Woodie Guthrie’ copyright claim to “This Land is Your Land” was for 28 years and stated, “anybody caught singing it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ours, cause we don’t give a dern.”
A serial killer is someone who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with a cooling-off period between murders.
Many serial killers experienced sexually stressful events in childhood.
The blockbuster movie Se7en is a creepy thriller about a serial murderer who contrives to kill his victims in accordance with the seven deadly sins (lust, greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, anger, and envy).
Former FBI Special Agent Robert K. Ressler (1937–2013) is the man credited with coining the term “serial killer” in 1971.
While many serial killers were abused or beaten as children, there are exceptions. Jeffrey Dahmer had an apparently normal upbringing, yet became one of the most horrible sex murderers in popular culture.
Many serial killers report having an abnormally strong sex drive and many fantasized about dead women rather than living ones.
Most serial killers suffered child abuse. Neglect and child abuse not only impair a child’s self esteem, they also interfere with his or her ability to function in society, succeed academically, and form healthy relationships with people.
Very few serial killers turn themselves in. Only Ed Kemper called the police to confess. He waited at a telephone booth to be picked up.
Between 30%–38% of psychopaths show abnormal brainwave patterns, or EEGs.
While numerically less, homosexual serial killers include some horrific monsters, such as John Wayne Gacy (1942–1994) and Jeffrey Dahmer (1960–1994).
Most psychiatrists note that psychopaths cannot be successfully treated.
Some historical notorious serial killers include the 15th-century nobleman Gilles de Rais who fought alongside Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War.
In 20th-century America, the serial killer has come to embody a host of gnawing anxieties—anxieties about runaway crime, sexual violence, and breakdown of civil conduct.
Nearly 70% of serial killers received extensive head injuries as children or adolescents which, for many researchers, suggests a link between such injuries and serial murder.
Out of all the states in the U.S., California has the highest number of serial homicide cases in the 20th century, at 16% of the national total. Maine has the lowest: none.
Men constitute the overwhelming preponderance of serial killers, at over 90%. It is rare for serial killers to prey on people from another race. Consequently, because most serial killers are white, so are most of their victims (89%).
A historical survey of serial killers would have to begin at least as far back as the Roman emperor Caligula, who derived great pleasure in torture and murder.
Most serial killers are young: 44% started when they were in their 20s, 26% in their teens, and 24% in their 30s.
From an early age, many serial killers are intensely interested in voyeurism and fetishism as well as other paraphilia.
Without any social structure in his life, a serial killer is unable to have normal sexual relationships and is thus forced into solo sexual activities.
Studies suggest that serial killers have an average or low-average IQ, but they are perceived as having IQs in the above-average range. Only serial killers who used bombs had an average IQ above the population mean.
A board game called “Serial Killer” created controversy when it was put on the market a few years ago.
Unlike some people with significant mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, psychopaths can seem normal and often charming, in a state of adaptation psychiatrists call “the mask of sanity.”
Historians note that legends such as werewolves and vampires were inspired by medieval serial killers.
Because of the their psychopathic nature, serial killers do not know how to feel sympathy for others. They learn to simulate normal behavior by observing others, but it is a manipulative act.
The U.S. state with the most psychopaths is Connecticut. Following Connecticut are California, New Jersey, New York, and Wyoming (New York and Wyoming tied.