The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Volume Four T–Z


Book Description

The 4th volume of this comprehensive work features hundreds of serial killers from Sacramento to Soviet Russia—plus numerous unsolved cases. The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is the most complete reference guide on the subject, featuring more than 1,600 entries about the lives and crimes of serial killers from around the world. Defined by the FBI as a person who murders three or more people with a hiatus of weeks or months between murders, the serial killer has presented unique and terrifying challenges to have walked among us since the dawn of time—a fact this extensive record makes chillingly clear. The series concludes with Volume Four, T-Z. Entries include the Terminator Anatoly Yuriyovych Onoprienko; Trailside Killer David Joseph Carpenter; Vampire of Sacramento Richard Trenton Chase; and the Voroshilovgrad Maniac Zaven Almazyan; plus the unsolved cases of the Adelaide Child Murders; the Axeman of New Orleans; the Chillicothe Killer; the Dead Women of Juarez; the Korea Frog Boy Murders; and the Volga Maniac.




My Life Among the Serial Killers


Book Description

In this memoir, a forensic psychiatrist chronicles her work with more than 80 serial killers and her thoughts on what compels them. Judging by appearances, Dr. Helen Morrison has an ordinary life in the suburbs of a major city. She has a physician husband, two children, and a thriving psychiatric clinic. But her life is more than that. She is one of the world’s leading experts on serial killers, and has spent as many as four hundred hours alone in rooms with depraved murderers, digging deep into killers’ psyches in ways no profiler ever has before. In My Life among the Serial Killers, Dr. Morrison relates how she profiled the Mad Biter, Richard Otto Macek, who chewed on his victims’ body parts, stalked Dr. Morrison, then believed she was his wife. She did the last interview with Ed Gein, who was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. John Wayne Gacy, the clown-obsessed killer of young men, sent her crazed Christmas cards and gave her his paintings as presents. Then there was Atlanta child killer Wayne Williams; rapist turned murderer Bobby Joe Long; Fred and Rosemary West, who killed girls and women in their Gloucester “House of Horrors”; and Brazil’s deadliest killer of children, Marcelo Costa de Andrade. Dr. Morrison has received hundreds of letters from killers, read their diaries and journals, evaluated crime scenes, testified at their trials, and studied photos of the gruesome carnage. She has interviewed the families of the victims—and the spouses and parents of the killers—to gain a deeper understanding of the killer’s environment and the public persona they adopt. She has also studied serial killers throughout history and shows how this is not a recent phenomenon with psychological autopsies of the fifteenth-century French war hero Gilles de Rais, the sixteenth-century Hungarian Countess Bathory, H.H. Holmes of the late nineteenth-century, and Albert Fish of the Roaring Twenties. Through it all, Dr. Morrison’s goal has been to discover the reasons serial killers are compelled to murder, how they choose their victims, and what we can do to prevent their crimes in the future. Her provocative conclusions will stun you. Praise for My Life Among the Serial Killers “A scary piece of work, with even scarier implications.” —Kirkus Reviews “A profoundly enlightening book. Morrison provides startling insights into what factors breed serial killers, and she avoids the broad generalizations that make other books of the topic seem slick and superficial. . . . This is an absorbing, disturbing book that makes it clear just how much we have yet to learn.” —Booklist




The Killers Among Us


Book Description

-- The six myths of serial murder: addressing the "black hole of misinformation" that surrounds the subject. -- Detailed case studies of John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and other serial killers. -- The state-of-the-art in law enforcement investigation of serial murder. This book brings together all of what we know, what we think we know, and what we don't know about the horrific violence of serial murder. Part I introduces the subject of serial murder and presents the "six myths" of serial murder that interfere with understanding and successful investigation. Part II presents detailed case studies of four infamous serial killers, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Kenneth Bianchi and Henry Lee Lucas. Part Ill focuses on the investigation of serial murder, showing the problems law enforcement faces -- notably "linkage blindness", the inability of unwillingness of police agencies to share information on unsolved murders. This section includes an extensive discussion of fourteen different police responses to serial murder. Finally, the author -- a noted criminologist and former homicide investigator -- discusses the future of serial murder and its investigation. Students of criminology, psychology and sociology; true crime buffs; mystery writers and readers; journalists; skeptics; and criminal justice professionals.




