By Anoushka Ghosh
T.W. Blood, Murder, Abuse
Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Charles Manson. I’m sure that you’ve heard the infamous tales of their gruesome murders involving necrophilia, sexual abuse and bloody murder. One wonders how a human could carry out such inhumane acts on another human being. Some choose to look upon their origins, whilst others place the blame on abandonment issues and trauma. But, what is the reason?
What is a serial killer?
A serial killer is a person who kills three or more people, with ‘cooling-off periods in which the serial killer provided with time for premeditation of another murder. A murderer is an eyesore in society or they could be hiding in plain sight. However, one thing they do have in common is that they adore the art of killing. It becomes an addiction that drives them to kill and kill and kill. They are anachronisms whose primal instincts are not moderated by the more intellectual parts of their brains.
What makes a serial killer?
The majority of serial killers are compelled to kill because of their fear of rejection. At a young age, most of these serial killers face abandonment issues or trauma-related incidents caused by family members. For instance, David Berkowitz and Joel Rifkin were abandoned by their birth mothers. In other cases, some serial killers were tormented, abused and even tortured by their birth mothers such as Edmund Kemper. There is the belief that if they eliminate the object of their affection, there would be no result of rejection or abandonment of their loved one. It’s the same way of saying “If I can’t have you, no one can.”
One may think that serial killers grew up in a tormented household ridden with abuse and pain. Yet, there is a long list of serial killers with normal childhoods, such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Rader. Hence, the act of murder is an addiction. The pure satisfaction and gratification they gain are enough to get into their head. What seemed like a one-time thing turns into a series of uncontrollable events.
How does a serial killer pick their victim?
Three key factors that play an important role in picking target victims: availability, vulnerability and desirability. Availability is determined by the lifestyle or circumstances of the victim; vulnerability is the extent to which the victim is susceptible to an attack; desirability is described as the appeal the victim has to the offender.
A chosen victim may show patterns that an investigation can follow. For example, blonde women in their mid-20s or teenage boys. The target group may remind them of someone from their childhood that had created that same trauma within them. Thus, it is only reasonable to kill them.
So, are serial killers born as serial killers?
Well, serial killers are not born serial killers. We can categorize them as more questionable beings suggested by their irrational acts of sadism, violence and aggression. A mental feature of a serial killer involves emotional-affective instability. So, they lack the total stability of attitudes and emotional-affective reactions because this can conflict with their adaptive abilities. As mentioned before, this occurs due to the absence of a family member, abandonment, divorce or conviction.
Brain scans showed a lack of brain activity in areas that control emotional outbursts and violent emotions. This study suggests that while some serial killers may possess abnormal brain processing, which may predispose them to commit crimes. Nonetheless, that does not mean differences in brain structure would result in murder.
A serial killer is driven by the "pleasure" of murder. They are not born with it. In some cases, a traumatic childhood afflicted by abuse, abandonment and torment can cause a serial killer to arise. Yet, the neophyte serial killer may simply enjoy the art of murdering as it becomes a way of gaining sustenance.
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201909/understanding-what-drives-serial-killers
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