True crime has risen in rank, and now people are studying cases more than ever. Psychopaths who have committed heinous, sickening acts are more well-known than you might think. Here are 15 psychopaths that have become famous and what they’ve done. You’ll see horrific stories of monsters that killed innocents everywhere.
Charles Manson
Manson was a manipulator and gained a cult of followers. He murdered people alone, and then his most devoted members of the cult did work for him. Celebrities were murdered and while they were sentenced to death for their crimes, the state abolished the death penalty, keeping them in prison instead.
Albert Fish
Truly a horrific monster, he would send letters to the victims’ families and let them know exactly what he did in disgusting detail. It traumatized families everywhere, and people were terrified. He cannibalized his victims and purposely put the families through more pain to continue the torture. Later, Dahmer would do the same.
H.H. Holmes
A doctor and an architect, he built a hotel for the sole purpose of killing people and concealing the bodies of his victims. He built the building to have passageways and secret trap doors, which the guests knew nothing about. People wanted to know about his story because he was so methodical.
Jeffrey Dahmer
He appeared polite, unassuming, and sometimes kind. He became known as the Milwaukee killer. He evaded detection because people believed him. He’s famous for being a cannibal, and they found parts in the fridge in his home when they raided it. He was murdered in prison more than twenty years ago. Unfortunately, his story lives on.
The Zodiac Killer
No one knows who this killer is. I’m not sure, though; there have been speculations. This killer didn’t hide; he would reach out to media outlets and tease them. Active as late as the 70s, there has been no trace of him since the last letter he gave the press. It’s believed he’s dead.
Elizabeth Bathory
One of the most famous female killers, she murdered hundreds of girls to retain their youth. She tortured her victims and then bathed in blood. She was a countess, so that she couldn’t be put on trial, or at the very least, no one did. She was put on house arrest, though, until her death.
Albert DeSalvo
The Boston Strangler was a serial killer who had simple ways of gaining access to homes and then killing the women inside. He was torturing animals at a young age, and as he got older, he was extremely misogynistic and had difficult relationships with the women in his life. He was murdered in prison.
Vlad The Impaler
In the fifteenth century, he was ruler of Transylvania, where the basis of the Dracula myth came from. He was brutal and vicious. He impaled people and put them on display. Killing 80,000 people in total, he’s remembered for being absolutely horrific for letting his victims die as slowly as possible.
David Berkowitz
He sent the city into a panic by shooting people with a .44 caliber revolver. He targeted mostly brunette women, and no one knew where he would be, which was terrifying for people. He started with arson but wasn’t caught until he began killing. He began mentoring inmates in prison when he became a born-again Christian.
Aileen Wuornos
Many films have been made about her, and she was considered intriguing due to her outgoing personality. People thought she was eccentric. She would sometimes admit her guilt, then deny it the next moment. She could be kind, then vicious, vengeful, and cruel. She was put to death in the early 2000s after murdering men while working as a hooker.
Ed Gein
Known as a butcher, he collected bodies through grave robbing and murder for about 13 years. He was finally caught, but before then, he used the remains to decorate his farm and make clothing. He died in a mental ward in the mid-80s. There have been many “iconic” films made that are loosely based on him.
Ted Bundy
A serial killer and psychopath, he was another killer who was charming and sly. People thought he was a nice person, and they were lured into his trap. Killing more than thirty people, it took years for the police to find him, though there are stories of people who have sworn they were near him and didn’t know it.
Jack The Ripper
He was never properly identified, but he was famous for killing prostitutes in the late 1800s. He had a strong hatred of women, or at least that’s what people believe because of what he did to his victims, and some theorize his mother was a prostitute. He left his victims on the street, waiting to be found.
Joel Rifkin
Famous for being convicted of nine murders, though it’s speculated that he killed closer to 17, he would dismember people for what he called an easier disposal. He was convinced that he would be remembered not as a monster but as a tragedy. His name became the Long Island Killer.
Dennis Rader
Someone who liked intimate killings, he would force his victims to play disgusting games to torture them. The police caught him because, while he played games with the press, they were able to trace a disk he sent to the media. This occurred in 2005. Unlike the Zodiac Killer, he was arrested.
A Tragic History
As you can see from this list, senseless and brutal killing is a psychopath’s calling card. You can see throughout history that a serial killer can be charming, and you wouldn’t know you were sitting next to a killer until they lured you into their web. While these people can’t be a threat anymore, unfortunately, others remain.