Jeffrey Dahmer


Book Description

Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the most fascinating, memorable, and gruesome serial killers in American history who took the lives of 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Once he was captured and arrested in his one-bedroom apartment in Wisconsin on the evening of July 22nd, 1991, the true nature of a quiet chocolate factory mixer was exposed, after which he was aptly named The Milwaukee Monster and The Milwaukee Cannibal. His MO included date rape, necrophilia, and cannibalism, which shocked the world and his family. While Jeff was always known as a loner with some strange hobbies, no-one could have guessed what was festering inside a sad and neglected mind, particularly after puberty. He had mastered the art of diffusing any suspicions about his behavior, using sarcasm and self-pity to earn the trust of almost everyone that he had ever encountered. He was especially good at getting strangers to come home with him, whether it was for business, pleasure, or both and enjoyed the thrill of hunting for the best looking guy he could find for the purpose of "keeping them with me for as long as possible". This meant boiling, bleaching, and painting their skulls, which he was planning to turn into a shrine to help him "feel more at home", and preserving their hands, bones, and genitals. He also kept a stash of Polaroids in his bedroom, which depicted the sickening dismemberment process of several victims and served the purpose of pornography for him. At first glance, his apartment looked quite normal, complete with plants, a tropical fish tank, framed art, and a sofa to relax on, even though it had a strange smell. But officers soon realized that this was nothing more than a façade, discovering a freshly severed head as they plucked open his fridge, complete with a drip-tray. Detectives described the crime scene as the dismantling of a horror museum, where they carried out boxes, drawers, a refrigerator, a freezer, and barrels filled with human remains, some fresh, some mummified, and some neatly wrapped for later consumption. In this book we discover just what the man who got a 900+ year prison sentence got up to in his spare time, and what shaped him as a person.This series is written in the classic cut-and-dry factual narrative that True Crime fans enjoy, leaving out distractions, opinions, and unnecessary embellishments. Were there any warning signs of his behavior?How did he get away with murder for 13 years?How were his victim's bodies never discovered?Which victims did he cannibalize, and why?Why necrophilia? What was his motive? Let's investigate and find out!




I Tell You It's Love


Book Description

Dark moments seem like sweetness and light to lovers who dance to the beat of a dying heart. Ugly is beauty to them, horror is their laughter, and souls, dark or bright need not apply.




John Wayne Gacy


Book Description

John Wayne Gacy was a prolific American serial killer who buried most of his victims in the crawlspace under his house in Cook County, Illinois. What started as an investigation to find one missing teenager ended up being one of the most disturbing true crime cases in history. With 27 victims found buried mud under his house, 2 elsewhere on his property, and 4 recovered from the Des Plaines River, Gacy had quickly become the most frightening and least funny clown and serial killer that had ever lived. While he mostly dressed up as a police officer while he was cruising for victims, it was his work as a registered clown at children's parties and his charming trickery that earned him the title of "The Killer Clown". He had learned many tricks and charms to con his victims into the rope and handcuffs that would end their life, using what he called "the rope trick" to strangle them to death as he read them passages from the Bible. A sadistic sexual predator with an insatiable need to belittle, torture, and violate young boys and men- this case is hauntingly unforgettable and disturbing in every sense. When he was caught in December 1978 following a complacent slip-up in target selection, he displayed no signs of remorse for what he had done, instead, blaming his victims for killing themselves and using his fourteen years on death row to prove his innocence. He was a businessman, politician, community leader, family man, and friend who shocked the world with the evil and depravity that nobody knew he was capable of. What exactly did the man who holds the record for having the longest sentence ever imposed on a mass murderer get up to? Let's investigate!




Ted Bundy


Book Description

Ted Bundy is such an enigma that it is a challenge to describe him in one sentence. He is certainly one of the most notorious serial killers of all time and one which both fascinates and terrifies us all in some way or another. To think that he was able to sustain a life of education, romance, politics, and ordinary day-jobs while he brutally raped and murdered countless women across the United States is gut-wrenching- there were no signs of what he hid behind his charming smile and boyish personality. He is known as a serial rapist and murderer, but he was also a voyeur, hebephile, necrophile, and cannibal- with an avalanche of love for socks. His fetishes ranged from Burlington socks to sadomasochism and brunettes with their hair parted in the middle, which he combined into the most gruesome and torturous expressions of his inferiority and rage. A cunning and manipulative nose picker who studied psychology and law to master his craft, something that he said he worked very hard to "get right". Wherever Bundy fell short in childhood, he made up for in adulthood, making sure that he squeezed himself into as many middle to upper-class circles as he could and earning himself the favor he needed from police officers, politicians, professors, church leaders, and girlfriends to help him stay undetected for as long as possible. He had to be apprehended three times to keep him locked behind bars, escaping twice in the most iconic performance of a serial killer ever observed. He also naturally defended himself in court with each surmounting death sentence, slipping in a marriage proposal with a Tiffany's ring right before he was sentenced to death by electrocution. He met 'Old Sparky' in 1989, confessing to at least 30 murders after 11 years of denial in an attempt to buy himself more time. Some of the remains had been found, while others have never been recovered. Bundy was and remains the icon of Hybristophilia, where women have often been absolutely enamored by him as a person, believing that he was exceptionally special. Stephen Michaud, a journalist who spent possibly the most time with Ted Bundy on death row summed it up perfectly: "I tried to portray him as the worm that he was. That he in fact knew that he was. To look beyond that toothpaste smile and see him for what he is felt like a goal. So. if the public at large wants to turn him into some kind of evil genius, or handsome scarlet pimpernel, well then, I can't help that. I made a point to say that serial murder is a simple crime to commit and get away with. It involves complete strangers in remote places." Let's discover the dirty details of what Theodore got up to, shall we?




