SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 1

Serial Killer Thrillers: The Medias Influence on Our Perception of Serial Killers

Richie Snook

University of Denver
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 2

Introduction

Americans love to indulge in true crime TV shows, documentaries, and movies. The

serial killer has become a staple in American culture. Something about wicked serial killers

captivates viewers all across the nation, inspiring various networks and production companies to

come up with new killers and new sinister plots to fill air time. The film adaptation of Robert

Blochs novel, Psycho, was the beginning of an era: the era of serial killer thrillers.

For a long time, serial killers were portrayed as inhuman, crazy, evil, and every other

word that could be used to separate them from us. Serial killers were the bad seeds of cinema,

characters that were too evil to exist outside of the screen. But they did. Many stories, like the

story of Norman Bates, were inspired by real life murderers. As the trials of iconic killers such as

Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy began to gather attention though, the image of the serial killer

began to change. He was proper, he was good looking, he was normal. Perhaps the scariest part

though, was the fact that this new image of the serial killer was a reflection of many Americans.

Suddenly, serial killers werent separate, bad seeds. They were everyday people, just like us.

The idea that a very thin line separates us from serial killers made many of us very

uncomfortable. No one wants to believe that the handsome man that worked for a crisis hotline

could rape and kill over 30 women, or that the quiet boy from a small town in Wisconsin could

be capable of killing and eating 17 men and boys.

So, what made the media change the portrayal of serial killers? What do they base these

decisions off of? And most importantly, the question that I formed my research around, what is

the overall effect the media has of altering our perception of serial killers? The media is

powerful, and it very clearly impacts American culture. So how does it impact our perception of

one of the most iconic figures of our time: the serial killer?
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 3

Lit Review

Serial killers are figures in our culture that are surrounded by complete enigma. The

questions regarding how they became what they are, what motivates them, and what makes us so

fascinated with them have no clear explanations, which makes us crave answers even more.

CREATION

There has been much research done on the factors that contribute to the creation of a

serial killer, and this research has yielded three dominant fields of explanation. A serial killer can

be created based on environmental factors, biological factors, psychological factors, as well as by

any combination of the three (Allely, Minnis, Thompson, Wilson, Gillberg, 2014, p. p288-301;

Martens, 2011, p493-514; Knight, 2006, p1189-1206).

A specifically powerful environmental factor that has been attributed to the creation of a

serial killer is the presence of childhood trauma. Childhood trauma is not limited to sexual,

emotional, and physical abuse. It can also include living in an unhappy home or suffering a

painful experience. Jeffrey Dahmer is the perfect example of how environmental stressors can

lead to the creation of a serial killer because he was neglected by his parents, the relationship

between his parents was toxic, and he suffered from a painful hernia at a young age (Culhane,

Hilstad, Freng, Gray, 2010, p1-21.; Knight, 2006, p1189-1206; Smith, 2011, p390-400; Martens,

2011, p493-514).

Although there are endless chemical imbalances that can cause someone to want to kill,

the main biological factor that contributes to the creation of a serial killer is a mental disability.

Various killers throughout history, like Jeffrey Dahmer, for example again, have displayed signs

that are indicative of falling somewhere on the autism spectrum. Dahmer was thought to have

Aspergers Syndrome because he was unable to create meaningful bonds with others, he had
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 4

difficulty with nonverbal communication, his posture was rigid, and his voice was monotone

(Allely, et al, 2014, p288-301; Knight, 2006, p1189-1206; Martens, 2011, p493-514).

Psychological factors, however, are most commonly used when assessing what creates a

serial killer (Skrapec, 2001, n.p.). Everyone uses terms like psychopath, sadist, and

narcissist, when talking about serial killers. Psychopaths are people who lack the ability to feel

remorse for others, and this is a personality disorder that has been noted in Ted Bundy, Jeffrey

Dahmer, and several other notorious killers (Miller, 2013, p1-22.; Culhane, et all, 2010, p1-21.).

Someone is considered a sadist if the psychological or physical pain of another is pleasing to

them, and being a narcissist means that one has an intense interest in ones self. Sadism and

narcissism often go together due to the fact that the pain caused to others benefits the sadist. It is

in his own self-interest to cause the pain in order to satisfy an urge, whether this urge or desire is

purely sexual depends on the killer. Some of these urges for domination and causing pain are

rooted in feelings of inadequateness and self-hatred (Martens, 2011, p493-514; Knight, 2006,

p1189-1206; Miller, 2013, p1-22.). This bleeds into the various motivations of serial killers.

