Serial killers are widely known for how crazy and deranged their killings are. Most serial killers have had a traumatic childhood event that led them to a psychological break. The most common type of serial killings is brought from sexual intent, usually men. Roughly one in every five to six serial killers are female. Research on female serial killers is difficult because they are fewer and harder to catch. Serial killers date back all the way to the 15th century where a French baron was executed for killing 100 children. Serial killers have been portrayed in countless movies, video games, and even plays. They can be determined by many things such as, their behavior, psychological state, and their patterns in their killings. Macbeth shows how serial killers, like himself, are psychotic and how bad their conditions can become.
Criminal profilers' opinions on serial killers
Criminal profilers closely inspect the suspects psychological factors such as, antisocial personality, behavioral patterns, and demographic variables. Scott Bonn is a criminology professor, news commentator, and author. He earned his degree in criminology from the university of Miami, FL. Dr Adam Lynes is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Birmingham City University, where he has taught since 2012, covering topics such as criminological theory, homicide, and transnational organized and corporate crime. Kevin D. Haggerty is a Killam Research Laureate and editor of the Canadian Journal of Sociology. He is also Professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Alberta.
Scott Bonn says he determines if a person is a serial killer or not by looking if; they killed at least three people, the murders take place in separate events at different times, and the killer experiences an emotional cooling off period between murders. 'A serial killer with regards to the UK definition is an individual who kills three or more people in a period greater than thirty days,”Dr Lynes said. 'Males tend to target strangers, often women, and are sexually motivated,' he continued. ' Kevin Haggerty says there's minimal evidence that psychological approaches have made more than a small difference in our understanding of this phenomenon,' he told Discovery News. 'Almost every psychological approach applied to serial murder has been ruled out as a uniform claim to understanding this behavior.'
Serial killers and their upbringings
In 1897 Bram Stoker created the well-known character in many films and stories Dracula. He based the character off Vlad Dracula, better known as Vlad the Impaler. He was born in 1431 in Transylvania where his father was ruler. Him and his brother were captured by the ottomans; they weren't free for many years until their family died. When he became free, he led an army in Wallachia to defend against the ottomans. This is where he started using his signature killing method of impaling. Impaling is where a person inserts a wood or metal pole into a person horizontally or vertically. Sometimes they would use a blunt end and purposely hit no internal organs so it would prolong their suffering. His army's kill count is estimated to have been around 80,000 people.
Jack the Ripper was the nickname for the unidentified killer, who committed 5 or more murders. This nickname came from the way that he killed his victims. He targeted mainly female prostitutes. His infamous way of killing was by slitting their throats in alleyways as they were walking by. Adding to the mystery of this is the fact that several letters were sent by the killer to the London Metropolitan Police Service, also known as the Scotland Yard, taunting officers about his gruesome activities. Many different people were suspected of being the killer though nobody has ever found him. Throughout the years many people have tried to figure out who the culprit was but to no avail. Being that he was unidentified, there is no background on one of the most well-known killer, Jack the ripper.
Like most serial killers he had a rough childhood. At the age of 12 he committed his first known crime of stealing money from a store. After getting out of prison he basically formed a cult. Everyone in it followed him religiously. During this time, he tried time and time again to follow a music career. But every time he was shut down because of his diagnosed schizophrenia. Manson's obsession with music and lack of success from it threw him over the edge so him and his followers killed celebrities who stole the spotlight from him. On January 25, 1971, Manson was convicted of first-degree murder for directing the deaths of the Tate-Labianca victims. He was sentenced to death, but this was automatically commuted to life in prison after California's Supreme Court invalidated all death sentences prior to 1972. He was sentenced to life in prison and spent the next four decades behind bars. He later died in prison on November 19, 2017.
Mikhail Popkov was a Russian serial killer and a rapist. He sexually assaulted over 77 women that were between 16 and 40 years old, he did all this within only 18 years. His job was a security guard which helped him cover his tracks There was a nickname given to him which was werewolf because of his brutal way of killing. Popkov was one of Russia's most prolific killer in the 1900's and 2000's. He was finally arrested in 2012 after police suspected the murderer might be one of their own. Authorities took 3,500 DNA samples from current and former officers and matched it with DNA they’d found on many of the victims. “I was born in another century,” Popkov said in a jailhouse interview. “Now there are such modern technologies, methods, but not earlier. If we have not got to that level of genetic examination, then I wouldn’t be sitting in front of you.” In 2012 he was apprehended and was sentenced to life in prison.
Why is Macbeth a Serial Killer
Macbeth is a serial killer because of his psyche. He shows throughout the play how warped his mind becomes and how different he sees situations from the beginning. In the whole play it tells how he is struggling to not accept the prophecy the witches told him and try to escape his fate. This obsession led him to create a list of people he either ordered to be killed or killed himself. He killed the previous king to make sure the prophecy came true. He killed his friend because he knew of the prophecy and didn’t want him getting suspicious; and many others if he thought they were suspicious of him. All these decisions ended up with him making the prophecy true by dying by a man not born of woman.