That it could be anyone.

Their hats?

Read American Psycho.
/thread.

Also, their joy from others pain. Sadism is some creepy shit.

The fact that they tend to be quite charismatic.

>>951908
Right fucking answer, sir.


I think it's the human aspect. Knowing you are a person and killing other people without being able to comprehend their humanity.

The fact that they often look for weak victims such as innocent women and children.

That they value their objectives over every thing else, including lives.

being unable to empathize with the pain they cause.

When they do it for the fame.

Their sense of humor.
Also their modus operandi or whatever.

Bloodlust. Plain and simple.

House. Season 6 episode 11.

Sociopaths are scary, it's the fact that you realize they are unfettered by your clouding emotional attachments, and are operating on a fundamental basis of logic (floawed or not) but ultimately for their own gain, and that there, for them are not the same social mores, dignity concerns or attachments which hold them back from doing the things, we ourselves, resist doing because of the same.

Murder for gain.

Kidnappers frighten me a lot. When you're a parent everyone seems suspicious if they are near your kid and an adult.
It's the cruelty that gets me. Taking a little kid from their mommy and daddy. It's just fucked up.

the murder weapon.

The violence.
The repetition.

The Types. The specific kinds of victim.

>>951986
actually I think it's scarier when it's random. It could be anyone.

>>951913

Holywood invention, they tend to be social loners with a history of instability to some degree, serial killers anyway.

Murderers on the other hand.

Sociopaths tend to be charming, but not all sociopaths are serial killers.

What are some good books with serial killers playing a major role in the plot?

>>952001
>they tend to be social loners with a history of instability to some degree

Depends on the killer. Neither is really an accurate generalization (regarding sociability).

>>952008
The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy
Monster by Naoki Urasawa

>>952026
Thank you kind anon!

Anyone else have suggestions? Can be movies, e.t.c.

What their childhood was like scares the crap out of me. Something has to make them the way they are. It has to be crazy.

What are the most common things in a serial killer/murderers childhood that you think brought them there?

Molestation? Violence? Lack of parenting? Emotional and Physical abuse?

>>952074
Jeffrey Dahmer had a really normal childhood, except for the fact that he thought about dead things while he masturbated.

>>952083
Hahahahahaha.


It's true though. Sometimes chemical shit is enough.

>>952074
Like the others mentioned with Dahmer, they don't all have fucked up childhoods. That's a pretty Freudian excuse. I think it's even scarier when they do have a normal/good upbringing and still turned out fucked up.

Some things that are common with most serial killers though is that they tend to be white males, they tortured/killed animals growing up, and I think most of them have a history of really late bedwetting, like around or past puberty.

If you're particularly interested in childhoods, I'd second Monster.

>>952187
Two of those things apply to me and i'm a gurofag. I'd never hurt anyone but the fantasy is hot.

I think the scariest thing is that there isn't much the police can do about it if they don't eve discover the killer until after many deaths.

>>952046
That Austrian movie called Angst. It's from the 80ies. Scared the shit out of me.

>>952364
>80ies
>eighty ies
why did you have to had the ie

The fact that they (usually) blend in to society. When a wanted poster was issued to find Ted Bundy, his colleagues found it hilarious that he looked exactly like the wanted killer. They stuck the poster on his desk at work as a practical joke, without realising it was him.

How they get addicted to murder

>>952374
That's freaking hilarious.

How they commit the insane act of killing another person, and then have the need to do it again and again in order to feel okay.

I find them more fascinating than scary.

I'm a white male, so no one really wants to rape and murder me. The odds of being killed by a serial killer are lower than low anyway, so I'm not concerned that it will happen to someone I know.

I don't know why, but I've always had a morbid fascination with murderers, even though I myself can't even harm a fly (or a spider...as much as I want to).

My favorite SK is Alexander Pichushkin. He was a Russian guy that was hellbent on breaking the country's record for most murders. His primary weapon was a hammer, which he'd use to crack people's skulls in Moscow parks, and afterward he'd jam things like broken vodka bottles into people's brains while they were still living. While he did this, he put a sticky note with the date and the person's name (if he knew it) on a chessboard, gaining him the nickname, The Chessboard Killer. When the police finally caught him, he had filled every space but one. That one space happened to be a girl he planned to kill the night he was arrested. He planned to meet her on a date and do the dirty. From jail, he was once quoted as saying, "For me, a day without murder is like a day without breathing." The guy was fucked up, but extremely fascinating.

What else does anon find fascinating about Serial Killers?

>>953032
Their lack of emotion. It's also what makes them scary, but mostly what interests me.

>>953091
This and the fact that many of them are highly intelligent (with some having genius-level IQs.)

What about mass killers? Anyone find those guys interesting?

Charles Whitman, Cho Seung-Hui, the Columbine Killers, Tim McVeigh, Martin Bryant, etc.

