Top 10 Most Infamous Serial Killers
Diving into the chilling and gruesome tales of the most notorious perpetrators of heinous crimes, you might find yourself simultaneously fascinated and repulsed by the world of serial killers. This is a domain where morbidity and tragedy merge, giving rise to stories that seem too atrocious to be true, yet are documented with terrifying precision.While perusing this collection of the macabre, you’ll find that these killers have employed a diverse range of methods and motives. Some were driven by a deranged thirst for blood, others by a deep-seated hatred, and some, alarmingly, by a perverse sense of pleasure. It’s a grim reminder of the multifaceted nature of evil and the various forms it can assume.
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who murdered at least five women in the impoverished Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The case was never solved and "Jack the Ripper" became infamous for terrorizing London and eluding police efforts to catch him. Ok, once I saw a documentary about this guy. The pictures were creepy. I was seven, I think, and my dad had to reassure me eleven times that he was already dead before I could close my eyes. I even changed sofas so I wouldn’t be with my back facing the door. You know, in case he came in and stabbed me.
Rapists are demons, but their murders were nowhere near as heinous as this guy's. He butchered prostitutes as though they were in a horror movie, leaving not a single trace to his real identity. Furthermore, his name has entered pop culture, folklore, books, and is recognized almost everywhere. In terms of instant recognition, his name dwarves anyone else on this list. There's probably more to point out, too.
Come on, it’s Jack the Ripper. Jacky's number 1. I don’t plan on ever changing my career choice to serial killer or law officer, so I don’t research serial killers. I’m pretty ignorant on the subject. But he’s definitely the most famous, and oftentimes a serial killer's main goal is fame, so I guess Jack wins.
Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who confessed to kidnapping, raping, and murdering numerous young women and girls during the 1970s. He was executed in 1989 after being convicted of killing three women. This guy is just a pervert killer. He killed about 30 women, but it is speculated that he killed over 100. He would basically hide suspicion by putting his arm in a sling. He also always escaped and then continued his murder spree.
People say he looked handsome and normal, but underneath that smile was a monster.
Ted Bundy should be #1. I feel bad for the people who lived when he roamed the streets.
John Wayne Gacy sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Chicago. He buried 26 of his victims in the crawl space under his house. He was sentenced to death for his crimes and was executed in 1994. He killed over 33 young men and even worked as a birthday party entertainer while doing so. He was adept at evading trouble but ultimately met his karma.
He was pretty bad. He basically killed 33 boys and was quite adept at evading capture. His crimes were of a graphic nature as well.
He might be number 1 because he killed more people than anyone else. And what else?
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He murdered at least five people but claimed to have killed over 30. He taunted the police with letters and cryptic ciphers sent to newspapers. His identity remains unknown. Like Jack the Ripper, we'll probably never know his true identity.
I want to know who that bastard is!
Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He was known for keeping parts of his victims' bodies as trophies and for consuming some of their flesh. He was caught in 1991 and sentenced to 16 lifetimes in prison, where he was killed by another inmate in 1994. He looks radically different in every picture of him. It's kind of weird.
He is the worst. He looks innocent and then he's not. Totally got my vote!
This guy is a frickin' cannibal, rapist, and kidnapper. He got 5 life sentences. Bro is too terrible to write about.
Ed Gein was a murderer and body snatcher who exhumed corpses from graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes from their bones and skin in the 1940s and 1950s. His gruesome crimes inspired fictional serial killers like Norman Bates from Psycho and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He technically isn’t a true serial killer. Serial killing involves the commission of three or more murders over a period of time. He has only been convicted of killing two people, though this is debatable since he could’ve started the fire that killed his brother, but nobody knows for sure if he did.
But he is pretty far out there when it comes to what he did with the corpses, turning parts of the bodies of deceased women into furniture and trying to create a suit so he could become his mother, who he adored dearly. Ed Gein was also one of the first serial killers I studied, so I’ve always seen him as one of the most gruesome, yet interesting.
Only killed 2 people but is still one of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century.
Ed Gein wasn't actually a serial killer - he only admitted to killing two women. Rather, he was a body snatcher who had an obsession with his deceased mother, Augusta.
H. H. Holmes opened a hotel in Chicago for the 1893 World's Fair and murdered untold numbers of female guests, sometimes locking them in soundproof vaults and gas chambers. He was caught and hanged in 1896 after confessing to 27 murders.
Aileen Wuornos killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. She claimed they were all in self-defense after they raped her while she worked as a prostitute. She was convicted of six murders and executed by lethal injection in 2002. Creepy person. So scary.
She's scary as hell.
Fred and Rosemary West were an English couple who killed at least 12 young women and girls between 1967 and 1987, many at their home in Gloucester. Most of the victims were dismembered and buried at the house. As a child, I feel this story has made me be aware of the dangers on the streets today. Both husband and wife had no reason to kill the innocent children. Also, when Mr. West was a child, it was said that he was sexually abused by his mother and that his family agreed to incest. This is just one of the reasons for his killing those children.
