Storytellersunplugged

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Autopsy of the Mind

During his seven years on Earth, Devin had not spent much time with his father.  The latter was a heavy drinker and was spending increasing amounts of time away from home.  When his dad was home, he would frequently have intense arguments with Devin’s mother; and many fights were about Devin.  His mother had never wanted him in the first place, and she had often reminded both Devin and his father of that fact.  On Devin’s eighth birthday, his father had left and never returned.

Devin’s mother was overbearing and had made most of the decisions for the household and most for her husband also.  She had always been strict with Devin, and her resentment of him never slackened.  Indeed, it reached new heights when he began to wet his bed, which he continued to do well into his teens.  She rarely struck him, but she frequently abused him verbally by telling him that he was no good, was stupid and would never amount to anything.  She began to date and sometimes brought men home for the night.  Devin would have to stay quietly in his room whenever this happened.

There were no other children nearby with whom he could play when he wasn’t in school, and Devin gradually became a loner.  As such, he never developed socializing skills he would need in adulthood.  He also acquired no capabilities for feeling remorse or empathy.  He effectively lacked a conscience.  As his isolation solidified, his own thoughts and daydreams were all that kept him company.  He had a fertile imagination and was soon getting lost in his own fantasies.  He was to develop an addiction to his fantasies about which his life would turn.  What portion of Devin that remained in the real world would become but a shell.  Fantasies would become his crutch, his coping mechanism for dealing with everyday life; and he would go to extremes to preserve the addiction and, therewith, his coping mechanism.  Addiction is often a mystically comforting presence in the lives of those addicted, and it is a progressive disease.

Devin had long been fascinated by fire, and he used to experiment by burning various materials.  He enjoyed the hypnotic way flames danced and smoke curled.  Somehow, he didn’t feel as lonely or worthless when he was playing with fire.  It had come to represent something akin to a comforting friend.  It wasn’t long before he began to set fire to rubbish and piles of leaves.  Once, his fire spread to a nearby garage.   That brought a fire truck with its siren wailing and neighbors gathering to watch firemen extinguish the blaze.  Devin was the last to leave the scene and frequently returned to view the charred portions of the garage.  It gave him a feeling of power in a strangely sexual way.

After that, his fire-setting regularly included igniting things that belonged to others.  He also began to deface, break and steal things.  Devin had never had a pet but enjoyed playing with neighborhood animals.   His play, however, gradually become rougher and eventually progressed
to outright torment.   While watching the suffering he inflicted on animals, his usual feelings of being inefficacious were replaced by feelings of great power and control … again in a strangely sexual way.

Devin’s isolation and addiction to fantasies grew as did his antisocial behavior.  He killed his first victim with a knife when he was 28.  The victim was tall and had long, dark hair that she wore parted in the middle.  By the time Devin was 34, he had killed seven more woman, all of them tall and having long, dark hair, parted in the middle.  With each killing, Devin had been sharpening his terminating skill to coincide with the perfection of his fantasies but had almost been caught during the last killing.  Devin feared the police might be watching him and that the next killing might be his last, so he wanted it to be perfect.

He selected his victim very carefully.  She lived alone in a small house on a quiet street.  It was Halloween night, and he dressed darkly as appropriate for an executioner.  After the last group of children had received their treats and left the woman’s porch and before the last light in the house had been extinguished, he rang her doorbell.  He stood close to the door and clutched a long knife just inside his open coat.  The woman was apparently expecting to find more children at her door, because she was carrying a basket containing candy when she opened it.  She was tall and had long, dark hair; and it was parted in the middle.  Registering surprise at being confronted by an adult, she took a step backward.  Devin quickly stepped inside.  Closing the door behind him, he said, “Good evening, mother.”

AFTERWORD

The foregoing description is not that of a real person.  There are a number of theories about what factors during childhood lead some to become serial killers.  Some researchers think that the condition is genetic, and some think it is a result of a killer’s environment,  Others think it is the result of both.  What I’ve attempted to offer with Devin’s story is a representative composite of a developing serial killer.  The background of the character described contains a constellation of experiences that are common to many serial killers.  Foremost among them are those known as the MacDonald, or terrible, triad:  These include bed wetting (nearly two-thirds of serial killers wet their beds past the age of 12; fire starting (many serial killers had a fascination with arson or started fires as children; and animal torture (many serial killers progressed to human victims after abusing small or dead animals).  Obsessive daydreams are also common factors.  It is, of course, important to note that few persons having such childhood experiences become serial killers and that daydreams and fantasies that are not obsessive are quite normal; but the daydreams experienced by serial killers are aggressive and develop and expand into their adulthood.  With each victim, they attempt to fine tune their performances so that their real experiences will be as perfect as their fantasies. Serial killer Ted Bundy referred to this as a “learning curve.”  A serial killer learns from the past and is constantly improving.  The emotional stimulation that results seems to induce ever bolder and more frequent attacks, sometimes with a complete disregard of personal risk.  At this stage, there are insufficient internal forces remaining to stop killing.  The only things that can stop the serial killer now are incarceration or death.  Fortunately, most persons who come even from extremely unhealthy backgrounds manage to control antisocial urges that might result from their childhood experiences … but there are always a few who do not.

