What Motivates To Kill A Serial Killer Essay

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Serial Killers: What Motivates Them? What causes a person to want to harm another person? What causes someone to want to molest, kill, dismember, or even cannibalize their victims? A person like this is commonly known as a serial killer: a person who murders three or more people over the course of more than a month, including breaks in between the murders. Around 150 people are killed a year by these deranged people according to some experts. So what motivates them to commit such treacherous acts of violence? Abuse First, one ubiquitous cause is abuse from childhood. A great example would be John Wayne Gacy. For years he and his family suffered from physical and emotional abuse from his alcoholic father. Some even say he was molested multiple times by a family friend when he was only nine years of age. Gacy would molest teenage boys and kill them. It is estimated that he had about thirty bodies buried around his house. Years of abuse from childhood could cause someone like Gacy to take out their anger and frustration …show more content…

Many different types of mental disorders can make someone out of touch with reality. Schizophrenia is a very common one. It is a mental disorder in which someone hears voices, hallucinates, and suffers from paranoia. In Brett Ratner’s 2002 film Red Dragon (based on the book of the same title by Thomas Harris), the main antagonist is a serial killer named Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes) also known as “The Tooth Fairy”. Dolarhyde is obsessed with the William Blake painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun. He hears “The Red Dragon” speak to him, telling him to stalk entire families at their homes, break in when they are asleep, and kill them all believing each victim he kills will bring him closer to “becoming” the Dragon. Being out of touch with reality and not seeking the proper medical treatment can cause someone, like Mr. Dolarhyde, to commit many acts of

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