Top 10 American Serial Killers
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 murders involved necrophilia,... 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.
Theodore Robert Bundy was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophiliac who assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. He was born on November 24th, 1946, and died via the electric chair on January 24th, 1989. He was born illegitimately,... 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.
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s.The Zodiac Killer is believed to be a California man who gave himself that nickname to conceal his identity from authorities. He came to police attention again in 1971 when his friend told... 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.
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!
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.
Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez, known as Richard Ramirez, widely known as the Night Stalker, was an American serial killer, rapist, and burglar.Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas, on February 29, 1960, the youngest of Julian and Mercedes Ramirez's five children. His father, 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.
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender known as the Killer Clown who assaulted and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown",... 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.
Edward Theodore Gein, also known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American serial killer and body snatcherGein'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.
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 and several of the people he claimed to have murdered were still alive. He is said to... 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.
Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18, 1949), also known as the Green River Killer, is an American serial killer. He was initially convicted of 48 separate murders committed between the early 1980s and late 1990s... 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
Dennis Lynn Rader is an American serial killer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County, between 1974 and 1991.
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... 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!
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 his ability to gain entry to his victims' homes by posing as a maintenance man or repairman. He was eventually caught, tried, and... read more He was murdered in prison by a fellow inmate.
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.
Edmund Emil Kemper III (born December 18, 1948), also known as The Co-ed Killer or The Co-ed Butcher, is an American serial killer, rapist and necrophile who murdered six college students before murdering his mother and her best friend from September 1972 to April 1973 following his parole for murdering... read more
Herbert Richard "Herb" Baumeister was an American alleged serial killer from Westfield near Indianapolis, Indiana. He was a very sick person. I feel sorry for all the people he murdered.
Aileen Carol Wuornos (born Pittman. February 29, 1956 - October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990... 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.
Richard Benjamin Speck (December 6, 1941 - December 5, 1991) was an American mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped, and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital on the night of July 13 - 14, 1966... read more Creepy and killed eight student nurses!
Wayne Bertram Williams is an American serial killer who was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1982 for killing two adult men.
David Parker Ray (November 6, 1939 – May 28, 2002), also known as the Toy-Box Killer, was an American kidnapper, torturer, serial rapist and suspected serial killer. Though no bodies were found, he was accused by his accomplices of killing several women and suspected by the police to have murdered... 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!
Walter E. Ellis, also known as the Milwaukee North Side Strangler, was an American serial killer who raped and strangled seven women in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin between 1986 and 2007.
Charles Denton "Tex" Watson is an American murderer who was a central member of the Manson Family led by Charles Manson.On August 9, 1969, Watson, along with Patricia Krenwinkel and Susan Atkins, murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Steven... read more
He was one of Charles Manson's male followers and a complete and total sicko!
I was walking down a street in Chicago and saw the Chicago Rippers trying to kill me, but I beat all of them and escaped. I could have died.
Dean Arnold Corll was an American serial killer who abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered a minimum of 28 boys in a series of killings spanning from 1970 to 1973 in Houston, Texas. 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.