either, schizophrenic or bipolar (Brogaard). Richard Trenton Chase was a schizophrenic who believed the Nazis were after him with poison that would turn his blood to powder (Brogaard). In order to prevent this, he consumed and soaked himself in the blood of those he had slain (Brogaard). Psychotic serial killers can be triggered by the loss of close relatives, such as in the case of Ed Gein (Morrison 51). Ed Gein was also a Schizophrenic, who began digging up graves and most notably skinning his victims to make suits consisting of women’s breasts and genitals (Morrison 52). Gein wore these suits made from his female victims because he wanted a sex change (Brogaard). These criminal actions were triggered after the loss of his brother, father and, most importantly, his over-bearing mother (Morrison 51). Early childhood development plays a significant role in the formation of serial killers. Future serial killers can first appear during the early stages of life, if children display a lack of connection to other people or do not adequately bond to people (Thomas). Anger may stem from this “avoidant attachment” (Thomas). (Example). Childhood abuse, rejection, and neglect can also give rise to a potential serial killer (Larson). Daniel Larson stated that the social learning theory explains the relationship between stress and ‘childhood “traumatization,”’ a... ... middle of paper ... .... My Life among the Serial Killers: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderers. New York: William Morrow, 2004. Print. Osterweil, Neil. "Bully on the Brain." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. "Psychoanalysis." Dennis Rader Psychology. Weebly, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. Raven. "What Creates Serial Killers and Psychopaths: Genetics or Environment?" Living Among Predators. OverBlog, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. "Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture." American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. Thomas, Michael. "Psychopaths, And How Not To Become A Serial Killer." Exposing The Truth. Exposing The Truth, 29 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 May 2014. Wenzl, Roy, Tim Potter, L. Kelly, and Hurst Laviana. Bind, Torture, Kill: The inside Story of the Serial Killer next Door. New York: HC, 2007. Print.

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