25 Creepiest Serial Killers That Shocked Society

Posted by , Updated on March 24, 2024

History has seen its fair share of some of the creepiest serial killers. These people have done some of the most gruesome things imaginable which might be difficult for some people to handle. Why did these killers kill innocent people? (some of them even children) Most point to mental illness. However, some of these serial killers were almost as normal as you and I. It goes to show that you really don’t know what someone else is capable of. These are 25 Creepiest Serial Killers That Shocked Society.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omzisx7jbyQ

25

Yang Xinhai

yang xinhaiSource: huffingtonpost.com; South China Morning Post

Known as the “Monster Killer,” Yang is the most prolific known serial killer China has ever seen. He would enter houses at night and slaughter everyone with axes, meat cleavers, and shovels. He confessed to committing 67 murders and 23 rapes between 1999 and 2003. He was executed in 2004.

24

Alexander Pichushkin

Alexander-PichushkinSource: huffingtonpost.com; murderpedia.org; telegraph.co.uk

He was called the “Chessboard Killer” because he said he wanted to “complete the chessboard” and kill 64 people. He murdered mostly homeless men by beating their skulls with a hammer and inserting vodka bottles into the holes. He was arrested for the murder of 49 people (convicted for 48), but he asked a Russian court to add an additional 11 victims to the count, bringing the death toll to 60.

23

Daniel Camargo Barbosa

daniel camargo barbosaSource: yahoo.com

Also known as “the Sadist of Chanquito,” Camargo killed hundreds of primarily young virgin girls in several South American countries. It’s believed he raped and killed over 150 young girls during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Camargo has been described as “highly intelligent” and well read. He was eventually killed by Luis Masache Narvaez, the nephew of one of his victims.

22

Andrei Chikatilo

Andrei ChikatiloSource: nytimes.com; independent.co.uk

Known as the “Butcher of Rostov,” he was quoted as saying, “When I used my knife, it brought psychological relief. I know I have to be destroyed. I was a mistake of nature.” Andrei was a former communist party member with a degree in philology; he responsible for the deaths of at least 52 people.

21

Pedro Alonzo Lopez

Pedro Alonzo LopezSource: biography.com; all-that-is-interesting.com

Called the “Monster of the Andes,” Pedro killed hundreds of girls in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. It’s believe that he has killed over 300 people in total. In spite of his crimes, he was released in 1998, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

20

Anatoly Onoprienko

Anatoly OnoprienkoSource: huffingtonpost.com; independent.co.uk

Anatoly was known by several nicknames, primarily “The Butcher of Ukraine,” “Terminator,” and “Citizen O.” He traveled across Europe killing people as he went. His total number of victims is unknown, but he has confessed to killing 52 people. He has also stated that “he was a superior human specimen chosen…to kill his fellow human beings.”

19

Charles Edmund Cullen

Charles Edmund CullenSource: heraldsun.com.au; murderpedia.org; ranker.com; criminalminds.wikia.com; nytimes.com; thedailybeast.com

Labeled the “Angel of Death,” Charles was a nurse who killed his patients with un-prescribed medication. Over the course of his 16-year career as a night nurse, he claimed the lives of at least 40 people, though authorities believe he could have killed more…many more. Cullen had had a troubled childhood. He had been described as a “weedy, pale kid…” who was “intelligent but odd.” As such, he was picked on by other kids, leading him to attempted suicide. He was given multiple life sentences.

18

Ahmad Suradji

Ahmad-SuradjiSource: theguardian.com; telegraph.co.uk

A cattle breeder in Indonesia, Ahmad Suradji (also known as the “Black Magic Killer”) killed 42 girls and buried them waist deep in a field with their heads all facing his house. Apparently, he believed this would give him special powers. Suradji was executed on July 2008 via firing squad.

17

Patrick Wayne Kearney

Patrick Wayne KearneySource: yahoo.com

Patrick was called the “Trash Bag Killer” because he would dump the bodies of his victims along California highways wrapped up in trash bags.

16

Gary Ridgway

Gary RidgwaySource: chicagotribune.com; komonews.com; oxygen.com; ranker.com; oregonlive.com

Gary Ridgway, also known as the “Green River killer,” is famous for his killings of prostitutes. He was convicted of killing 49 women (though he claims he’s killed anywhere between 75 to 80). Similar to Dennis Raider, Gary seemed to be a normal person on the outside. He was married three times and lived in a quiet neighborhood where his neighbors described him as a good person. He also had a son whom he would take camping.

15

Luis Garavito

Luis GaravitoSource: bbc.com; rollingstone.com; britannica.com

Dubbed La Bestia (The Beast) by the Colombian media, Luis was one of the most violent serial killers in recorded history. He is responsible for the murder and rape of 140 young boys. However, some estimates places his death count upwards of 300. Luis would lure his young victims (usually between the age of eight and 16) with food, cash, and disguises such as a monk. Once in a secluded area, Luis would sexually assault his victim, torture them, and them he would slit their throats.

14

Dennis Raider

Dennis RaiderSource: latimes.com; theatlantic.com; rollingstone.com; Kansas.com; Usatoday.com

A family man, church-goer, and pleasant neighbor are probably not the words you’d expect to describe a serial killer, but that was Dennis Raider…at least on the surface. Dennis Raider,
also known as the “BTK killer” (which stood for “bind, torture, kill”), is responsible for the deaths of 10 people, four of which come from the Otero family. The murders began in 1974, but Raider was not caught until 2005.