MOTIVATION

The motivation to kill is different for each individual offender, but one of the most

notable motives is the desire to fulfill fantasies, specifically of a sexual nature. In Ted Bundys

last interview before his execution, he said:

My experience with, Id say, pornography, generally, but with pornography that deals on

a violent level with sexuality, is that once you become addicted to it (and I look at this

as a kind of addiction) like other kinds of addiction, you keep you keep looking for

more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep

craving something which is harder, harder, something which which gives you a
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 5

greater sense of excitement, until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so

far, you reach that jumping off point where you begin to wonder if if maybe actually

doing it will give you that which is just beyond reading about it and looking at it,

(Dobson, 1989, n.p.).

According to Bundy, as well as many other infamous killers, their sexual fantasies evolve to the

point where the only way to satisfy them is to act them out in real life. But perhaps a deeper look

at a killers motivation would reveal that they have their own subjective meaning and reasoning

that drives them to do what they do. According to Skrapec (2001), serial killers, despite doing

unimaginable things, are humans and they have thoughts and reasons that justify the things they

do, just as we do. This is called phenomenology, and it encourages researchers to examine what

a killers actions mean to them personally, in order to understand their actions better.

KILLERS IN THE MEDIA

The research done on causation and motivation has played a role in how serial killers in

the media have been portrayed and explained. We like serial killers that are obviously different

than us because it helps us to preserve our own humanity (Smith, 2011, p390-400). When killers

have some sort of childhood trauma, disability, or psychotic issue, its easy to write them off as

damaged. Being able to pinpoint where a killers life went wrong and how they differ from all

the good people in the world is reassuring for audiences. Alfred Hitchcocks film adaptation of

Psycho was so well received because Norman was clearly not the same kind of human we all are.

Norman had a rough childhood considering he lost his father at a young age and his mother was

severely overbearing, and it was made clear at the end of the movie that Norman had some

serious psychological issues. This isnt something most of us can relate to, so this story of a
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 6

murderous boy who alternated between being himself and being his mother seems very fictitious

and solely for entertainment (Cuse, 2013-2017; Hitchcock, 1960).

But killers like Patrick Bateman, from American Psycho, are not so easy to explain.

Bateman has no backstory, there is nothing to attribute his evil to. He appears to be completely

normal by almost every account. Hes handsome, hes successful, hes cultured, and hes the

voice of reason among his yuppie friends. But in the beginning of the film, he says something

that makes most people very uncomfortable:

There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, [he says while peeling off his herb-mint facial

mask]. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something

illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh

gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I

simply am not there.

Patrick Bateman strikes a different kind of fear into us because he makes us worry about the evil

that is all around us, hiding in plain sight. Possibly even within ourselves (Donnelly, 2012, p15-

26; Skrapec, 2001, n.p.).

Perhaps the most beloved killer of our time though, Dexter Morgan, from Dexter, is a

mixture of both kinds of distinct serial killers. Dexter is the same as us, he is relatable, but he is

also so clearly different. Dexter is a handsome blood splatter analyst for the Miami Police

Department, one who is smart and quirky and just like everyone else. Except he has an insatiable

urge to kill. We, the audience, accept him though for several reasons; Dexter had a heartbreaking

childhood that helps to explain why hes driven to kill, and he adheres to our moral code,

meaning he only kills people who deserve it.

SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 7

These three killers all draw on research that has been done on the creation and motivation

of serial killers, and they all skillfully use this research to captivate us in different ways, whether

it be because their childhood was difficult, they have psychological issues, they have a lovable

personality, or perhaps a combination of the like (Smith, 2011, p390-400; Donnelly, 2012, p15-

26).

Methods

In order to gain additional information to help answer how the media effects our overall

perception of serial killers, I utilized all three types of primary research: surveys, observations,

and interviews.

I created a nine-question survey on surveymonkey.com to help me get a general idea

about peoples current perceptions of serial killers. I didnt want to limit my responses to a

certain age group because I had a strong feeling that different age groups would feel differently

about serial killers. Definitively other serial killers were the norm for older people, but the

serial killer icon has evolved over time to be a little more like us, a little more relatable, likely

making it so that younger people more tolerant of this portrayal. Since there were no limitations

about who could answer my survey, I posted it to my personal Facebook wall and encouraged

my friends to take the survey if they were so inclined. My mom, my best friends mom, and two

of my close friends shared my post, enabling me to get a total of 131 responses over the course

of a couple of days.

