The Serial Murderer

Published in Red Herrings – April 2024

Serial killers are not good guys. They stalk their prey, seek to exert control over their victims,
maim, rape, kill. We have various words for them: monsters, animals, stone-cold killers. So
why are we fascinated by them?

We watch them in television series, we read about them in books (the Murder, Suspense,
Thriller genre is the second biggest selling genre on Amazon after Romance), we discuss
their exploits with others. They intrigue us. Some people even become so infatuated with
them, they write to them in prison, and in some cases, marry them. There’s a term for that,
by the way. It’s called hybristophilia (a sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit
crimes) and it affects more people than you know.

So why are we so fascinated by serial killers? Is it because they’re so different to us ‘normal’
folk? Is it because they have problems expression emotions? Is it because the image they
portray to the world is so different to the way they really are inside? Is it the way they’re
portrayed by the media that sparks our interest? Have they been glamorised in movies and
in books? Are their crimes so shocking we can’t help but be enthralled?

For a writer, the serial killer trope offers up the opportunity to delve deep into the human
psyche. To try to understand what drives psychopathic behaviour and the traumatic effect it
has on the victims and their families. Crime readers are a special breed. They like to be
entertained, but they also share the desire to understand what makes these ‘monsters’ tick.
Experts tend to agree that there are, broadly speaking, three main types of serial killer:

The first is the visionary killer. The type who suffers from hallucinations, schizophrenia,
paranoia. A demented individual who hears voices telling him or her to kill. In real life, this is
a very disturbed person with mental health problems, but in fiction, they’re the scariest of
monsters. Frenzied, messy, out of control – they have no pattern in terms of victimology,
and there’s a different MO every time. This makes them unpredictable, creepy, and
impossible to anticipate. Great characters for horror movies, wouldn’t you agree?

Mission killers are equally scary, possibly more so because there is a motivation behind the
crimes. This killer sticks to a type. Who hasn’t read a book where the killer targets
prostitutes because he believes them to be evil, unclean, or sinful. While this trope is
become something of a cliché nowadays, it’s a good example of this type of killer. In The
West London Murders, my killer targets men who frequent prostitutes. I was trying to turn
this cliché on its head. I’ve also written about a serial killer targeting brides-to-be,
homosexuals, and even disturbed teens. If your killer has a type, he’s a mission killer.

In reality, most killers fit into this last group – those who kill for power and control. They’re
motivated by the utter domination of their victims. Often, this type of killer will rape or
torture their victim before killing them. They like to see them suffer, they like to feel
powerful and in control. They take their time.

Power and control killers make great fictional serial murderers because they plan their kills
to the finest detail. They watch from a distance before striking, they stalk, they’ve even
been known to break into potential victims’ houses and look around. This sinister behaviour
builds tension, creates suspense, keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

After they’ve committed the offence, this type of killer usually takes a memento, something
to remember their victim by. Dexter and his blood slides springs to mind.

For an author, there is lots to play with. Many of these characteristics overlap, and spurred
on by the author’s imagination, the serial killer antagonist (or in some cases protagonist)
becomes a dark, intriguing and terrifying figure.

Because serial killers are almost always psychopaths who lack empathy, it opens up a range
of thrilling scenarios for the writer. Let the mind games begin. Psychopaths are experts at
manipulation. They pretend to be someone they’re not to fit in, to ally suspicion, to
integrate into society. They hide in plain sight. They could be anyone. Your husband, your
wife, your friend, or a close relative.

Psychological thriller writers frequently use this characteristic to create tension, to build
suspense and to keep the reader wondering…. Is the killer someone they know? Is the
husband/wife/lover really capable of murder? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out.

When looking into the mind of a serial killer, there is so much to understand. Not only the
type of serial killer they are, or the lack of empathy that allows them to do what they do
without remorse, or the mind games they play…

There are also genetic theories that attempt to explain why some people have psychopathic tendencies or aggressive behavioural problems and others don’t. Childhood traumas, which have been known to
trigger psychopathic behaviour in adulthood.

All these elements allow the accomplished writer to twist a plot, to make the reader gasp in
surprise at the end of the book. If a reader puts down a book and says, “I did not see that
coming!” it means we’ve done our job well.