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Thursday, November 29, 2012

5 Killers who made Headlines as Vampires

1) Vampire of Hanover - Police began coming up with human bones from a nearby river. They ended up arresting sexual predator and petty crook Fritz Haarman. Haarman had picked up at least 25 young men, including street urchins and runaways, and killed them by biting their throats during sex. He then went on to sell their meat and clothes in Hanover's markets.

2) Vampire of Dusseldorf - In the late 1920s, numerous bodies of women and girls were found in and around Dusseldorf. The bodies were often slashed or bludgeoned by hammers. Peter Kurten, a lifelong criminal, was arrested and charged with the murders. He was unable to resist obtaining sexual gratification from the spurting blood of his victims. As he was led to the guillotine, he hoped to hear the sound of his own blood gushing from his neck.

3) Vampire of Nuremburg - Kuno Hoffman drew blood from buried corpses. One night he shot a couple and lapped up their blood, which was much fresher than the blood he usually dealt with. Eventually, a potential victim survived a shooting and reported him to the police.

4) Vampire of London - John Haigh claimed to have killed nine people and dumped each body into an acid bath. The bath would reduce each victim to a sludge that could easily be disposed of. Eventually he was caught and at his trial, Haigh confessed to having cut his victim's throat in order to get glasses of blood to drink.

5) Vampire of Sacramento - Richard Trenton Chase was a paranoid schizophrenic who believed that either UFOs or Nazis were poisoning his soap dish. He murdered two infants and two adults, afterwards eating their brains and drinking their blood from used yogurt cups. To escape the electric chair, Chase overdoses on antidepressants.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Psyche of a Serial Killer

In the last few years, I have taken an interest in serial killers and what makes them tick. Because of this strange fascination, I turned to writing thrillers, mostly about serial killers. The following is information on the psyche of a serial killer. Thanks to my assistant, Adam, for researching and sending this information to me. This post was authored by him.

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Most serial killers are psychopaths, which means they are impulsive, narcissistic, with a tendency to blame others so they come out looking like the victim. They fail to completely comprehend the emotional content of situations, such as concern, empathy, and gravitate towards arousal and stimulation. Their offenses are more aggressive and diverse than other criminals. Serial killers are resistant to therapy and don't handle frustration effectively. It's not about whom they hurt; serial killers are all about getting what they want, whether it's fame, money, thrill, or gratification. They find victims easily because they are charming while their prey are trusting and naive. Serial killers are good at disregarding consequences.

Externally and experientially, however, serial killers don't fit into neat categories. Serial killers with above-average intelligence, sexual motivations, and abusive fathers are not representative of serial killers as a whole. There is no profile of a serial killer, no set of characterizes or causes that provides us with a way to set them apart. For every "truth" about the psychology of a serial killer, one can find counterexamples that refute it. Some serial killers were abused as children, but many were not.

The wide range of attributes serial killers can have makes it possible to befriend a killer and have no hint about his/her darker deeds. It doesn't help that they are skilled at hiding their brutal fantasies and behavior. Serial killers like this can be compared to Jekyll and Hyde with an ability to adapt and deflect suspicion. For example, John Wayne Gacy threw fundraisers for politicians and Ted Bundy worked a crisis hotline while murdering people on the side.  Serial killers are good at manipulating others because they fail to think of other people as human. The best defense is to realize they're among us and understand their ability to deceive and deny.