For observations, I watched two serial killer documentaries on Netflix and observed two

different serial killer forums. The first documentary I watched was called, H.H. Holmes:

Americas First Serial Killer. H.H. Holmes built a castle-like building in Chicago that was

designed specifically to support his murderous tendencies. I elected to watch this documentary
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 8

because H.H. Holmes had a lasting effect on the media, considering his story was just used as

inspiration for a recent season of American Horror Story, titled Hotel, and he has preserved

himself as Americas Jack the Ripper (Borowski, 2004).

The second documentary I watched was titled, Jack the Ripper: Prime Suspect. This 2012

documentary follows a man who is trying to use forensic evidence to uncover the identity of the

man who terrified the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. He believes that a serial killer

named Frederick Deeming, who was eventually executed for serial murder in Australia, was

responsible for the Whitechapel murders (Punchard, 2012). The very fact that people are still

obsessed with identifying the man behind the slaying of five prostitutes over 100 years ago

speaks volumes to the effect Jack the Ripper had on the world. He has consistently captivated us

because of the mystery that surrounds him.

I also observed two forums on unexplained-mysteries.com to see how people interact

with each other when discussing serial killers. The first forum talked about sympathy for Jeffrey

Dahmer, and dove deeply into the level of sympathy that can be truly felt for a sexually

motivated killer (Astral Projection, 2009). The second forum asked people to post their top ten

infamous murderers and why. Many respondents seemed to feel that murderers like Jack the

Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, and JonBenet Ramseys killer, are the most interesting because they

escaped being punished for their horrible, public crimes (Embryo, 2008). These two forums

separately addressed two of the main issues in my research, which are how we feel about serial

killers and why we feel that way.

As for my interview, I communicated with my sister, Abbey Bickford, who is a

psychologist. I asked her what is it that makes us interested in serial killers, what it is that allows

them to be so popular within our culture. I specifically asked broad questions regarding things
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 9

like empathy and desire because I wanted to uncover various parts of the human condition that

could possibly explain the prominence of serial killers in modern-day America.

Results

My primary research yielded some very complex results. As I mentioned earlier, serial

killers appear to be a staple in American culture, but it turns out that many people are

uncomfortable with the topic. About a third of the respondents from the survey (32.56%) claimed

to not like shows or movies about serial killers, and their reasoning for this had to do with being

against the glorification of violence, not wanting to fill their head with morbid things, and not

wanting to follow fake killers when there are so many real ones. Many people are fascinated by

serial killers though. As displayed in the documentary, Jack the Ripper: Prime Suspect, there are

people who dedicate their entire lives to studying Jack the Ripper, they call themselves

Ripperologists. Many people, 42.97% of my survey respondents, in fact, are truly interested in

what makes a serial killer the way they are. So, while many people indicated disgust and wanted

nothing to do with serial killer culture, many are very invested in it, indicating that the serial

killer craze targets a particular audience.

On a similar note, my survey results showed that 73.08% of the respondents felt like

nothing made a serial killer tolerable. According to Abbey Bickford, things like childhood

experience/upbringing, as well as mental conditions, should make it easier for us to empathize

with killers. This correlates well with the findings by Smith (2011) and Skrapec (2001), which

state that we are likely to enjoy a serial killer more when their evil can be traced back to

something, and more importantly, when it can be used to separate them from us. But it appeared

that only a few respondents felt sympathy for real killers with real explanations, like mental

conditions and upbringing. When responding to a picture of Jeffrey Dahmer and his crimes, one
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 10

respondent in my survey said, my first thought was tragic because I knew who he was.

Accordingly, my first thought isn't changed. He was a tragic man (not as tragic, however, as his

victims) [sic]. This indicates that this person feels some level of sympathy for Dahmer, which

makes sense because not only was his upbringing difficult, but he was a sadist and possibly fell

somewhere on the autism spectrum (Allely, et al, 2014, p288-301; Knight, 2006, p1189-1206;

Martens, 2011, p493-514). Dahmers friend from high school, Derf Backderf, who wrote, My

Friend Dahmer, seemed to be on the same page as this respondent. He said that he wished the

adults in Jeffreys life would have paid attention and made more efforts to help him out of the

dark place he was in, but that appears to be where his sympathy ends. Backderf (2012)

acknowledges that Dahmer had a difficult upbringing, but the fact that he decided to hurt 17

different people makes him a coward and someone who is unworthy of empathy.

It was also evident that many attribute a killers sexual drive to their murders. In a forum

on unexplained-mysteries.com, people were discussing whether or not someone should, in fact,

feel sympathy for Jeffrey Dahmer. One commenter said, it starts with an urge thats initiated by

sexual pleasure, once its done, it escalates. The same thing with Dahmer, as it was with Gacy,

Bundy, Radar, etc. Their sexual drive is satisfied by the acts. Thats what drives them. No room

for sympathy with him when he left so many victims at the hands of his sexual fantasies [sic].

