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When there is nothing left to do
by dominathan at 02:57 PM on May 03, 2005
I have always had an interest in serial killers. Not so much that I want to kill people, as I want to know what exactly made these people tick. i wanna know if they'd kill me on a whim, or whether there is some specific criteria I would have to fit before I became a victim.
A book I am currently reading makes a lot of implications about what humans do when we have idle time. The example he gives show that in the past serial killers were often successful barons, or knights. They had money and power, entertainment and some form of personal fulfillment were the only accomplishments left to these people. And when left to their own devices they began to murder.
Obviously though, not everyone starts to kill just because they retire. Not everyone kills after losing their job. There is some other primal need there. An addiction.
So then my question becomes how do people develop these addictions? Society frowns on most of the atypical behaviour of a young serial killer. Low grades, animal mistreatment or other forms of violence, reclusiveness, theft, peeping, and the list goes on.
Other peope make sure to note the aspects of society that supporty the lifestyle. A rediculous number of crime dramas on television, some based on fact, others fiction. Maybe these shows help create the desire to commit a perfect crime. Or to help seperate one's self from the rest of society. These shows have essentially become the textbook for serial killing, the killers can run through hypotheticals of whether they will get caught or not.
The scariest part about serial killers is that they are not crazy. they are thought out, meditated, just like you and me. They intermingle in society, and judging by the number of people we interact with everyday, chances are you have either met a killer or a victim.
They have dark secrets. But I'm sure even a serial killer could be disgusted by the dark secrets some us keep.
comments (8)
I'm more interested in hit men. For them, murder's just a job. But how do you go about becoming one? You can't advertise or hang out a hit man shingle. And I doubt many people want to give you a start in the biz. It's like a surgeon, someone had to be his first patient but nobody wants to be.
by anna at May 3, 2005 6:23 PM
I'm sure if you offered to kill enough people at a reasonable rate you could get started in the business.
But I mean these people are motivated by the pursuit of money. I understand the need and fulfillment of finacial success. I also understand the fufillment of needing total control over a person and this being the underlying motivation behind serial murder, and when you compare the risk to the pay off, a hit man means justifies his ends... serial murder has no justification. It just does not seem to be a functional aspect of society.
by dominathan at May 3, 2005 11:47 PM
No but usually it is just one person the customer wants dead. They want him dead in a very particular way. And they don't want to get caught (unlike many serial killers.) So you can't go with a bargain basement novice.
by anna at May 4, 2005 7:51 AM
Oh, there's almost always a strong sexual element to the serial killer...(not the mass murderer who kills in one fell swoop)... also, chances are, the serial killer was always picked Last in gym class.
by Lockheed at May 4, 2005 5:06 PM
Dominathan, have you ever read the article that Teller from Penn and Teller wrote about this? It's at http://pennandteller.com/sincity/penn-n-teller/articles/dahmer.html
by jean at May 5, 2005 2:07 AM
Yeah the picked last in gym class and in general tormented during those formative years definitely contributed to my serial killer phase.
by anna at May 5, 2005 7:51 AM
Funny how I ran into this 6 months later... Anyway, it would be hard and rather unfair to prejudge this kind of behavior if you've never experinced it yourself. First hand. If anything, violent entertainment staves off real life violence. It offers an almost medicinal effect that deters one from actually murdering real people. Because they get a satisfactional release from the digital fantasy. The common thought that killers are weak minded is a myth. Its a very rare occasion that a killer does it because they "can't control themselves". The top most reasons are; Because of money, Because they can, or because it feels good. The because they can group also contains the 'make a statement group' such as those who kill just to draw bloody religious symbols on walls etc. Surprisingly, the 'Because it feels good group' is the largest and encompases most of the mindset for people in the military and law enforcement, as well of course frequent killers. Hope this helps, if you are really interested, I'd suggest joining a combat arms MOS in the Army or Marines. As you will never be prosecuted for doing it.
by Mr. Todd at January 20, 2006 8:15 PM
It’s about a year since you wrote this, but figured I would comment anyways. In James Fox’s book “Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder, there are five types of serial murderers or well five motivations for them. They are power, revenge, loyalty, profit and terror. Now the ones who are driven by power are inspired by sadistic fantasies; a man tortures and kills series of stangers to satisfy his need for control and dominance. Then you have the ones who are driven by revenge, they are usually grossly mistreated as a child, a man avenges his past by slaying women who remind him of his mother. Next you have to ones who obsess over loyalty. Usually it’s when a team of killers turn murder into a ritual for proving their dedication and commitment to one another. Then you have the ones who do it for profit. A woman poisons to death a series of husbands in order to collect their life insurance policies. Then last but not least, terror. A profoundly paranoid man commits a series of bombings to warn the world of impending doom. Now the people such as Donald Harvey, David Berkowitz. John Mohammad, BTK Strangler, Jeffrey Dahmer’s, are not alone in their sadistic behaviors. The scary thing is that you could live next door to one of them.
by Shanna at February 20, 2006 5:12 PM