ED GEIN: SERIAL KILLER OR REGULAR MURDERER?

Ed Gein famously opened American’s eyes to deranged and sick habits that they never imagined in their worst nightmares. He was the man that inspired such films as Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs. A man who ate his soup out of human skullcaps and wore socks made out of human skin. A man who had a window shade pull made of human lips and stored salted genitalia in a box. A man who is famously known as America’s first serial killer. Which is not true. Gein, technically was not a serial killer.

Though the term is a mere three decades old, nowadays serial killer is thrown around in so many television shows and movies that people have forgotten that a serial killer is not just someone who commits murders. You see, there are rules to being defined as such… Rules the F.B.I uses these rules to determine if they are dealing with a true serial killer. Of course every case is unique, but these are the factors that most killers have in common.

First and foremost a serial killer must have three or more kills, usually with a cooling off period in between kills. Hence why Gein is not one. Though suspected of more murders, Gein was convicted for only killing two women. Most of the body parts found in his house where from robbed graves. Of course, not everyone who kills three people is considered a serial killer. There is much more to it than that. For you wouldn’t think of a mafia hit man that has twenty kills under his belt as a serial killer now would you?

What about someone who goes out and massacres thirty people in a mall? Again, they are not serial killers. They have their own name, “Spree Killers”. A spree killer is someone who goes and kills multiple people over the course of a short period of time. Serial killers are much more methodical.

Besides body count there are other attributes one needs to have to be deemed the title that makes most American’s shiver. Victims; unlike most murderers who know the person they kill, serial killer’s prey tend to be strangers. Most of the time the killer is usually not connected to the person in any way. The murders (though they might have a pattern as in a preferred type, like blonds) usually seem to be random at first. It’s this randomness that usually throws off police in the beginning. With time between kills and no connection between victims it can take time for a killer’s murders to be linked.

On a psychological level most serial killers seem to have a need to sadistically dominate their victims. It tends to be a power issue as expressed by Ted Bundy in this quote “You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body. You’re looking into their eyes. A person in that situation is God!” While most will never admit to this need when examined on a psychological level, the majority of serial killers desire that dominance. Whether they even realize it themselves or not.

One of the most common reasons for murder is profit. Kill a man, take his wallet and car. Not true for Serial Killers. In almost all cases they do not try to profit from their killings. It is purely a psychological satisfaction that they receive. Though a few have been known to take some cash out of a pocket, profit was not the motivation or reason for the kill.

The next common trait that they may have is their victims might hold a “symbolic” meaning to them. For example, each victim may represent their mother or the person who abused them as a child. This is usually found out through their method of killing. For though many may experiment with how they kill and play with their victims, many tend to enjoy the same methods and repeat them over and over again.

Lastly, most serial killers tend to pick vulnerable victims. As in prostitutes and runaways. Though anyone is susceptible to a killer’s knife, most victims are chosen for their accessibility and ease. A runaway that has no family to report to is easy pickings and less suspicious. Or someone who is drunk and alone in a dark place makes for an easier target. The more vulnerable they are, the less chances of getting caught.

Those are the six aspects the F.B.I uses to deem a killer with the title of “Serial”. Of course we could get into the psychology and childhood history of said killers, but we’ll save that for another time. In the meantime think about this fact… During childhood almost all serial killers did three things. Wet their beds into late ages; had an unhealthy obsession with fire (setting them and playing with it); and they all showed cruelty to animals. If this sounds your child, someone you know or even yourself, you better keep an eye out, or you may end up in the pages of this magazine.