Elizabeth Bathory
Elizabeth Bathory was a Hungarian noblewoman who is believed to have killed hundreds of young women in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She was known for her sadistic tendencies, and it is said that she tortured and killed her victims for her own pleasure. She was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment. She probably has the highest body count in serial killer history! At least 650 girls died at her hand before she was finally caught.
Albert Fish
Albert Fish was an American serial killer and cannibal who is believed to have killed at least five children in the early 20th century. He was known for his perverse sexual preferences and for sending letters to the families of his victims, detailing the gruesome acts he had committed. He was eventually caught, tried, and executed for his crimes. How could anyone be worse than a man who wanted to cause unimaginable suffering, eating children and boasting about it?
He seemed to enjoy his evil more than the others, especially with the sick letter he sent to Grace Budd's family.
He sent a messed up letter about killing a girl to her family. Read it on Wikipedia. Man, I felt sick.
H.H. Holmes
H.H. Holmes, also known as Herman Webster Mudgett, was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least nine people in the late 19th century. He was known for his elaborate murder castle, a hotel that he had designed specifically for the purpose of killing his victims. He was eventually caught and hanged for his crimes. H.H. Holmes was a twisted mastermind and the only one who was so twisted he built an entire building devoted to making his killings easier. Because he had the ability to plan something so complex and carry out his plan with such precision, I think he holds the number one title for most evil. He wasn't mentally ill. In fact, he was very brilliant. Extremely evil, but brilliant.
John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy, also known as the "Killer Clown," was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 33 young men and boys in the 1970s. He was known for his clown persona, which he used to lure his victims into his grasp. He was eventually caught and sentenced to death, and he was executed by lethal injection in 1994. He should be ranked close to Albert Fish. Gacy practically invented coulrophobia and became one of the most common horror movie tropes. He also exploited systemic homophobia to get away with murder.
Really sadistic, mean-spirited guy who seemed to enjoy causing pain. In addition to being an evil serial killer, the guy was seemingly just a real jerk too.
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who killed at least five women in the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. He was known for his brutal and gruesome murders, and the case remains unsolved to this day. His identity and motive for the killings are still the subject of much speculation and debate. Should be number one. He never was caught!
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer, also known as the "Milwaukee Cannibal," was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 17 men and boys in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was known for his gruesome acts of cannibalism and necrophilia, and he often kept body parts as souvenirs. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, but he was beaten to death by a fellow inmate in 1994.
Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Rais was a French nobleman and military leader who is believed to have killed at least 80 children in the 15th century. He was known for his sadistic tendencies, and it is said that he would torture and kill his victims for his own pleasure. He was eventually caught and executed for his crimes. He was notorious for killing children and being summoned as a Caster-class Servant in the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fate/Zero.
Pedro Lopez
Pedro Lopez, also known as the "Monster of the Andes," is a Colombian serial killer who is believed to have killed more than 300 young girls in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for his violent tendencies and his preference for young girls. He was eventually caught and sentenced to prison, but he was released in 1998 for good behavior. His current whereabouts are unknown. I bet the number of people he killed is the number of drugs he did!
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 30 young women in the 1970s. He was known for his charming demeanor and good looks, which he used to gain the trust of his victims. He was eventually caught and sentenced to death, and he was executed in 1989. He raped and murdered over 30 innocent women, not to mention did messed up stuff to their corpses afterward. Just a twisted, sick individual, and the fact that people fangirl over this guy makes me sick.
He didn't even look like someone you'd suspect of being a serial killer. That's one thing that worked to his advantage.
This one is the worst! He did horrible things!
Richard Ramirez
Richard Ramirez, also known as the "Night Stalker," was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 13 people in the mid-1980s. He was known for his violent crimes, which included rape, burglary, and murder. He was eventually caught and sentenced to death, but he died in prison in 2013 while awaiting execution. This guy was totally devoted to Satan and loved killing just as much as the devil himself.
The Newcomers
? Robert Ben Rhoades
? David Elliot Penton
The Contenders
Harold Shipman
Harold Shipman, also known as "Dr. Death," was an English doctor who is believed to have killed at least 215 of his patients in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for his use of lethal injections and for falsifying medical records to cover up his crimes. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, but he committed suicide in prison in 2004.
