Serial Killers

  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    34
    Location:
    United States
    Real serial killers are interesting, but I'm going to admit that despite the fact that I have two degrees that mean I should be able to tell you exactly why they do it? I can't. No one really can, and if they tell you otherwise, they're lying or just naive. The reasons are as varied as the perpetrators, and sometimes there is no real reason unless you count 'because I can' as a reason.

    Also, fictional serial killers are starting to drive me nuts. Partially because people watching them are getting disgustingly creepy about it. I've seen way too many people romanticize serial killers lately, trying to act like the person that rips people apart in their spare time could ever truly love you or be a good person to be with, and it's just wrong.

    Also, on a pettier note? I'm going to remind everyone, that in America at least, serial killers go to prison for the rest of their lives before potentially being executed. None of them go to jail for the rest of their lives. Jail and prison are two completely different things with different purposes.
    September 5th, 2014 at 03:22am
  • The Real Mitt Romney

    The Real Mitt Romney (250)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    78
    Location:
    Hong Kong
    I think they're interesting for a few reasons. When I was younger I was always so angry and thought I was very capable of killing someone. When I was much younger I always used to kill whatever I could get my hands on. I killed the frogs and fish in the creek and used to throw rocks at baby birds. Whenever I stumbled upon a turtle I liked to smash it's shell open with rocks and then smash the turtle with rocks. I'd say this stopped when I was about 11. But then I just became violent towards people and when I got into fights I had to restrain myself from putting my thumbs in their eyes. I'd say that ended when I was about 13. With that in mind, I have heard about serial killers starting off with smaller things like animals, etc. But I've never killed a dog or a cat, or any average house hold pet.

    I just like to hear about the murders themselves. I'm not going to go out and kill someone, but that sick part of me likes hearing the details. I just wonder how it feels, you know? I can imagine myself feeling very disgusted at first but then not really care like I do with everything else. I'm not saying I'm going to go out and murder someone, or wish for anyone to be murdered, but it's apart of life and I'm going to let myself be interested in it. I've never been emotional enough to feel like I could kill someone in a certain moment.

    I agree with a lot of other people on this thread. I want to know why they did it. How did it make them feel? How did they get away with it? When did they start? Why did they start? There's too much to say but I just want to know. I think we all secretly wished we could feel what it would be like to kill someone at one time or another. I'm not really into the whole death/murder thing anymore. I don't see the point in killing anyone, the world doesn't need any more negative things.
    September 5th, 2014 at 10:46pm
  • shelbyvengeance

    shelbyvengeance (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    28
    Location:
    United States
    I find it interesting, but mostly just the murders. Especially the ways people murder now. And then you have the really stupid ones who I question on how they even became serial killers to begin with. Usually I just want to know about their life before they started killing and what made them want to kill. Usually it's the children who kill that interest me. Why would any child under the age of 13 want to do that?
    September 6th, 2014 at 11:29pm
  • burning.

    burning. (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    27
    Location:
    United States
    Did anyone see the recent Jack the Ripper article that came out saying that they've "proven" who he was? Think

    I'm not too keen on believing it. I'd rather make my own assumptions rather than believe something that could be entirely false. For all we know, Jack the Ripper is long gone, and I'm much happier knowing that than anything else. XD
    September 9th, 2014 at 04:20am
  • Trent Lane

    Trent Lane (150)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    29
    Location:
    United States
    The case I'm most interested in is Aileen Wuornos.
    September 9th, 2014 at 11:10pm
  • Airi.

    Airi. (2240)

    :
    NaNoWriMo 2016
    Gender:
    Age:
    30
    Location:
    United States
    @ soft skeletons.
    I've been reading up a lot on the "proof" that The Ripper has been identified. Honestly, I would love for The Ripper to be caught. I've been interested in him for years because he is one of the greatest murder mysteries. He killed and mutilated at least 5 women and never got caught. The way his mind worked must have been incredible and I'd love to take a look at what The Ripper's mind was like. Identifying The Ripper would give us a hint to that.

    However, this proof is not proof. Taking it as proof is not following how DNA science is done nor how criminology works. At this point, I think it's best no one takes Aaron Kosminski being The Ripper as fact until more evidence to back up that claim can be made.
    And since The Ripper was mentioned... I'll put my thoughts about Kosminki being The Ripper here for anyone who wants to discuss. >w<

    I think it would be best for most people to not believe the "proof" until there is further evidence to back it up. The word of a single scientist who only has a 126 year old shawl is not very much evidence to believe something such as unmasking one of human kind's most notorious murder mysteries. There's a lot of doubtful things about Kosminski being The Ripper.

