Title: Serial Killers | Psychology Today
Headings: 
Contents
Understanding Serial Killers
What defines a serial killer?
What’s the difference between a serial killer and a mass killer?
Are there serial killers everywhere in the world?
Are there different types of serial killers?
The Psychology of Serial Killers
Are serial killers mentally ill?
Are all serial killers psychopaths?
Are serial killers intelligent?
Are serial killers born or made?
Are there early signs of a serial killer?
Can women be serial killers?
How are female serial killers different from male serial killers?
Why We’re Fascinated with Serial Killers
Why am I so obsessed with serial killers?
Why are there so many books, movies, TV shows, and podcasts about serial killers?
What are common myths about serial killers?
Why do women fall in love with serial killers?
How do serial killers affect society?

Content: What defines a serial killer? Created with Sketch. Most experts define a serial killer as someone who has murdered at least three people, over a period of more than a month, with at least some “cooling-off” time between each murder. Some criminal psychologists go further, arguing that serial killers must have a deviant psychological motive—for example, sexual gratification—that goes beyond the murder itself. What’s the difference between a serial killer and a mass killer? Created with Sketch. Serial killers and mass murderers both commit multiple homicides. However, serial killers typically commit the murders over an extended period and allow time to elapse between each. Mass murderers, by contrast, commit all their murders in a brief, one-time event. A school shooter, for instance, is considered a mass murderer rather than a serial killer.