Ed Gein
Ed Gein, also known as the "Butcher of Plainfield," was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least two women in the 1950s. He was known for his bizarre behavior and for using the body parts of his victims to create household items, such as furniture and clothing. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was the inspiration for Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Norman Bates from Psycho.
He's one of the most sadistic and brutal persons that has stepped on the surface of this earth.
Joachim Kroll
Joachim Kroll, also known as the "Ruhr Cannibal," was a German serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 14 people in the 1960s and 1970s. He was known for his preference for young girls and for his cannibalistic tendencies. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, and he died in prison in 1991. How was he not already added? This guy was absolutely sick.
Luis Garavito
Luis Garavito, also known as "La Bestia" or "The Beast," is a Colombian serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 138 young boys in the 1990s. He was known for his violent tendencies and his preference for young boys. He was eventually caught and sentenced to 1,853 years in prison, the longest sentence in Colombian history. This homosexual, pedophile, and sadistic serial killer killed at least 138 known young boys, which leads to a possible count of 400 murders.
Sam Little
Sam Little was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 60 women in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for his preference for vulnerable women, such as prostitutes and drug addicts, and for his ability to evade law enforcement for decades. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, and he died in prison in 2020.
Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the "Butcher of Rostov," was a Soviet serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 52 women and children in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for his brutal acts of violence, which often involved sexual assault and mutilation. He was eventually caught and sentenced to death, and he was executed in 1994.
Zodiac Killer
Zodiac Killer is an unidentified American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least five people in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for his cryptic letters to the media and police, in which he claimed responsibility for the murders and taunted law enforcement. His identity and motive for the killings remain a mystery. Him being dead or alive is a mystery because he was NEVER caught!
Thug Behram
Thug Behram was an Indian serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 931 people in the early 19th century. He was a member of the Thuggee cult, which was known for its ritualistic murders of travelers in India. He was eventually caught and executed by the British colonial authorities in 1840.
Charles Manson
Charles Manson was an American cult leader and serial killer who is believed to have orchestrated the murders of seven people in 1969. He was known for his charismatic personality and for brainwashing his followers to carry out his violent orders. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, but he died in prison in 2017.
Israel Keyes
Israel Keyes was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least three people, with as many as 11 other possible victims. He was known for his meticulous planning and for his practice of burying "kill kits" in various locations to use in future murders. He was eventually caught and committed suicide in his jail cell in 2012.
Delphine LaLaurie
Delphine LaLaurie was a New Orleans socialite who is believed to have tortured and killed numerous slaves in the early 19th century. She was known for her sadistic behavior, and it is said that she would torture her slaves in her attic before disposing of their bodies. She was eventually exposed and forced to flee the city, and her ultimate fate remains unknown.
Dennis Rader
Dennis Rader, also known as the "BTK Killer," was an American serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 10 people between 1974 and 1991. He was known for his taunting letters to the police and media, in which he described his crimes in detail. He was eventually caught and sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His matter-of-fact, dead-eyed performance in court plus his rather average Joe looks just make him even more terrifying.
Clifford Olson
Clifford Olson was a Canadian serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 11 children and teenagers in the early 1980s. He was known for his manipulative behavior, and he often taunted the families of his victims with letters and phone calls. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, and he died in prison in 2011.
Mary Ann Cotton
Mary Ann Cotton was an English serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 21 people in the mid-19th century, including several of her own children and stepchildren. She was known for her use of arsenic as a murder weapon, and she was eventually caught and hanged for her crimes.
Henri Landru
Henri Landru was a French serial killer who is believed to have killed at least 11 people, mostly women, in the early 20th century. He was known for his use of personal ads to lure his victims, and he would often steal their money and possessions after killing them. He was eventually caught and executed by guillotine in 1922. Henri Landru is not as bad as the others on this list, but I am going to vote for him anyway because he is the most underrated. He married 11 women in his lifetime and he killed, disemboweled, and burned them. He was a real-life Bluebeard.