13

Pedro Rodriguez Filho

Pedro Rodriguez filhoSource: bbc.com; rollingstone.com; bodyreport.com

Known as “Killer Petey” or “Pedrinho Matador,” Pedro Rodriguez Filho became popular by murdering local drug dealers. One of Brazil’s most infamous serial killers, Pedro is credited with the deaths of at least 70 people, 40 of which were killed while he was in Prison. Reports claim that Pedro killed at least 10 people before his 18th birthday, which included the vice-mayor of his town. Pedro even killed his own father because his father killed his mother.

12

Jack the Ripper

Jack the RipperSource: bbc.com; history.com

Labeled as “the world’s most infamous killer,” Jack the Ripper terrorized London in 1888. He is credited with the death of five women, which were mutilated in gruesome ways. Jack was never caught nor identified and remains one of the most debated mysteries.

11

Tommy Lynn Sells

Tommy-lynn-sellsSource: telegraph.co.uk; abcnews.go.com

Tommy Lynn Sells is a Texas serial killer who murdered more than 70 people. Eventually though, after breaking into a 10-year-old girl’s room and stabbing her repeatedly, the girl survived and helped the police track him down. Reports claim Sells was addicted to killing from the young age of 14. Sell describes himself as being the embodiment of hate, “When you look at me, you look at hate…I don’t know what love is…”

10

John George Haigh

john-george-haighSource: telegraph.co.uk, forensicmag.com

Called the “Acid Bath Murderer,” Haigh killed rich people and dissolved their bodies in acid baths in a warehouse. He then forged papers and sold their belongings. He has six confirmed kills to his name, but he claimed to have killed nine people. He was sentenced to death and was hanged at Wandsworth prison in London on August 10, 1949.

9

John Wayne Gacy

john wayne gacySource: nytimes.com, criminalminds.wikia.com, Chicagotribune.com

Called the “Killer Clown” because he dressed up as a clown for various events, Gacy ended up murdering 33 men and boys. He was raised by an abusive father who would often refer to him as a “sissy.” He then dropped out of school and cut all ties with his family. Tim McCoy was Gacy’s first victim; this led to a string of murders that lasted from August 1967 to December 1978. He was executed on may 10, 1994 via lethal injection.

8

Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour

Ramadan-abdel-rehim-mansourSource: theguardian.com

An Egyptian serial killer, Mansour was known as “al-Tourbini” (“The Express Train”). Most of his victims were young homeless boys whom he killed on various trains around Cairo. He would then throw their body off the train or even bury them alive.

7

Jeffrey Dahmer

jeffrey dahmerSource: bbc.com, ranker.com, nydailynews.com, dailymail.co.uk, Oxygen.com

Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the most disturbed serial killers out there, and that is an understatement. The level of cruelty Jeffrey showed towards his victims is nauseating. For one victim, Jeffrey drilled a hole into his head and injected it with hydrochloric acid. This happened while the victim was still alive. Another victim, he skinned and crushed his bones. Jeffrey killed a total of 17 men between 1978 and 1991 in various horrible ways. He was eventually caught and sentenced to 16 life terms in prison but was later killed in prison by Christopher Scarver, a fellow inmate who claimed Dahmer “crossed the line…”

6

Ted Bundy

Ted BundySource: nytimes.com, Crimemuseum.org

Born on November 24, 1946, Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous American serial killers in history. Described as a “charming, articulate, and intelligent young man,” his normal and arguably appealing appearance hid the monster inside. Ted would target young and attractive college women by faking an injury (via a fake cast) to gain their trust and to put them in a position where he could harm them and eventually kill them. He would also dig up the corpses of his victims and have sex with them. He died in the electric chair on January 24, 1989.

5

Aileen Wuornos

Aileen WuornosSource: latimes.com; biography.com

Born on February 29, 1956, Aileen Wuornos is one of the most infamous female murders in history. Aileen was sexually abused by her grandfather as a teen and made a living as a sex worker. He father killed himself while in prison for child molestation while her mother gave Aileen and her older brother Keith to the grandparents. Aileen killed 7 men while she was working as a prostitute in Florida from late 1989 to 1990. She was executed in 2002 via lethal injection.

4

Tsutomu Miyazaki

Tsutomu-miyazakiSource: bbc.com; nytimes.com

Nicknamed the “Human Dracula,” Tsutomu was a Japanese serial killer who abducted young girls, killed them, and had sex with their corpses. As his nickname suggests, he also sometimes drank their blood. In one instance, he burned the body of a 4 year-old and left her bones on the doorsteps of the victim’s parents. Miyazaki was executed in 2008.

3

Cedric Maake

Cedric-MaakeSource: nytimes.com; bbc.com

A South African serial killer, Cedric was called the “Wemmer Pan serial killer” because he killed most of his victims around this southern Johannesburg suburb. Maake was convicted of murdering 27 people along with 26 counts of attempted murder, 41 of armed robbery, 14 of rape, and a few other petty crimes. Since South Africa does not employ the death penalty, Maake received a sentence of 1,340 years.

2

William Bonin

William BoninSource: washingtonpost.com; Latimes.com

Also known as the “Freeway Killer,” Bonin was a particularly brutal killer. He confessed to raping, torturing, and killing 21 boys and young men. During his sentencing, he sent letters to the families of his victims, describing in detail how they suffered when he killed them. People that knew him described him as having an “insatiable lust for young men.” Bonin grew up with a violent father. Moreover, Bonin was sexually assaulted at the age of 8 while living in a Connecticut detention center.

1

Paul John Knowles

P.J.Knowles (Casanova Killer)Source: washingtonpost.com.macon.com

Also known as “The Casanova Killer,” Knowles is responsible for the deaths of at least 18 people (thought he claims he killed 35). He was born in Orlando, Florida and was first incarcerated at the age of 19 for petty crimes. However, on July 26, 1974, Knowles started a killing spree that lasted until November 21, 1974. He was eventually shot by police while trying to escape.



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