Another said, Dahmer killed because he wanted to kill and said he wanted the perfect sex

slave. The article, Our Serial Killers, Our Superheroes, and Ourselves: Showtime's Dexter, by

Victoria L. Smith (2011), indicates that we tend to enjoy killers that dont add any sexual

elements to their murders more so than those that do. That is one of the many reasons we all love

Dexter so much. People cant sympathize with sexual predators, they dont enjoy the mystery

that surrounds the violation of anothers body in a sexual manner, but like Bundy said in his last
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 11

interview, the sexual release felt by killers during these acts becomes like an addiction, and

addiction is something that invokes sympathy in some. So, although the levels of sympathy vary

when it comes to serial killers, it is clear that the sympathy felt for a killer is nowhere near the

level of sympathy felt for their victims.

It also became clear that fascination overruled sympathy in most cases. On a forum about

peoples 10 most infamous killers and why on unexplained-mysteries.com, many discussed their

admiration for killers that never got caught. Many listed Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, as

well as JonBenet Ramseys killer, as their favorite killer because they eluded punishment. Both

Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer terrorized entire cities, killed multiple people, sent

daunting letters, and got away with their hands clean, metaphorically speaking. The fact that

these killers never came to justice, despite making their presence known, is very intriguing. This

is like the final scenes of American Psycho, when Patrick Bateman admits to his murderous habit

and basically surrenders, but everyone thinks he is kidding. The movie ends with Bateman

saying:

My pain is constant and sharp, and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact, I

want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape. But even after admitting

this, there is no catharsis; my punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper

knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This

confession has meant nothing.

Bateman, despite making his murders known, continues to be free (Drake, 2000). This is very

mysterious, so mysterious that one of my survey respondents had a theory about him. They said,

since Bateman is so mysterious and not all of his acts are talked about, but instead hinted at, my

theory is that the actual Patrick Bateman does not exist at all. This would explain the lack of
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 12

punishment for his crimes as well as his overall lavish lifestyle that knows no bounds. This ties

back to the beginning of the movie where Bateman says he is just something illusory. The fact

that these killers, both real and fake, could be so mysterious that at some point, they almost cease

to exist, makes people even more anxious for answers. Bickford says this is the drive behind our

fascination with serial killers. They are so foreign and mysterious that we want to get inside their

heads and participate in their televised trials and understand every little aspect about them. This

also explains our century long obsession with mystery killer, Jack the Ripper, as well as killers

like him.

Discussion

This research question is much too complicated to be answered in such a short amount of

time, so my findings are very mixed. While they do not fill the gap I was looking to fill and do

not fully answer my research question, what impact does the media have on our perception of

serial killers, they do create interesting implications for future research on the topic. I will

discuss my findings in greater detail below.

MIXED FEELINGS

My most prominent finding is that there are very mixed feelings surrounding the topic of

serial killers. Even though 73.08% of the survey respondents said nothing makes a serial killer

tolerable, 24.03% claimed that Dexter, from Showtimes Dexter, was their favorite serial killer,

and 30.23% said that Hannibal Lecter, from Silence of the Lambs, was their favorite. Many

respondents seemed to believe that Dexter had a good reason for killing so many people. He

followed a moral code and only killed people who hurt others and deserved it. One person went

as far as to say that Dexter is their favorite on-screen killer because, he does it for the good of

society in a way. This to me, seems like toleration. Many respondents seemed to genuinely
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 13

enjoy Dexter Morgan as a person because he was funny, eerily relatable, had people around him

that he cared about and that cared about him, and he only killed people who deserved it. Hes a

vigilante, and just like Smith (2011), hints at in Our Serial Killers, Our Superheroes, and

Ourselves: Showtimes Dexter, Dexter is like Batman, he takes care of his city when law

enforcement doesnt. Hes like us, but hes different, hes powerful. We can almost live

vicariously through him (Donnelly, 2012, p15-26; Smith, 2011, p390-400).

