The Mask of Sanity

Serial Killers: Born or Bred to Kill? Criminals like Charles Manson can attribute their sadistic nature from a childhood of neglect and abuse, whereas serial killers like David Berkowitz – who grew up in a healthy, supportive family – have no justifiable reason for their actions, other than their own desire to kill. Unfortunately, both types of men infamously manifested their destinies into become the human incarnation of the Grim Reaper himself. There have been numerous studies conducted in efforts to determine the correlation between mental deficiencies and its effects on the probability of a person become a serial killer. Although there have been many cases where the correlation between the two is significantly evident, there still lies the infinitely debatable question – What makes a person a serial killer? In the ever continuous Nature vs. Nurture debate, any correlation between a person’s tendency to kill or act out in violence and its relevance to their genetics or their surroundings is held under deep speculation. The fact of the matter is that a person’s desire to kill does not stem wholly from their biology or their surroundings, but it can be either or. Some people are just destined to become serial killers. In Dr. Berit Brogaard’s Psychology Today blog, she specifies clearly that “The Minnesota twin study has shown that psychopathy is 60 percent heritable” (Brogaard 2012). In this study, twins were held under observation to determine whether or not they still…

According to Criminology Today, the term psychopath is defined as “an individual who has a personality disorder, especially one manifested in aggressively antisocial behavior, and who is lacking empathy” (Schmalleger 126). The term sociopath is also used interchangeably with psychopath with some differences. When most individuals think of a psychopath, they think of a seriously deranged serial killer, and they are mostly correct, however, it is much more than that. The one major attribute to…

According to “Herb Baumeister and the Horrors of Fox Hollow,” Herb Baumeister was the oldest of four children to the parents Herbert and Elizabeth Baumeister. Baumeister’s parents perceived him as being normal, except his love of watching documentaries about serial killers. One of Baumeister’s childhood friends recalls him as being a bit odd by recalling one of Baumeister’s favorite pass times which was to play with dead animals. On another occasion he recalls Baumeister leavening a dead bird on…

Everything happens for a reason, even murder. Nonetheless, people believe murderers should not be able to explain why they ended a life, but this could be vital to preventing future homicides. However, most of the time, the motive is not clear. One explanation of this could be a personality disorder known as antisocial personality disorder. Many serial killers have this disorder. As he is described in Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, H.H. Holmes possesses symptoms of antisocial disorder.…

Arrigo (2001, n.p.) defined psychopaths as “an elusive and perplexing psychological construct”, which across history has experienced several degrees of social condemnation. Similarly, the public’s perception of a psychopath, such as Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, is someone who has committed such horrific violent crimes as a serial and mass murder. As explained previously, a psychopath does not need to express violent tendencies to have developed a lack of emotional attachment, which many have…

delivery guys, taxi drivers and police officers usually do not apply because they are more comfortable killing on their driving routes. There has been a serial killer police officer who was named John Gerard Schaefer. He lived in Florida. While he was in his squad he would kidnap teenage girls, tie them to trees, go back to work and after he clocked out, returned to rape and kill them. His alibi was always “I was at work when they disappeared” (Brown, 2003). Many serial killers suffer from…

A lot of people want to blame the parents of the offenders, asking “what did you turn your child into?” 36% of serial killers were physically abused, 26% were sexually abused, and 50% were psychologically abused (Mitchell and Aamodt 45). Many people have logically come to the conclusion that just because someone is abused, it does not mean that they will become a serial killer; or even a murderer; which is true. In the general population (people who have never committed murder) only 6% are…

Have you ever wondered why we are the way we are or why we think differently from the people around us? Well, many of these characteristics come from our DNA that we inherited from our parents its part of our genetic make-up. Although, there are many things that we inherit from our environment as we grow. Have you ever thought about why the majority of psycho killers have no remorse towards their actions or why they commit these unexplainable tragedies? Psycho killers have an Antisocial…

Inside the Mind of a Killer "We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow." Ted Bundy had stated this just days before his execution in 1989 for murdering over 30 people. It is surely obvious that Ted Bundy 's mind differs from the thought process of someone who has not killed another being. The questions we ask now are, How is it different? What makes his and plenty like him so very different? Experts have spent…

similarities between serial killers, not all of them fit the typical profile, leading back to Gladwell’s claim that profiling can be inaccurate. The typical profile for a serial killer is a white man in his twenties to his forties that is generally reserved and keeps to himself. While definitely not common, serial killers can certainly be female. Arguably the most well-known female killer, Aileen Wuornos terrorized the east coast. According to Bio, the A&E Television Networks’ official biography…