I'm much more afraid of these insecure assholes than a serial killer.

>>953160
Could you please explain why they are more scary, anon?

>>953295

Because they're more impulsive and less methodical. They plan things, sure, but it takes a certain bit of impassivity to unload on people in public. Their motives tend to usually be paper thin, almost always being some narcissistic justification for craving attention. Most times, mass killers pick closed spaces to attack so they can trap you. Along those lines, most of them know that they aren't going to survive so they're suicidal. Plus, no one is brave/fast enough to bring down a guy with two glocks. And the body counts are tremendous. In the past, serial killers have had higher counts, but DNA evidence has sort of done away with traditional serial killers. Mass murder seems to be the new rage.

>>952001
>>952026
Serial killers are divided into two categories, organized and disorganized.

The disorganized killers are the ones who tend to be more stereotypically "crazy". They usually live alone and have few if any connections to the outside world. Theyre marked by the seeming lack of planning in their crimes, they kill on impulse and ofter make minimal attempts to cover up their crimes(because of this they are often quickly caught). A good example is Ed Gein.

Organized killers are basically the opposite. They are often charming, successful, and lead active social lives. They plan out their crimes meticulously and deliberately(in contrast to the disorganized types impulse kills). These people are the fucked up ones that leave notes for the cops in cipher and shit.

>>953091
Not all Serial Killers are Sociopaths. There are plenty of other mental illnesses that can lead to murder.

>>953332
Which do you prefer/find more interesting?

>>953350
I prefer unorganized, personally. Much more amusing.

An interesting story.

My therapist interned at the same asylum that Ed Gein was kept in. He ate lunch with him everyday. Apparently he was a perfectly normal guy when he was on his meds. Its actually kind of sad, if he had been committed before he killed those people he could of lived a semi-normal life.

The fact that it's basically indistinguishable from a banal addiction.

And that their motivations are often completely banal.

Look at Dennis Nilsen, or Dr Harold Shipman. Dennis Nilsen killed people because he got lonely and wanted to watch TV with a corpse. Dr Shipman is probably the most prolific serial killer of all time, and also the dullest. He just liked playing god and watching grannies die of a morphine overdose.

Honestly, serial murder must be as mind-numbingly dull as crack addiction.

>>What are some good books with serial killers playing a major role in the plot?

*Zombie, Joyce Carol Oates (best suggestion)
*The Man Without Qualities, Robert Musil
*The Sluts / Closer, Dennis Cooper (or anything else by him)
*The Killer Inside Me, Jim Thompson
*M, Fritz Lang (film)
*Love and Human Remains, Denys Arcand (film)
*Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, Brad Fraser (play it was based on)
*Christie in Love, Howard Brenton (play)
*Frozen, Bryony Lavery (play)

>>What are the most common things in a serial killer/murderers childhood that you think brought them there?

Frontal lobe brain trauma. Check it out. It's something that many serial killers had in common.

Also you should check out "The Man Who Killed Boys", a decent book about Gacy.

>>953418
Psychfag is really jealous. That's so cool.

What are stereotypes?

>>953418

One of my HS English teachers briefly lived next to Ted Bundy. He said Bundy mowed his lawn and washed his Volkswagen every sunday. They moved away during the killings too. He said it really freaked his wife out when Bundy was caught.

The thing for me is not the complete lack of empathy or disconnect from reality, it's the fact that this could be any unassuming person, any passerby on the street - you just never know. Look at B.T.K. killer or Ted Bundy, they successfully appeared to be like everyday normal people despite what they were doing.

>>953547
>*Zombie, Joyce Carol Oates (best suggestion)
I read this book expecting something along the lines of American Psycho, which gets mentioned on here often. American Psycho is so very unemotional in Bateman's thoughts that it's very easy to just breeze through what he's doing. It's explicit, but detached.
Zombie, on the other hand, was much more emotionally explicit. It was a really good novella, but it was disturbing; it wasn't disturbing in a "oh wow that's shocking" way (although it had a little bit of that, but not much) but in a faintly nauseous way, like my mind was inhaling rotten scents.

albert fish

>>953674
Wow. That's somewhere between awesome and really lucky haha.

>>953702
Hell, look at most of the Nazis - Eichmann, for example. "Banality of evil."

Anatomy of Evil By Dr. Michael Stone, if your a t.v. person his show "Most Evil" you can still occasionally catch reruns on Investigation Discovery. His book he loosely created a classification for serial killers based on Dante's Inferno. It goes into brief summary's and the classifications of several serial killers, it was a good read. Here's a few links to some featured ones I found particularly interesting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Parker_Ray
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lee_Lucas

>>I'm a white male, so no one really wants to rape and murder me.