People also admired Hannibal Lecter for his intelligence, wit, and gentleman-like

composure. Although most respondents claimed to like Lecter because he is the scariest villain

of all time, and one of the greatest characters in cinematic history, and not because hes a

likeable person, they still seem to tolerate him. I think much of this enjoyment can be attributed

to the fact that these killers are fictional, but many fictional characters, like Norman Bates, who

5.43% of respondents claimed to be their favorite, are inspired by real killers. In Phenomenology

and Serial Murder, Skrapec (2001) notes that people become very uncomfortable when the line

that separates them from a killer is blurred or made thin, so perhaps the distance between a

fictional killer and us is enough to allow us to feel secure about our humanity. But one response

to the forum on unexplained-mysteries.com said that Ed Gein was their favorite serial killer

because he inspired Norman Bates. It may not be common knowledge that Norman Bates is Ed

Gein, so despite people like the commenter on unexplained-msyteries.com, most people think

Bates is completely fictional and people typically only like killers when they are not real. This

finding implicates that as much as we want to hate serial killers in every dimension and as much

as we claim to hate them, we dont entirely. Most of us have a guilty pleasure and enjoy at least

one fictional serial killer, such as Dexter Morgan or Hannibal Lecter.

SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 14

REASONS FOR BEING ICONIC

It also became evident throughout my research that different killers are iconic for very

different and distinct reasons. There is something notable about them as individuals that draws

our attention. My survey indicated that people like Hannibal Lecter because hes smart and the

genius serial killer is very intriguing. Dexter is widely liked because he adheres to a strict moral

code. Ted Bundy was popular because he was attractive and not what youd imagine a serial

killer to look like. Jeffrey Dahmer was disgusting because he ate people and had sex with their

corpses. When the name of any one of these serial killers comes up, that one thing tends to be

universally associated with them. This is very interesting compared to other research done,

because in, Phenomenology and Serial Murder, Skrapec (2011) suggests that in order to

understand the motivation of a serial killer, we must understand their interpretation of the world

around them. When we belittle them to one small part of their existence, we are limiting our

understanding of them. When we dont acknowledge that Dahmer ate his victims because he had

an overwhelming desire to be close and intimate with them, and that his lonely childhood led

him to do anything to be with someone and be in control, we misrepresent him and

misunderstand him (Martens, 2011, p493-514). This is troubling because according to Bickford,

our main interest in serial killers is trying to understand them. Of the 97 survey respondents that

claimed to have an interest in serial killers, 55 of them stated it was because they wanted to

understand why serial killers are the way they are because they are not like us, we dont

understand how they are capable of such evil and why they do it. But when given the opportunity

to examine the killer as a whole and understand what their actions mean and represent to them,

we dont take it and we simply write them off as witty, or morally-correct, or handsome, or

gross. As demonstrated in Silence of the Lambs, Lecter is locked up and observed and referred to
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 15

as if he were some kind of wild animal. Lecter stands in a cage in the middle of a room with a

bright light shining on him at all times, creating a spectacle of the genius, serial cannibal

(Goetzman, 1991). If our goal truly was to understand killers, the doctors and the guards would

have wanted to make efforts to get to know Lecter, but they were too afraid of his mind and the

power he had over them. We crave an understanding of these mysterious people, but we limit

that very understanding by belittling them into one static, iconic characteristic.

MYSTERY

Mystery seems to be what everything boils down to. We limit killers to one single trait

and then we claim we cant understand them. This sense of mystery is why most people are

interested in serial killers. We all want to know what pushed them to where they are and how

they did the things they did, or in cases like Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac killer, how they

didnt get caught. Its this endless desire for answers that appears to make serial killers popular

with a certain audience. We want to understand something that is foreign to us, and like

Donnelly (2012) states in, A New American Hero: Dexter, Serial Killer for the Masses, we only

like the ones that are different from us. We tend to not ask why Patrick Bateman is the way he is

because he is not foreign to us. We can relate to him on every level except his murderous

rampages, and that extremely fine line between us and him is enough to drive us away (Skrapec,

2001, n.p.). We dont want to know that serial killers are just like us, that doesnt answer any

questions or put our minds at ease, we want to identify what makes them different from us, and

how/why that happens.

While these findings do not necessarily speak to the medias impact on our perception of

serial killers, it speaks to the abnormalities and the true feelings of Americans during this age of

the serial killer. They indicate that no matter how many answers we have, whether it be about
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 16

causation or motivation, were still going to want more. It is the mystery that drives us. We must

know at least a little bit about the killers, just enough to be sure that they are different than us,

then we want to continuously examine them, but only through one worn out lens. Or in unsolved

cases, we want to end the long-standing mystery that surrounds them. Over 100 years later, we

want to know Jack the Rippers identity. Several members of serial killer forums cite him as the

most infamous serial killer in history. He draws us in because we dont know who he was, where

he went, what his motives were, and how he didnt get caught despite his public presence. We

still develop ways to investigate him, like the forensic scientist in Jack the Ripper: Prime

Suspect, and we still run into anomalies. The same thing goes with the Zodiac Killer, and

although it has not been speculated that JonBenet Ramseys killer was a serial killer, both killers

left a huge mystery for the world to try to sort out. These kinds of mysteries keep our interest in

killers strong.