Serial Killers


Book Description

Witness how seemingly innocent, neighbor loved men turned into devilish creatures, feared till this day. Famous actors, musicians, political leaders and the greats of science. There are stories told. Movies filmed. And books written about the impact they've made on the world. But... This is a collection of different kind of people. People who are known not for their selfless, positive and genuine contributions, but the opposite... In this set of four true crime books, you will learn about men who performed acts so cruel, so inhumanely heartless, so unfathomable that their names will never be forgotten. This collection includes four of the world's most known serial killers: Edmund Kemper. A rejected child whose traumatic childhood scared him for a lifetime. The only way he could deal with his pain was by inflicting pain on others. Jeffrey Dahmer. Cannibalistic rapist and necrophiliac serial killer who felt no remorse and absolutely zero empathy. Robert Berdella. An ordinary man, appreciated by neighbors and a great lover of cooking, art, and culture, who turned into one of the most sadistic torturers to ever live. Ted Bundy. After taking dozens of innocent lives across 7 states and escaping the prison twice, he earned the title of America's most wicked serial killer. What Amazon readers are saying: ★★★★★ "This is a well-researched collection of the darkness mankind is capable of. A definite page-turner for those who want to glimpse the darkness that resides amongst some of us." ★★★★★ "Awesome collection of four of the most prolific and horrific serial killers of all time." ★★★★★ "So well written!!! I couldn't put it down, Ryan Becker is an awesome writer." Look into the dark, hidden side of the impactful - their names are never said out loud yet will never be forgotten...




The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers: Volume One, A–D


Book Description

The first volume featuring the most infamous killers throughout history—from Afghanistan’s Abdullah Shah to Kazakh cannibal Nikolai Dzhumagaliev. The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is the most comprehensive set of its kind in the history of true crime publishing. Written and compiled by Susan Hall, the four-volume set has more than 1600 entries of male and female serial killers from around the world. Defined by the FBI as a person who murders three or more people over a period of time with a hiatus of weeks or months between murders, serial killers have walked among us from the dawn of time as these books will demonstrate. While the entries to these volumes will continue to grow—the FBI estimates that there are at least fifty serial killers operating in the United States at any given time—The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is as complete as possible through the end of 2017. The set begins with Volume One, Letters A–D. The entries include Ted Bundy, the Candyman Dean Corll, Angel of Death killer Donald Harvey, the ABC Killer, and the Bodies in the Barrels Murders. You will find these killers and approximately five-hundred others in this first book in the series of The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers.




Magnetized


Book Description

NPR, One of the Best Books of the Year A “chilling but fascinating portrait” of a serial killer, and “a must-read for true crime fans” who enjoyed My Dark Places, The Stranger Beside Me, or I’ll Be Gone In the Dark (Buzzfeed) One of Argentina’s most innovative writers brings to life the story of a teenager who murdered 4 taxi drivers in 1982 Buenos Aires—without any apparent motive. Over the course of one ghastly week in September 1982, the bodies of 4 taxi drivers were found in Buenos Aires, each murder carried out with the same cold precision. The assailant: a 19–year–old boy, odd and taciturn, who gave the impression of being completely sane. But the crimes themselves were not: 4 murders, as exact as they were senseless. More than 30 years later, Argentine author Carlos Busqued began visiting Ricardo Melogno, the serial killer, in prison. Their conversations return to the nebulous era of the crimes and a story full of missing pieces. The result is a book at once hypnotic and unnerving, constructed from forensic documents, newspaper clippings, and interviews with Melogno himself. Without imposing judgment, Busqued allows for the killer to describe his way of retreating from the world and to explain his crimes as best he can. In his own words, Melogno recalls a visit from Pope Francis, grim depictions of daily life in prison, and childhood remembrances of an unloving mother who drove her son to Brazil to study witchcraft. As these conversations progress, the focus slowly shifts from the crimes themselves, to Melogno’s mistreatment and misdiagnosis while in prison, to his current fate: incarcerated in perpetuity despite having served his full sentence. Using these personal interviews, alongside forensic documents and newspaper clippings, Busqued crafted Magnetized, a captivating story about one man’s crimes, and a meditation on how one chooses to inhabit the world, or to become absent from it.