    First and foremost, how do we know the shawl hadn't been contaminated over the years? The shawl was supposedly taken from the crime scene by an officer who wanted to give it to his wife as a present. However, his wife was said to be appalled and disgusted by the blood stain on it. Yet the family kept it and kept it in good enough condition for evidence to be extracted from it 126 years later. It seems a bit unrealistic that the family would take such good care of it if the wife was so disgusted by it. Not to mention that in the 126 years, it has been handled by numerous people which would be enough to contaminate evidence on the shawl. The shawl itself can be doubted in this case.

    Going further, this proof is an assumption that the stain on Eddowe's shawl was from Kosminski murdering her. But I think a lot of people are forgetting that Eddowe's was a prostitute. She serviced many male clients and it's possible Kosminski was merely just one of her clients that night or before that night. It's possible as shawls don't get washed after every use. Even in modern times, we don't make it a habit to wash shawls after every time we wear one. So knowing that Kosminski could have just been one of Eddowe's clients gives a bit of doubt to the idea that the stain had to have come from Kosminski killing her after using her services. It is possible but it is also doubtful without enough evidence.

    There's also who Kosminski is. Kosminski was a Polish immigrant so I'm assuming his native tongue was Polish or, at the very least, it's not English. In 1888, it wasn't easy to learn anything. Usually only the wealthiest were able to afford an education and from what I know of Kosminski, he did not come from wealth. It's doubtful that Kosminski knew English because he was most likely not rich enough for the privilege of such education. The Ripper was fluent in English based upon the letters sent and witness testimony saying, although the witness testimony can be easily doubted as well. If Kosminski was The Ripper then either he did find a way to become fluent in English or The Ripper didn't actually send the letters, which is very possible and it is highly doubted that those letters were from The Ripper himself. I suppose that's something we'll never know. There's also the fact that Kosminski was know for being a lanky person who often dressed in rags. Kosminski was 94 lbs when he was admitted to an insane asylum. To me, knowing the body type of a 94 lb person, I find it hard to believe that Kosminski would have been able to mutilate his victims when he was only 94 lbs.

    If we turn to the records the asylums kept on Kosminski, it says that the asylums found Kosminski to be "mostly harmless". Aside from two instances of violence, he wasn't ever violent in the asylums. In fact, Kosminski wasn't even taken to an asylum for violent behavior. He was taken there because, to be blunt, he had a fondness of masturbation. One would think that a person capable of mutilating so many people would be more violent. Of course, serial killers can be known to conceal their violent side but his lack of displayed violence can still be called into question.
    September 10th, 2014 at 12:00am
  • burning.

    burning. (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    27
    Location:
    United States
    @ Airi.
    I mean, I can agree with you on knowing how his mind works if/when he's ever caught, but that's really about it on my interest in Jack the Ripper. I haven't delved too much into his motives or why he did what he did, I just know the general facts about him.

    Proof probably wasn't the correct word in my original message, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. XD I'm not so gullible to believe something right away, either, so when I read the article on Facebook I was very skeptical about it. It sounded off, don't you think? I'm not sure which article you read and I couldn't find the original article that I read, so bummer, but just a Google search tells you that most won't believe it until further evidence is shown.
    September 10th, 2014 at 12:47am
  • wish on a firefly

    wish on a firefly (885)

    :
    NaNoWriMo 2017
    Gender:
    Age:
    33
    Location:
    United States
    I think there's something a bit intriguing about the more sinister, intelligent serial killers -- ones that have avoided capture for a long time, like let's say, Whitey Bulger or maybe Jack the Ripper?
    September 15th, 2014 at 06:58pm
  • wish on a firefly

    wish on a firefly (885)

    :
    NaNoWriMo 2017
    Gender:
    Age:
    33
    Location:
    United States
    @ Airi.
    Is it odd that I believe that t have a book on Ripper that was compiled in the 70's-early 80's that talks about all the potential suspects and all the copycats of him? To me, I believe that Jack the RIpper wasn't one sole person. I mean there are tons of people who are highly intelligent for that time period (like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were far beyond their years in terms of being smart) but still. And that thing about the shawl is quite interesting.