Limitations

As I mentioned earlier, I had a very short amount of time to tackle this very intricate

question and topic. Had I had more time, I definitely would have delved deeper into the serial

killer craze that is sweeping America, and this would have allowed me to conduct more complete

research.

A brief list of things I wish I would have done differently includes: speaking with more

experts and to get their point of view in order to get a broader perspective of American serial

killer culture and creating a more extensive timeline of movies and shows about serial killers to

track how their portrayals have changed over the years. The different types of killers were clear

to me, but I would have liked to identify different characteristics in serial killers throughout

cinema history. Going along with this timeline theme, I realize I should have added a question
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 17

about age to my survey, just to see if there truly are any massive differences in opinions between

age groups, and to be able to address that initial hunch I had in my findings.

Overall, I think the biggest blunder may have been my bias because it led me to believe

that serial killers are more popular than they are in the first place. In my life, everyone I know

watches serial killer shows and everyone agrees with me when I say they are a prominent part of

our culture. These personal experiences made me believe that most people in todays America

would love serial killers as much as I do, but my results yielded something different.

Conclusion

Despite the limitations I experienced with my research, the findings have implications

that are very intriguing and call for further research. My findings didnt speak specifically to the

impact the media has on our perception of serial killers, but they do display trends among

American viewers that may impact the serial killers media presence.

Many of my survey respondents and the commenters I observed on forums were very

uncomfortable with the idea of serial killers, even when they were very different from us. Many

feel violence on television, the glorification of serial killers, the popularization of a real-life

phenomenon, and the prominence of killers on the screen are troubling. No matter what a killer

went through, no matter what explanations there are for the behavior, very little sympathy is felt

and very little toleration is admitted. And although many spoke highly of killers like Dexter

Morgan and Hannibal Lecter, and research suggests that killers like them, the fictional,

handsome, smart kind, will be popular with the public, they may not be as popular as we think.

Survey respondents mostly seemed to not watch shows featuring serial killers, and for the ones

that do, they dont think the serial killer thriller is a popular, frequent genre. To me, this indicates

that perhaps the era of the serial killer thriller is coming to an end. Maybe the world has become
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 18

too scary of a place to indulge in the minds and lives of killers on the TV. This could mean major

changes for production companies that dabble in the serial killer genre.

Further research on Americans current opinions of serial killers is needed though,

because many results from my research are mixed. They showed that most people really enjoy

the mystery that surrounds both real and fictitious serial killers, and we find deep interest and

attachment in one part of the killer. Our desire to solve mysteries and fix the bad in the world

may be enough to keep the serial killer popular for now, but if they continue to fall out of favor,

the media may need to redesign the killer once again, and hopefully this research and some done

after can help them with said task.

SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 19

References

Allely, C. S., Minnis, H., Thompson, L., Wilson, P., & Gillberg, C. (2014). Neurodevelopmental

and Psychological Risk Factors in Serial Killers and Mass Murderers. Aggression and

Violent Behavior, 19, p288-301.

Astral Projection. (2009, January 16). Jeffrey Dahmer [Msg 1]. Message posted to

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/144812-jeffrey-dahmer/

Backderf, D. (2012). My Friend Dahmer. New York, NY: Abrams ComicArts.

Borowski, J. (Producer) & Borowski, J. (Director). (2004). H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial

Killer [Documentary]. United States: Waterfront Productions.

Culhane, S. E., Hilstad, S. M., Freng, A., & Gray, M. J. (2011). Self-reported psychopathology in

a convicted serial killer. Journal of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling, 8, p1-

21.

Cuse, C., Ehrin, K., Gates, T., Farminga, V., Wolper, M., Lee, R., (Producers). (2013-2017).

Bates Motel [Television Series]. United States: American Genre Film Archive, Kerry

Ehrin Productions, Universal Television.

Dobson, J. (Interviewer) & Bundy, T. (Interviewee). (1989). Serial Killer Ted Bundy Final

Interview - Only Hours Before Execution Full [Interview video]. Retrieved from

dailymotion Web Site: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21m1ep_serial-killer-ted-

bundy-final-interview-only-hours-before-execution-full_shortfilms

Donnelly, A. M. (2012). The New American Hero: Dexter, Serial Killer for the Masses. Journal

of Popular Culture, 45, p15-26.

