Only rarely, very rarely, if ever, is murder committed without some motive. Money, revenge, to cover another crime, to make a social or political statement, and many other reasons. Typically the motive is apparent, if a bit distorted. Such is the case with serial killers. A rational person can’t understand what moves many serial killers to action but to the killer his activities make perfect sense. Are even necessary. One such motive is that some serial killers believe their murders will give them supernatural powers. My friend Dr. Katherine Ramsland has written a very interesting article on this subject for Psychology Today.
Hello, Clarice
The Crime Fiction Writer's Blog 
Frank Karl
August 16, 2012 at 4:59 am
A very interesting article and I’m very happy to have it pointed out to me. It certainly adds an additional layer to any serial kill character I would create.
But I have to wonder, since psychiatry is so dependent on self-reporting, how much of what incarcerated serial killers tell you is true. And how much is just part of their personal mythos generated to reduce their responsibility or help establish social ranking in prison.
Dave Berkowitz claimed to be taking orders from his neighbor ‘s dog. Some of the people who have interview him claim his body language and facial expressions to the question, ”Did the dog really talk to you?” indicate it’s lie told to protect him from the death sentence.
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D.P. Lyle, MD
August 16, 2012 at 5:08 am
That’s the trick. The psychiatrist must attempt to separate truth from fiction and it’s not always easy. Look up the case of Kenneth Bianchi—one of the Hillside Stranglers. He successfully tricked several examiners into believing he had Multiple Personality Disorder until one uncovered his lies. Fascinating story.
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Panama
August 19, 2012 at 9:44 am
One of the biggest differences between male and female serial killers is that the females rarely waste time getting to the kill once they have targeted a victim. For them, the death of the victim is usually the point. For male serial killers, there is typically a reason they murder which is sometimes unnecessary to the victim’s death: domination, control, rape, a fetish for sadism, etc. But female serial killers rarely, if at all, have those needs. For that reason, male serial killers often make the mistake of leaving their victims alive after an attack — something which doesn’t occur often with female serial killers. Male serial killers also need privacy and some time to act out their deviant impulses, while many female serial killers often end up murdering their victims right under a third party’s unsuspecting nose.
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sifs india
August 24, 2012 at 2:56 am
That’s the trick. The psychiatrist must attempt to separate truth from fiction and it’s not always easy. Look up the case of Kenneth Bianchi—one of the Hillside Stranglers. He successfully tricked several examiners into believing he had Multiple Personality Disorder until one uncovered his lies. Fascinating story.
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