Top 10 American Serial Killers

1. Jeffrey Dahmer

   

   Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (May 21, 1960 - November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who committed the murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Many of his later crimes involved necrophilia, cannibalism... read more

   I think this guy was seriously messed up from a very young age. I believe he had some sort of mental disorder and needed serious help. However, I also believe he was sane in the sense that he knew right from wrong but just didn't care about his victims.

   He selfishly prioritized his sick fantasies instead of suppressing his urges or seeking medical help from a psychiatrist. He chose to murder innocent people and did the most sick, grotesque things with their bodies, treating them with no respect at all. Maybe things could have been different if he had received psychiatric help at a young age.

   He claimed at one point that he felt sorry for what he did to his victims as well as their loved ones, and that if he could give his life to bring them back, he would. However, I've never really heard of serial killers feeling remorse for their misdeeds.

   Point in fact, the killing is what makes them feel powerful.

2. Ted Bundy

   

   Theodore Robert Bundy (born November 24, 1946) was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophiliac. He assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. Bundy was executed via electric chair on January 24, 1989. His exact number of victims remains... read more

   My teacher was actually kidnapped by Ted Bundy. He pulled up in a nice car and asked her if she needed a ride somewhere.

   I know he killed so many people, but after seeing him executed, I can understand how horribly he suffered from that.

   The term "serial killer" was first used to describe him! And because of him, there are more serial killers.

3. Charles Manson

   

   Charles Milles Manson (né Maddox. November 12, 1934 - November 19, 2017) was an American cult leader, criminal, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s. Some members of the group committed a series of nine murders at four locations in July and August 1969... read more

   Like most of the people on this list, Charles Manson had a damaged childhood. Most serial killers (remember, he never actually killed anyone) either suffer through a traumatic event or have a traumatic childhood.

   This does not make his actions any less horrific. However, I truly believe that if he had a different childhood, one where he was not emotionally damaged, he probably would not have conspired to murder.

   This man makes me flat-out sick! He denies ordering his followers to murder, but he did tell them to do it. He ordered Sharon Tate's death, and he led them to the LaBianca house the night they were murdered.

   He is evil and disgusting and should go to Hell!

4. The Zodiac Killer

   

   The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who terrorized northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is infamous for sending cryptic letters and ciphers to newspapers, in which he claimed responsibility for various murders. Although several suspects have been investigated, the Zodiac Killer's... read more

   He was one serial killer who was never caught or identified. Jack the Ripper was another, though he was actually in England.

   I love him (do not get me wrong, he should never have done what he did) and the way he mocked the police. My lord, he is the best.

   It's believed that his true identity is Richard Gaikowski. I watched a MysteryQuest documentary on him, although his actual identity is still unconfirmed.

5. Albert Fish

   

   Hamilton Howard "Albert" Fish was an American serial killer, child rapist, and cannibal. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac, and The Boogey Man.

   In March 1935, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by electrocution... read more

   He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac, and the Boogey Man. A child rapist and cannibal, he boasted that he "had children in every state," and at one time, stated the number was about 100.

   He was a pedophile who killed and ate innocent children. How disgusting. He is, in my opinion, the worst serial killer that ever lived, or at least one of them.

   Burn in the flames of Hell, Vampire of Brooklyn!

   This guy killed hundreds of children and was a pervert, cannibal, and into some weird stuff. Not to mention the letter he sent to the mother of a little girl he killed and cooked.

6. Richard Ramirez

   

   Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez, known as Richard Ramirez and widely referred to as the Night Stalker, was an American serial killer, rapist, and burglar. He was born on February 29, 1960, in El Paso, Texas, as the youngest of five children to Julian and Mercedes Ramirez. His father was a Mexican national... read more

   Personally, I find Richard Ramirez the most terrifying serial killer on this list. Although there is no evidence that he led a Satanic cult, this psycho did actively murder innocent people. There are rumors that his body count is over 105, but his confirmed count is lower.

   He thought the Devil was his protector, but little does he know the Devil is no one's protector and no one's friend. He tortures the wicked for their entire afterlife.

   The Night Stalker was one of the most demonic serial killers in America. He worshipped the Devil.

7. John Wayne Gacy

   

   John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 - May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys. Known as the Killer Clown, he often performed at children's hospitals and charity events as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown," personas he created... read more

   JWG was beyond sick and barbaric. The sheer numbers are mind-boggling!

   He kept the bodies of his victims under his house.

   They called him the killer clown.

8. Ed Gein

   

   Edward Theodore Gein, also known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American serial killer and body snatcher.

   Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gained widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he had exhumed corpses... read more

   He only killed two people, yet he remains a legendary killer who inspired Norman Bates, Hannibal Lecter, and Leatherface.

   He was smart enough to have different people build different parts of his house at different times to create hidden corridors. #1!

   This guy was the inspiration for three horror movies. They said they even found the skins of his victims as clothes or furniture. He has to be number one on this list, not thirteen.

9. H.H. Holmes

   

   Herman Webster Mudgett (1861-1896), better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or more commonly as H. H. Holmes, was an American serial killer. While he confessed to 27 murders, only nine could be plausibly confirmed. Several of the people he claimed to have killed were found to be alive.... read more

   This guy is sick! Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes, and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes, in his castle of horrors!

   You can learn all about him by reading Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America."

   He built a whole murder hotel and had many people killed in it through several different methods. Then, he sold their skeletons.