Drake, J., Paseornek, M., Sackman, J. (Producers), & Harron, M. (Director). (2000). American

Psycho [Motion picture]. United States: Lions Gate Films.

SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 20

Embryo, A. (2008, June 16). Your Top 10 Infamous Murders and why [Msg 1]. Message posted

to http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/128476-your-top-10-infamous-

murders-and-why/#comment-2347461

Goetzman, G. (Producer), & Demme, J. (Director). (1991). The Silence of the Lambs [Motion

picture]. United States: Strong Heart/Demme Production & Orion Pictures.

Hitchcock, A. (Producer), & Hitchcock, A. (Director). (1960). Psycho [Motion picture]. United

States: Shamley Productions.

Knight, Z. G. (2006). Some Thoughts on the Psychological Roots of the Behavior of Serial

Killers as Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective. Social Behavior & Personality:

an international journal, 34, p1189-1206.

Martens, W. H. J. (2011). Sadism Linked to Loneliness: Psychodynamic Dimensions of the

Sadistic Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Psychoanalytic Review, 98, p493-514.

Miller, L. (2013). Serial Killers: I. Subtypes, Patterns, and Motives. Aggression & Violent

Behavior, 19, p1-11.

Miller, L. (2013). Serial Killers: II. Development, Dynamics, and Forensics. Aggression &

Violent Behavior, 19, p12-22.

Punchard, E., Redwood, J. (Producers) & di Chiera, F. (Director). (2012). Jack the Ripper:

Prime Suspect [Documentary]. Australia: Prospero Productions.

Skrapec, C. A. (2001). Phenomenology and Serial Murder: Asking Different Questions.

Homicide Studies, 5, n.p.

Smith, V. L. (2011). Our Serial Killers, Our Superheroes, and Ourselves: Showtime's Dexter.

Quarterly Review of Film & Video, 28, p390-400.

SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 21

Appendix A: Survey

Questions:

By completing the following questions, you are also granting consent for this information to be

used as a part of a research project that I am completing for a course at the University of Denver.

Your participation is completely voluntary. This information you provide may be used in a

project or may be published online and/or in print, but your identity will remain anonymous.

While profile information you volunteer may be included in my writing project (i.e. your age,

sex, class standing, etc.), your name and identity will NOT be used or reported. If at any time

you do not want to answer a question, or do not want to complete the questionnaire, you do not

have to.

1. What are your first thoughts on this man?

a. Attractive

b. Friendly

c. Retro

d. Creepy

e. None

2. What is this man famous for?

a. Won gold in the 1980s Summer Olympics

b. Murderer

c. Actor

d. No clue

3. This man is Jeffrey Dahmer. He killed 17 men and boys and consumed parts of

them. How does this change your initial thoughts about him?
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 22

4. Who is your favorite TV/Movie serial killer?

a. Dexter Morgan, from Dexter

b. Norman Bates, from Bates Motel or Psycho

c. Patrick Bateman, from American Psycho

d. Hannibal Lecter, from The Silence of the Lambs

e. I dont like serial killer shows

5. Explain your previous answer.

6. What interests you about serial killers?

a. They are complex

b. You want to know why they are the way they are

c. Their evil is foreign to you and its intriguing

d. Just like the TV shows/movies

e. Dont have any interest in them

7. What makes serial killers tolerable?

a. Bad childhood

b. Mental issues (as in autism and chemical imbalances)

c. Psychotic issues (psychopath: the inability to feel concern for others well

being accompanied by aggressive behavior, loneliness, etc)

d. Nothing makes them tolerable

e. Not sure

8. How often do you see serial killers in the media?

a. Very Often

b. Occasionally
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 23

c. Not very often

d. Never

9. How are serial killers usually presented in the media?

a. Damaged goods

b. Crazy

c. Evil

d. Inhuman

e. Similar to us

f. A mix of them
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 24

Appendix B: Interview

Questions:

I want to know really anything about the human condition that may draw us to the idea of serial
killers. Why are they so popular in our media culture? What does that say about American
culture? What triggers feelings of empathy? What makes us like some more than others? What in
our brain makes us crave something so dark?

These are just some sample questions, feel free to talk about anything you think would help
explain the human brain's interest in serial killers.