When Mr. West was younger, he had a fall trying to escape a fire and did some damage to his brain, and he was in a coma for 8 days. He then, aged 19, ran over a 4-year-old child with his ice cream van. This all relates to why he killed those children. This couple was born evil.
Fred West was one of the most evil and twisted serial killers of all time. Rose West was evil too, but Fred was the real monster.
Both were very, very sick, but I reckon Rose was the real mastermind.
Richard Ramirez was dubbed the "Night Stalker" for invading homes at night and murdering 13 people in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas between 1984 and 1985. He left satanic pentagrams at some of the crime scenes. He died of cancer on death row in 2013. Like the Zodiac Killer.
I'm not surprised.
Elizabeth Bathory was a Hungarian countess who tortured and killed hundreds of young women between 1585 and 1609, bathing in their blood to preserve her youth. She was never brought to trial but was bricked into rooms of her castle as punishment. You people say Ted Bundy and Ed Gein are sick monsters, but I have to say Elizabeth Bathory takes the cake for this one. She brutally murdered over 650 innocent girls, cut them alive, and dipped her skin in their blood to make herself look younger. But that doesn't mean the other serial killers are innocent, they're sick bastards that deserve to rot in hell.
She killed more people than anyone else on this list and her victims suffered the most. And where is Gilles de Rais?
I just read how she killed and tortured her victims, and let's just say I'm glad I'm not one of them.
Albert Fish was an American serial killer and cannibal who raped, murdered and sometimes ate at least five children in New York between 1928 and 1932. He was executed in 1936 at age 65. Although he doesn't have the highest quantity of murders like some people on this list, what he did to his victims, and to himself, for that matter, should indisputably land him in top 3. One of the most putrid and vile human beings in existence.
Sickest person who ever lived, and I don't mean that in a good way?
He looks really fishy.
Pedro López murdered at least 110 girls and young women in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru between 1969 and 1980, earning him the nickname "The Monster of the Andes." He was caught, declared insane and later released in 1998. His current whereabouts are unknown. The worst part is, despite all he did, he was only sentenced to 22-24 years in prison but escaped to God knows where, and no one knows if he's even alive.
He even looks creepy.
Edmund Kemper murdered 10 people including his grandparents and mother in California in the 1970s. At 6'9" tall, he was nicknamed the "Co-Ed Killer" for targeting young female hitchhikers. He turned himself in and remains imprisoned.
Andrei Chikatilo sexually assaulted, murdered and mutilated at least 52 women and children in the former Soviet Union between 1978 and 1990. Nicknamed the "Butcher of Rostov," he was convicted and executed in 1994.
Luis Garavito murdered at least 138 young boys in Colombia in the 1990s, luring them to remote areas and killing them by torture and decapitation. Known as "La Bestia," he confessed in 1999 and was sentenced to 1,853 years in prison. He is the serial killer with the most kills. He has confessed to killing 138 children and is believed to have killed 172-300+ children in total.
David Berkowitz, known as the "Son of Sam," killed six people and wounded several others in New York City between 1976 and 1977, claiming his neighbor's dog commanded him to murder. He was sentenced to life in prison and remains incarcerated.
Dennis Rader, known as the "BTK Killer," murdered 10 people in Kansas between 1974 and 1991. He sent taunting letters to police signed "BTK," standing for "bind, torture, kill." He was caught in 2005 and given 10 consecutive life sentences.
Belle Gunness likely killed over 40 people including her husbands and children in Indiana at the turn of the 20th century to collect on their life insurance policies. She disappeared after her farmhouse burned down in 1908.
Gary Ridgway, the "Green River Killer," murdered at least 49 women and girls in the Seattle area throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He avoided the death penalty by confessing and was given 48 life sentences.
Paul Michael Stephani, the "Weepy-Voiced Killer," murdered at least three women in Minnesota in the early 1980s. He gained his nickname for sobbing when calling police to report his crimes. He died in prison in 1998.
Mary Ann Cotton poisoned to death three husbands and at least 11 children and stepchildren in England between the 1860s and 1870s, likely to collect on their insurance. She was hanged in 1873 for murdering her stepson. I will admit, from what I have heard, she seems to be quite intelligent.
Harold Shipman was an English doctor who killed at least 215 patients with lethal injections between 1975 and 1998, likely making him the most prolific serial killer ever. He hanged himself in prison in 2004 at age 57. This individual is a famous sociopath and possibly the most prolific and intelligent serial killer in history, not because he was a doctor. He derived pleasure from killing his so-called patients through poisoning, leading to a total count of 250-457 murders.
Most victims in history.
The best killer.
Henry Lee Lucas falsely confessed to killing hundreds of people across the U.S. from 1960-1983, likely causing the wrongful convictions of over a dozen people. He was serving life for 11 murders when he died in prison in 2001. He has one of the highest body counts in serial killer history.
Missing an eye.
Paul Bernardo raped and killed three young women with his wife Karla Homolka in Canada in the early 1990s. Deemed a dangerous offender, he was given a life sentence in 1995.