10. Gary Ridgway

    

    Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18, 1949), also known as the Green River Killer, is an American serial killer. He was convicted of 49 murders committed between the early 1980s and the late 1990s.

    Ridgway later admitted to murdering as many as 71 women, making him one of the most prolific serial... read more

    He killed for a long period, and the exact number of victims is still unknown. They are still finding bodies in the Seattle area. Plus, he was a necrophile - gross!

    He killed more people than most other serial killers combined. Surely, the mere scale of death and suffering he caused would rank him higher than Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer.

    He even passed a lie detector test because he felt no guilt and wasn't going to be called a liar.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Joshua Wade

    
12. ?

    Henry Lee Lucas

    
The Contenders

13. Dennis Rader

    

    Dennis Lynn Rader is an American serial killer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. He was known as the BTK killer, which stands for Bind, Torture, Kill. Rader was arrested in 2005 and is currently serving ten consecutive life sentences without the possibility of... read more

14. Richard Kuklinski

    

    Richard Leonard Kuklinski (April 11, 1935 - March 5, 2006), also known as "The Iceman," was an American criminal and contract killer who was convicted of five murders committed between 1980 and 1984.

    Kuklinski was involved in criminal activities for most of his adult life, including running... read more

    He should be higher on the list. He was a hitman, maybe not as sick and sadistic as the rest on the list, but he was a cold-blooded killer!

15. The Boston Strangler

    

    Albert DeSalvo, also known as the "Boston Strangler," was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 13 women in the early 1960s. He was known for gaining entry to his victims' homes by posing as a maintenance man or repairman. DeSalvo was eventually apprehended, confessed to the... read more

    He was murdered in prison by a fellow inmate.

16. Herb Baumeister

    

    Herbert Richard "Herb" Baumeister was an American businessman and suspected serial killer from Westfield, near Indianapolis, Indiana. He was investigated for the disappearance of several men in the 1990s, and human remains were later found on his property. Baumeister died by suicide in 1996 before he... read more

    He was a very sick person. I feel sorry for all the people he murdered.

17. David Berkowitz

    

    David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco, June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer convicted of a series of shooting attacks that began in New York City in the summer of 1976.... read more

    His adoptive mother told him that his real mother died during childbirth. When he met his real mother and found out the truth, he started having a deep hatred for women.

    He called himself the "Son of Sam" and terrorized all of New York in the summer of '77.

18. Leonard Lake and Charles Ng

    

19. Carl Panzram

    

    Charles "Carl" Panzram was an American serial killer, rapist, arsonist, robber and burglar. In prison confessions and his autobiography, he claimed to have committed 21 murders, most of which could not be corroborated, and over 1,000 sodomies of boys and men. He was executed by hanging in 1930 at the... read more

    This guy, just read his damn quotes. I wish I could meet him, but if I could, I'd want to seal my rectum first.

20. Charles Starkweather

    

    Charles Raymond "Charlie" Starkweather (November 24, 1938 - June 25, 1959) was an American teenage spree killer. He murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming during a two-month period between December 1957 and January 1958.... read more

21. Edmund Kemper

    

    Edmund Emil Kemper III (born December 18, 1948) is an American serial killer, rapist, necrophile, and admitted cannibal who murdered ten people, including family members and young women, between 1964 and 1973. Known as the Co-Ed Killer or Co-Ed Butcher, he stood around 6 feet 9 inches tall and had... read more

22. Aileen Wuornos

    

    Aileen Carol Wuornos (born Pittman, February 29, 1956 - October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer who murdered seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990.

    Wuornos claimed that her victims had raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute, and that the killings were... read more

    She was a homosexual prostitute who killed her johns, or men, if you prefer.

    I know why she's evil. She had a tragic life.

23. Richard Speck

    

    Richard Benjamin Speck (December 6, 1941 - December 5, 1991) was an American mass murderer. On the night of July 13-14, 1966, he systematically tortured, raped, and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital.... read more

    Creepy and killed eight student nurses!

24. Wayne Williams

    

    Wayne Bertram Williams is an American convicted murderer. In 1982, he was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of two adult men in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also suspected of being responsible for at least 23 of the 29 Atlanta Child Murders that occurred between 1979 and 1981.

25. David Parker Ray

    

    David Parker Ray (November 6, 1939 to May 28, 2002), also known as the "Toy-Box Killer," was an American kidnapper, torturer, serial rapist, and suspected serial killer. Although no bodies were recovered, accomplices accused him of multiple murders, and police believed he may have killed up to 60 women... read more

    This guy is, without a doubt, one of the worst serial killers that ever lived. Also called the "Toy Box Killer," he had his own torture room inside his trailer, where he drugged and raped women for his own pleasure. He even recorded himself telling the women what he was going to do before doing it.

    This guy is pure psycho. So sick!

26. Dean Corll

    

    Dean Arnold Corll was an American serial killer who abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered at least 28 boys in a series of killings that took place between 1970 and 1973 in Houston, Texas. He was known as the Candy Man because his family owned a candy factory and he often gave free candy to local children... read more

    At least 28 boys, most likely more. He enlisted two accomplices from among potential victims. This guy shouldn't be at 65. He was seriously evil.

27. Walter E. Ellis

    

    Walter E. Ellis, also known as the Milwaukee North Side Strangler, was an American serial killer who raped and strangled seven women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between 1986 and 2007. He was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ellis died in prison in 2013... read more