With all the buzz about The Ted Bundy Tapes on Netflix and the new Ted Bundy movie where Zac Efron plays the killer himself, this serial killer seems to be all anybody has been talking about lately. If you’ve already had your fill of Ted Bundy, but still haven’t had your fill of true crime, don’t worry! There’s plenty of serial killer tales to still be told.
1. The Zodiac Killer
This case is one that is still open today. The murders were unique because he would contact police himself. He sent law enforcement and news companies taunting letters. The Zodiac Killer was practically baiting them to figure out who he was and to catch him. They were written to be decoded and only one was ever actually solved, according to Scoop Whoop.
He was responsible for seven murders. His targets were often young couples, where only the male would survive. Britannica also reports that he wrote about simply wanting to kill people, claiming this as his motive. The letters also revealed his interest in astrology and its symbolisms.
It is unclear when exactly the Zodiac Killer stopped killing, but the murders did stop. No one was ever found responsible for the murders and many still speculate today about who the true killer was.
2. Harold Shipman
This British physician gained the name “Dr. Death” for all of his kills while practicing medicine. Biography describes Shipman as a family man and a respected doctor in the eyes of the public. This view stood until a local undertaker, as well as one of his colleagues, became concerned at the death rate of his patients. Shipman was investigated twice for this. He was cleared the first time but the second investigation was much more thorough.
This investigation ensued when one woman exposed Shipman’s foul play against her mother, proving he killed her via morphine overdose. This murder lead to an investigation of all of his patients’ deaths. Many of these bodies were cremated but police did what they could. Examining records and linking common causes of death gave an estimated number of 236 patients dying at Shipman’s hand. The investigation could never fully conclude, given that Dr. Death used bed sheets to hang himself within his cell where he resided during investigations.
3. Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper is a well-known serial killer. The scariest thing about this killer(s) is that an identity was never confirmed and it is believed that there were multiple of them. According to The History Channel, he killed in the 19th century, when women going missing was less than unusual and rarely investigated. However, the women who fell victim to Jack the Ripper drew attention.
Victims of his were found mutilated and dismembered. Their organs were often removed as well, usually those such as uteruses. Jack the Ripper killed only females, usually those who were prostitutes. It was often said that he had a personal vendetta against women who did this work.
The killer(s) was never found. However, the murders mysteriously ended after a few years. Many still wanted answers as to who Jack the Ripper really was but no further investigations were ever carried out, largely due to the lack of resources available at the time.
4. Ed Gein
If you’ve ever seen the movie Psycho, you know about Ed Gein already since he was the inspiration behind the film. His actions also influenced Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (The History Channel). Gein was the product of an unfortunate childhood, filled with abuse and ending with all of his family dying within a few years. He was left to the family farm, where he harbored a shrine for his mother.
He lived mostly in isolation until Bernice Worden went missing. Police followed a tip to his farm where they discovered Worden’s corpse upside down in the rafters of the home. Upon further search, they realized that the entire house was filled with human body parts turned into items such as chairs, vests, bowls, wall hangings, etc. Gein did only have one other victim, with the rest of the bodies coming from digging up graves.
Ed Gein tried to explain himself by claiming he was using the bodies to assemble his mother. He was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and when convicted of murder, declared insane. Gein lived out the rest of his life in a mental hospital.
5. H.H. Holmes
This American pharmacist is known as the creator of the infamous “murder castle.” According to The History Channel, this castle was built in a three-story inn and was modified into a torture chamber, containing hidden peepholes, gas lines and false doors. He also built in deceiving structures such as secret passages that eventually lead to dead ends. Perhaps the scariest part was the basement, accessed by a chute. Here, Holmes housed a surgical table and a medieval rack.
Most of Holmes’ victims were young women that he would lead to his castle. He would often torture them with poisonous gas and other mechanisms. Their final destination was always the basement, where he performed terrifying experiments on their bodies.
H.H. Holmes was eventually caught, not for his murders, but actually for his insurance scams. This lead to his investigations where the murders were revealed. He confessed to killing over 30 people and was hanged for these crimes.
6. Alexander Pichushkin
This unique killer was known as the “Chessboard Killer.” According to Scoop Whoop, he gained this name because his killings were in an attempt to complete the squares on a chessboard, 64 of them. Pichushkin was unsuccessful in this.
Most of the Chessboard Killer’s victims were homeless men that he was able to lure into his home by offering them alcohol, vodka specifically. He would then hit the men on the head with a hammer repeatedly until they died. After, Pichushkin would insert the vodka bottle into the skull where the wound was. He grew more brutal but also careless as the killings went on, often leaving his victims out to be found.
Due to these actions, Chessboard Killer was caught by the police and convicted of 51 murders, as reported by Biography. He admitted to these and argued that he should be charged with over 60. These additional murders were never proved. Alexander Pichushkin was inevitably sentenced to life in prison.
7. Lady Bluebeard
Bella Gunness was well-known by this name and even more well-known as the woman who married to kill, according to The History Channel. Lady Bluebeard was once married to a fellow Norwegian immigrant and they had four children. The couple ran a candy store together which mysteriously burned down, with her husband inside. Gunness was given multiple insurance payouts for this and she used this money to relocate to an Indiana farm.
Here, she remarried, only for her second husband to die within the first eight months of marriage. Lady Bluebeard claimed he had been hit on the head with a meat grinder and also received a fatal burn via hot water. No foul play could be detected, allowing her to collect another large insurance sum. After his death, Gunness began to put out ads in the newspaper for a third husband. Any potential spouse had to visit her farm. Many did visit and ended up disappearing.
It’s unclear how many people this woman actually murdered; however, many would say that karma got to her as her farm was eventually burned down. After examining the wreckage, the bodies of her remaining children were found as well as a decapitated female body. The body was not a match to Belle’s as it was much smaller. Almost a dozen bodies were also found, among which were the men who responded to her ad and many children. Lady Bluebeard’s fate is unclear but many have claimed to have sighted her years after this fire.
8. John Wayne Gacy
It appears It came to life with this serial killer. The History Channel describes Gacy as a friendly man who threw popular parties and was active in his community. He even dressed up as a clown for local children’s parties, but he was hiding a secret.
Unknown to the neighborhood, John Wayne Gacy had previously been imprisoned for sexually assaulting a young boy. Thus, when a local boy went missing, police immediately suspected him. Upon searching his home, they discovered that he had a space underneath his house containing 29 bodies of teenage and younger boys. All of these boys had been raped as well as murdered. Gacy inevitably also admitted to killing several other men. He attempted to plead insanity but was unsuccessful and faced legal injection.