Response:
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 25

Appendix C: Observations

H.H. Holmes: Americas First Serial Killer (watched 5/8/2017, from 3:35pm to 4:40pm)

-doctor, husband, normal dude

-designed a building strictly for murder

-was placed under arrest in Boston in 1894

-real name was Herman Webster Mudgett

-was very religious as a child

-father was very disciplinary

-was clearly sociopathic, but could have been a great man

-peers were really mean to him as a kid

-they forced him to come face to face with a skeleton, which was one of his biggest fears

-he obviously got over that fear, considering he became a doctor

-Holmes was a unique serial killer because he finished school, most killers dont pursue an

education, they are just con men

-he loved blood and got a certain pleasure from operating on human cadavers

-changed his name when he got to Chicago so that no accusations could be brought against him

from earlier crimes

-he was inspired by Edgar Allen Pos torture chambers

-he made his fantasies a reality with the murder castle

-the exterior of the building was pleasant and normal, but the inside was sinister, just like

Holmes

-Holmes was a very attractive man, had no problem getting the ladies

-he would place his victims in insulated rooms, gas them, and watch them die
SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 26

-managed to have three wives at the same time

-several more mistresses

-journalist called him a multi-murderer

-he became very well known for his crimes

-his castle became somewhat of a tourist spot, until it was burnt down

-he wrote an autobiography in prison

-his trial was called the trial of the century, just like OJ Simpson

-he showed no signs of remorse or having a conscience in court

-seemed to just put on a show

-he said I was born with the Devil in me and something about coming to resemble the devil

even

Unexplained Mysteries forum: Jeffrey Dahmer (5/8/2017, from 5:09pm to 5:25pm)

-initial post begs the question but what do u guys think had made him turn into such a

monster??

-^also mentioned feeling sympathy for Dahmer

-one response said that he went from a loving kid to a monster because its typical behavior for a

predator/psychopathic lust killer it starts with an urge thats initiated by sexual pleasure, once

its done, it escalates. The same thing with Dahmer, as it was with Gacy, Bundy, Radar, etc. Their

sexual drive is satisfied by the acts. Thats what drives them. No room for sympathy with him

when he left so many victims at the hands of his sexual fantasies

-his facial expressions transformed from childhood smiles to a motionless blank stare, a look

which remained with him throughout his life

-^talking about the change in Dahmer after his hernia surgery

SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 27

-Dahmer killed because he wanted to kill and said he wanted the perfect sex slave

-^ says theres no sympathy for these people because they choose to kill people and that wouldnt

happen if they were locked up

-someone mentioned that he began to look almost human again after accepting all the blame

-I do have a certain respect for his honesty in the whole topic of himself his life and the why

could and the why could of nots

Unexplained Mysteries: Your Top 10 Infamous Murderers and Why (5/8/2017, from 5:26pm to

5:45pm)

-first post mentions the zodiac killer because, he was an extremaly intelligent person who not

only never got caught, but nobody knows how many people he killed and he was able to terrific

millions of people by sending them letters to the police

-someone else mentioned Ed Gein because he inspired so many movies and because so many

strange things were found in his house

-SOOOOO many people talked about Jack the Ripper and JonBenet Ramseys killer because so

much mystery surrounds them

-Jack the Ripper because people still obsess over the case today

Jack the Ripper: Prime Suspect (5/8/2017, from 6:55 pm to 7:45 pm)

-Victorian England, killer leaves women mutilated in the streets

-Australian scientists have extracted DNA from a Jack the Ripper suspect

-forensic science is hoping to finally catch the most prolific serial killer

-most famous unsolved crimes

-English born man moved to Australia and became a serial killer

-Australias Jack the Ripper Frederick Deeming

SERIAL KILLER THRILLERS 28

-murdered his family in England and buried their bodies under the kitchen floor

-moved to Australia with new wife

-had an unnaturally strong relationship with his mother

-father was in a mental institution

-Deeming has a death mask in both England and Australia, which shows England thought of him

as a serious suspect

-Ripperologists= Ripper experts

-Deeming was supposedly behind bars when the Ripper murders occurred (but he wasnt I

guess???)

-connections to Deeming and Ripper murders: strangulation, slitting of the throat

-very possible that Ripper raped his victims

-both Deeming and Ripper displayed items in the same way (bodies and body parts)

-Deeming got syphilis from a prostitute (MOTIVATION? He hated prostitutes)

-untreated syphilis can cause psychosis due to brain swelling and violent behavior

-one of the prostitutes killed very obviously had syphilis (noticeable on her nose, it was thought

that Jack the Ripper was shaming her for it)

-Jack the Ripper sent taunting letters, so Deeming and Rippers writing were compared

-the DNA from the Ripper letters was female

-Deeming matched the FBIs profile of Jack the Ripper perfectly

-so many people still actively investigate and study Jack the Ripper, speaking to his legacy (this

is my internal thought lol)