Are you a crime enthusiast, tired of all the mainstream murder stories? Or perhaps you’re really in the mood for a few interesting psychological facts on these deranged souls.
Murderers have existed for centuries, and quite often, they display some pretty crazy behavior. While they’re certainly horrifying in real life, these creepy stories are fascinating fun to read about. Especially when we know they’re long gone and we’re safe to analyze their psychotic minds.
If you, like me, fancy a bit of grueling crime, you’re in luck! Here are a few lesser-known, but equally horrific serial killers you may be interested to learn about.
#1. Andre Chikatilo
Born in Ukraine, Andrei Chikatilo is one of Russia’s most notorious serial killers. Having worked as a school teacher in the USSR, he’s now known as the “Butcher of Rostov”, the “Red Ripper” and the “Rostov Ripper”.
These nicknames certainly precede his reputation. From 1978 to 1990, Chikatelo committed around 50 sexual assaults and murders. Although he confessed to 56 murders, he was only charged with 53. His victims were all young women and kids, the youngest being only nine years old.
Chikatelo would mutilate all of his victims by slashing them with a knife. In fact, he stated that he could only achieve orgasm when he stabbed women, which served as the driving force behind his killings.
#2. Jane Toppan
Nurses are some of the friendliest and most helpful people you’ve ever come across, right? Well, Jane Toppan, AKA Jolly Jane, was the same – except for the fact that she had dark tendencies no medical professional should have.
This beloved nurse went on to kill around 31 people between 1980 and 1991, all because she got a thrill out of it. She would often secretly poison patients with opium as an experiment to witness the effects of the drug.
After the first death, she realized that this was actually quite satisfying to watch and went on to try other drugs like morphine and atropine.
None of the other doctors could figure out what was going on. In fact, Jane was so psychotic that she would often bring her patients close to death, only to nurse them back to health herself. This, of course, is what earned her such a good reputation. Sometimes, she would even get into bed with them and caress their faces while they were convulsing.
#3. Jeffrey Dahmer
Ever heard of Jeffrey Dahmer? This American serial killer was a serious alcoholic and committed his first murder of a hitchhiker at the mere age of 18. Nine years later, he would go on a horrific killing spree that left the country in turmoil.
Between 1978 and 1991, Dahmer killed, raped and dismembered around 17 young men. But that’s not all. Dahmer would even eat some of his victims, earning him the title of “the Milwaukee Cannibal”.
By the summer of 1991, Dahmer was killing one person every week. During his trial, Dahmer even admitted that he would drill holes into the heads of his victims so that they would become “mindless sex slaves”.
So yes, you can add necrophilia to the list too! Before being executed for his crimes, Dahmer died in 1994 after being beaten up in prison.
#4. John Wayne Gacy
Clowns are already creepy, and John Watne Gacy definitely adds to the nightmare. With an unknown dark side, Gacy would perform at birthday parties and charity events for kids. Over the course of six years, this neighborhood clown went onto rape and murder 33 young boys.
Gacy would lure his victims home, often with the promise of construction work, and then sexually assault and torture his victims before killing them. Almost all the victims were strangled or asphyxiated and later buried inside his own house.
Ironically, Gacy even went on to tell detectives that “clowns can get away with murder”. After a long period of investigation and surveillance, several trenches filled with his murder victim’s remains were found by the police in the crawl space under his house, leading to his arrest.
#5. Joachim Kroll
If you were wondering where the German representation in this list of deranged murderers is, here you go. Joachim Kroll confessed to a total of 13 murders between 1955 and 1976.
His victims included some very young children as well. He would strangle them with his own hands and sexually assault their corpses. And no, it didn’t stop there. He’d also cut them up and eat their remains!
Kroll’s last victim was four-year-old Marion Ketter, and she was the one that got him caught. When police were investigating her disappearance, Kroll’s neighbor tipped them off. When he complained about stuck plumbing, Kroll had mentioned guts.
And to make you gag a little more – when Kroll was arrested, he was actually found cooking the hand of his latest victim in a pan of boiling water.
#6. Ed Gein
The American murderer Ed Gein had a difficult childhood with an alcoholic father and a verbally abusive mother whom he idolized.
Gein’s brother, who would often have arguments with his mother, died in a mysterious fire in 1944. Gein himself reported this incident and actually led the police directly to his brother’s body.
Gein first came upon the police’s radar in 1957, when the owner of a hardware store with whom Gein was seen went missing. Her body was found by the police at his farm; she had been shot and decapitated.
Upon further investigation, police found out that Gein was robbing graves and collecting body parts from the corpses. He used these to make masks, clothes, and furniture for his home. The police also found the head of lady tavern operator who had disappeared in 1954.
And you want to know the creepiest part? Both these women resembled Gein’s mother!
#7. Richard Ramirez
Richard Ramirez was not your average burglar. For a whole year, he ruined the peace of Los Angeles’ neighborhoods with his horrific killing sprees.
Also known as the “Night Stalker” Ramirez was feared for the brutal manner in which he killed his victims.
Ramirez would break into his victim’s house and murder them using handguns, knives, machetes, and even hammers. Sometimes, he would sexually assault his victims.
The people who survived were almost always beaten very badly and, often, there were satanic symbols left at the crime scene.
He committed his first gruesome crime in 1984 when he raped and murdered a 79-year-old woman. He also killed a nine-year-old girl in the same year.
However, since traces of his DNA were found at the crime scene, he took a hiatus of eight months before starting again.
#8. Alexander Pichushkin
Alexander Pichushkin, also known as “the Chessboard Killer”, killed a total of 48 people between 2002 and 2006.
What has this got to do with chess, you might ask? Well, at his trial, Pichushkin explained his crazy theory behind the murders. He was basically intending on committing 64 murders, following the 64 squares on his chessboard. And, every time he killed someone, he would mark a square.
Pichuskin’s victims were often elderly destitute. He lured them by offering a drink at the park beside what he claimed was his dead dog’s grave. He would wait until his victim was thoroughly intoxicated and then hit them with a pipe or hammer.
Pichuskin would then throw these bodies in the sewer. But what makes it worse is that, often, his victims were still alive when they were thrown in and would ultimately die by drowning.
#9. K.D. Kempamma
Kempamma was the first convicted female serial killer in India. She killed a total of six women between 1999 and 2007, targeting vulnerable, pious women by misusing their trust.
Kempamma portrayed the persona of a very religious and knowledgeable woman. She would hang around at temples in Bangalore and make friends with female devotees. Once she’d built a relationship with these worshippers, she’d call them over to a different temple, asking them to come dressed and adorned in jewelry.
She would then perform a puja with their eyes closed. She would make them drink “holy water”, which was actually cyanide – thus earning her the name “Cyanide Mallika”. She was finally caught at a bus stop with one of her victim’s jewelry and confessed when being interrogated by the police.
Final Thoughts
Well, congratulations! You’ve reached the end of this chilling list. I don’t know what you’re going to do with this information now, but I do hope you’ve learned something new.
You might be feeling a bit nauseous yet intrigued – which is the ideal reaction after every crime story. And, of course, all these murders were absolutely heartbreaking and disgusting. But isn’t it weird to discover how these serial killers’ minds work?
You never know what’s hiding behind a seemingly innocent face. So, use your newfound knowledge to stay safe. And don’t forget to share all your new murder trivia with your friends!