Dennis Nilsen wants to buy you a drink. Then John Wayne Gacy has a few odd jobs he'd like you to perform, and he'll pay you in cash. Oh, and Dean Corll is offering free weed down at the ranch.

OP here.
These are all perfectly excellent. Thank you so much kind anons. I knew I could count on /lit/!
If anyone wants else to contribute you're more than welcome.

>>953920
Epic Win.

Well...

ok, I'm going to get trolled for this, but:

What horrifies me most about serial killers is that I think like one. I can't watch stuff about serial killlers with anyone in the room because it often results in an uncontrollable sexual arousal - I have to pause and beat off. My impulses in this direction I keep in check for the sake of my career ambitions, but if I fouled up and had no possibility of getting back on track, I would probably switch entirely into the mentality of a serial killer.

I'm going to now have to masturbate.

Did I kill the thread?

>>953972
What on earth..

My roommate's dad lead the investigation of Jeffrey Dahmer's murder in prison. One of the inmates disassembled a piece of gym equipment, bashed Dahmer's head in, then reassembled the equipment.

It's a weird thing, murderers being murdered.

>>What horrifies me most about serial killers is that I think like one. I can't watch stuff about serial killlers with anyone in the room because it often results in an uncontrollable sexual arousal - I have to pause and beat off. My impulses in this direction I keep in check for the sake of my career ambitions, but if I fouled up and had no possibility of getting back on track, I would probably switch entirely into the mentality of a serial killer. I'm going to now have to masturbate.

When you masturbate, what do you think about? Killing? Are your victims male or female? Are YOU male or female?

Also, in a capitalist economy, I can't think of what career ambitions you could possibly have that aren't improved by having the mentality of a serial killer.

Those that blend in. Those who are inconspicious. They are the most horrific. The fact that they can hide their intent. That they can be undetected. That they are every day sorts. That there is no way of looking at them and knowing.

>>953584

He told one funny story where Ed was sitting at the table eating and he went, "Mmmm This is REALLY GOOD meat." and everyone at the table started laughing and Ed just kind of rolled his eyes.
>>953972
What is this I dont even...

>>951903
Also to answer OPS original question.

The kinds of serial killers that really creep me out arent the coldhearted sociopaths, theyre the "artistic" kinds like the black dahlia killer.

It's when they're subtle and inconspicious that they are most terrifying.

>>954112

The mentality, yes, but the impulses must be controlled.

Always, if memory serves, I'm my own sex - that is, male. My victims are male and female.

This is the best serial killer my town had produced:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Denyer

He sounds like he would have been a channer; if he had been born a little later.

>>954157
Well, whatever keeps you from killing people.

"I just wondered what it would feel like to kill grandma." -Edmund Kemper

I think serial killers are scarier when you know little to nothing about them. Take the Saw movies for instance (or just the first really), the murders are scary as shit because the victims have no idea what's going on and know nothing about the killer's motives. But then the other half of the movie (and the infinite sequels) explain every little detail about the killer's life, thus turning him from a monster into a man.

>>954183

OK.

>>954181
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Black_(serial_killer)
I'm still looking for a Glasgow one. but jesus christ look at this guys bio & lol.

>While living with the Tulips, Robert Black developed sexual self-awareness at a young age. He later said that from the age of eight he would often push objects up his anus.
>pedo
definitely would be a channer.

>>954277

Bloody hell. Scotland was pretty soft on paedo's.

>>954320
that's what I was thinking. weird how the first couple didn't tell any authorities at all. 1966, I'm not sure if it's just because there wasnt much public awareness or something.

>>953972
gurochan.net are people just like you. Gurofag here converting.

>>954126
Hahahaha. That's fucking hilarious.

>>954232
Very good point. It's when they're a man that they lose the fear for me. The mindless killer is much scarier.

Thinking about the countless generations that would've had an entire life to live and do with as they please, if it had not been for their great great ancestor running into the right sociopath at precisely the wrong time

"But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis, and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. This confession has meant NOTHING."

Didn't Carl Panzram write a book?

I think the reason why they do it is the most fascinating/scary thing.

The scariest thing is the photo's they take in the police station. Their eyes are just...dead. It's eerie.

I can't imagine how their families feel. Or what they're even like.

>>958031

They're mostly wet.

I'm that guy again, I've seen this thread again, and I'm going to have to jack off again.

/lit/ - I can't think of anything so you guys come up with something

>>958031
Well just imagine how the victim feels! Being dead and all...

The same reason huge flesh hungry animals or zombies are scary: You can't reason with them. They're usually insane, so pretty much nothing you can do is right.

The part where he kills you.

>>958134
Dear "That Guy",
Gurochan.net Seriously man, we understand you there. We're your people.

The flair for the dramatic that the movie representations of characters who are serial killers have. In real life I bet it's all very quick and subtle.