Serial Killers; love them or hate them?

Joemoncoblondie

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My first manuscript I wrote, about a serial killer protagonist who happens to be a misanthrope (he hates and kills everybody), was written as a satire, since he doesn't actually have a 'pattern'. The basic plot finds a cast of criminals (mobsters,corrupt police officers) trying to kill him after he murdered closed ones in their families. Feuds erupt, bloodshed follows, misunderstandings occur, and everyone wants vengeance. Everyone wishes to kill him, even his girlfriend, and no one is painted in a flattering light. In fact, the serial killer stands out as the good guy out of the bunch.

Hopefully real serial killers won't be offended by this.
 

Okelly65

practical experience, FTW
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Personally I find Serial killers are over used, cliche is the word. If you want the basis for a great villain do some serious research into Charley Manson for some really good ideas.
 

juniper

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The serial killer I'm most familiar with was Kenneth McDuff from Texas, who got one of his last victims in Austin while I was living there. He and an accomplice grabbed her at a car wash in broad daylight and threw her into the trunk of a car. Witnesses said they heard her screaming and called police - but her body wasn't found until 7 years later, a few weeks before McDuff was executed and he gave up her location.

Because the murderer has little to no connection with the victim, the investigators have to catch a lucky break with a convergence of luck, or a mistake on the part of the killer.

McDuff was caught for the last time (he'd been convicted of 3 murders and paroled !!!!!) in Missouri, living under the name of Richard Fowler. A guy noticed his new co-worker looked similar to McDuff, who was featured on the tv show "America's Most Wanted." The cops discovered "Fowler" had his fingerprints on file with them for soliciting prostitutes .. and they matched to McDuff.

O
They have patterns all the time. The patterns are not necessarily about or visible in the victims or victim pool, or to outsiders.

They all have patterns. Just because law enforcement can't find the pattern even after catching them doesn't mean they don't have a pattern.

McDuff didn't have a pattern in the way of victims - he did pick mostly women but of all ages and life styles and appearances - but he also killed 2 young boys. His pattern was in the way he buried them.

"At the end of the day the lawmen came to realize that they had at last detected a pattern in McDuff’s malevolence. He usually dug his graves in advance, always twenty paces from a landmark that he could find in the dark. His victims were selected at random—sometimes with an accomplice who drove while McDuff raped and brutalized them, sometimes alone. Once McDuff had “used them up,” as he liked to say, he made sure their death was savage."

http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/end

I agree. A serial killer who is the guy next door is a lot scarier than the obvious standouts.

Yep, why guy like Ted Bundy succeed.

This article about a neuroscientist who discovered he has the brain scans and genetic markers that show psychopathic tendencies was interesting. He's an accomplished guy - born with these defects - but came from a loving family and good childhood, which apparently protected him.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127888976