    My personal opinion is that maybe Jack the Ripper were two different people working together while masquearading as the same killer. I mean there was a tons of evidence or rather theories pointing to some butcher who wore a leather apron like the one found at one of the crime scenes (and let's not forget the butcher knives Ripper used) and there's also this person who was connected to the Royal Family and it's said that he (the royal--can't remember his name) had problems with women or something like that.
    September 15th, 2014 at 07:20pm
  • hey sailor

    hey sailor (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    31
    Location:
    United States
    I definitely used to be more interested in them. There was a show called Most Evil a really long time ago and it was about a forensic psychiatrist who developed a scale, ranging from 1 to 22, that categorized major serial killers. Level 1 were people who killed in self-defense and do not show traces of psychopathy and level 22 were psychopathic torture-murderers. I watched that show all the time. I actually miss it. I major in Psychology and I think it's really interesting.
    September 21st, 2014 at 02:41am
  • hey sailor

    hey sailor (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    31
    Location:
    United States
    @ Cyber Hina
    Did you see the news that DNA results might have indicated Jack the Ripper's identity? I think it came out a week ago.
    September 21st, 2014 at 02:42am
  • wish on a firefly

    wish on a firefly (885)

    :
    NaNoWriMo 2017
    Gender:
    Age:
    33
    Location:
    United States
    @ hey sailor
    OMG really? I didn't see the news. Who does it indicate?

    @ hey sailor
    September 21st, 2014 at 04:21am
  • hey sailor

    hey sailor (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    31
    Location:
    United States
    @ Cyber Hina
    Aaron Kosminski, a suspect in the original case. Here's the link to just one article. I searched "DNA results of Jack the Ripper" on Google, but I found the original article that I read on Facebook I think. Anyway, here's the link to USA Today:

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/09/08/jack-the-ripper-dna-test-kosminski-killer/15291469/
    September 21st, 2014 at 04:28am
  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    34
    Location:
    United States
    @ Pyromancer Hina @ hey sailor

    It indicates that a mentally ill immigrant was near enough to someone's shawl to leave DNA on it. They can't even prove that's 100% the shawl belonged to one of Jack the Ripper's victims (since the chain of evidence on that thing is pretty much nonexistent), let alone that DNA on a prostitutes shawl means that person killed her.

    I definitely recommend you read this post from this very thread by Airi since she does a pretty good job of pointing out the numerous holes in the theory beyond the DNA on the shawl.
    September 21st, 2014 at 05:57am
  • wish on a firefly

    wish on a firefly (885)

    :
    NaNoWriMo 2017
    Gender:
    Age:
    33
    Location:
    United States
    @ CallusedSilk
    I read it and I definitely agree with that because the shawl was passed between numerous people and dna does kinda get destroyed over time. So, I don't really think they'll be able to pinpoint the identity of Jack the Riper anyways, but it's still interesting to know what they come up with.
    September 21st, 2014 at 06:14am
  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    34
    Location:
    United States
    @ Pyromancer Hina
    Oh, it's definitely interesting. Although at this point, I think people should move on and accept the fact that the only thing we'll ever know for certain about Jack the Ripper is that the individual is currently dead. 'Cause even if technology improves past where it is right now, we'll still never be able to definitively prove anything because of how the crime scenes were treated at the time of the murder. They were trampled over, evidence got destroyed/lost/messed with by pretty much everyone, and it's been over 100 years. The case is dead.
    September 21st, 2014 at 06:21am
  • wish on a firefly

    wish on a firefly (885)

    :
    NaNoWriMo 2017
    Gender:
    Age:
    33
    Location:
    United States
    @ CallusedSilk
    I know. I think the only way anyone would ever be able to know Jack's real identity is if we build a time machine of sorts but that kind of technology is a bit farfetch'ed at this point like you said. But still, we can't help speculating over the many theories on who he was and why he killed in the manner he did. All of this talk about Jack the Ripper makes me want to reread my Jack the Ripper book now. :shifty:
    September 21st, 2014 at 06:46am
  • hey sailor

    hey sailor (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    31
    Location:
    United States
    @ CallusedSilk
    Thanks! It was one of those articles I kind of skimmed through. I've been having a bit of an attention problem as of late so it make sense why I didn't see the holes. I just thought that it would be an interesting addition.

    I read the post and it makes a very good argument. I agree with both you and Pyromancer Hina, there's really no way to find out who the real Jack the Ripper would be unless something radical happened in the science world.
    September 21st, 2014 at 08:43pm
  • Alucard Radke

    Alucard Radke (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    31
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    they anger me, yet i'm still find them fascinating. i think i've always been interested in what drives people to kill, why do they commit these horrible crimes.
    October 8th, 2014 at 12:03am
  • Synyster Vengance

    Synyster Vengance (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    33
    Location:
    United States
    Me, personally? I love trying to figure them out. The sheer brutality of some of them gets my interest up, while in other cases, it's the way they seem uncaring about who they kill, they just want the thrill of someone else's life in their hands. They love the feeling of playing God, of having complete and total control. They play it like a game, and I love looking at the moves they make, the ways they play the board.
    October 8th, 2014 at 02:38am