Many serial killers have an experience known as a precrime stressor as a source of motivation.  In Devin’s case, it was his mother’s rejection.  Killing women like her was his attempt to gain emotional release.   Many serial killers also have particular methods of killing, and they can become the killers’ “trademarks.”

It should also be noted that serial killers rarely harm the major objects of their resentment.  In the foregoing story, Devin killed his mother simply to fulfill the October-horror-story tradition of Storytellers Unplugged writers.  Often, in fact, a serial killer does not even recognize the source of his or her resentment.  For example, David Berkowitz  (aka Son of Sam) reportedly stated that he had nothing against women and that he had no idea why he killed them.  Like Devin, however, he had been unwanted by his mother; and most of the women he killed resembled her.

Psychology is not an exact science, and attempts to categorize persons with psychological problems have led to categories that are not perfectly consistent.  Medical and legal definitions differ, and the latter even differ from state to state.

The following is an attempt to provide writers with information that is generally representative of a majority of serial killers.  To begin, let’s differentiate between types of multiple murderers – those who have killed at least two other persons.  As typically defined, major types include the following:

Mass murderers are those who kill at least four victims at one location during one continuous period.  The period can extend from the time it takes to fire a gun four times to a number of days.  The victims can be persons who live or work together or who simply happen to be at the same location.

Spree killers are those who kill at least two persons, each at a different location.  The killings are grouped as a single event because there is not what the FBI refers to as a “cooling off” period between murders.

Serial killers are those who kill at least three persons, each on separate occasions.  They usually plan ahead to murder selected victims, and they have cooling-off periods between killings.  Some kill victims in one area and others kill in distantly spaced locations.  Serial killers can be placed in two categories:  psychotics and psychopaths.  The former are legally insane and cannot differentiate between right and wrong.  Psychopaths are in touch with reality and can differentiate between right and wrong and appear to be normal, but they lack much of a conscience.  Psychopaths arguably have the most deviant minds that exist and should be the most feared.

Additionally, there is a subgroup of serial killers:

Visionary killers are commonly psychotic and murder certain persons because “voices” order them to do so.  Only about 10 percent of serial killers are psychotic, however.  David Berkowitz is an example of a psychotic.

Mission-oriented killers try to fulfill a “mission” to rid society of certain groups of persons, for example, prostitutes, that they consider as being too unworthy to live.

Hedonistic killers murder because they enjoy the pleasure it gives them.

The most common type of serial killer is out for power and control over their victims.  These often engage in rituals that mimic abuse they themselves suffered.

There is commonly a sexually related motive involved in male serial killings, and they are typically violent.  Most merge sex and violence into a single fantasy.  Male serial killers usually kill for elusive psychological gains.  They more often kill strangers, torture or mutilate, and report a sexual motive.  Money is a far more common motive for female serial killers, and the manner in which women kill is usually not very violent.  Poisoning is a fairly commonly used method; and their victims are usually husbands, persons in hospitals or nursing homes and relatively defenseless children and elderly persons.  Note, however, that it is not at all rare for females with antisocial personality disorder (APD) to manipulate a male to kill for her. That fact might produce an interesting plot twist.  Heterosexual male serial killers usually kill women and children; homosexual male serial killers usually kill gay men, prostitutes and hitchhikers.

Studies show that potential serial killers became solidified in their loneliness between the ages of 8 and 12, and such isolation is considered by some experts to be the single most important aspect of their psychological makeup.  Isolation, though, does not mean that all potential killers are destined to be introverted and shy.  Many are extroverted and conversationally adept, which belies their inner isolation.  Many believe that all serial killers are insane or are driven by voices only they can hear and/or hallucinations that only they can see.  These are categorized as visionaries, and they are relatively rare (only about ten percent of serial killers are psychotic), but voices reportedly told Herbert Mullins to kill to prevent earthquakes in California.  During his trial, he took pains to point out that, during his 13-victim murder spree, California was indeed spared from earthquakes.

Fantasy cannot be overemphasized as being an extremely important factor in the development of a serial killer.  Some have daydreams about domination and murder even prior to their adolescence.  Often, elements of their fantasies carry over into their subsequent real crimes.

The following are some serial-killer-related statistics (some of which vary from source to source):

Most are in 20s or 30s when first they kill
Less than 20 % kill for money
22% kill at least one stranger
58% set fires, destroy property and steal
62% kill strangers exclusively
67% are rebellious  and have nightmares
68% are bed wetters
71% kill in a specific location or area
71% have isolated childhoods and lie habitually
80% run away from home
83% have severe temper tantrums
85% are Caucasian
88% are male

Note that the foregoing statistics are generally shared by serial killers but should not be assumed to apply rigorously to a specific individual.

Now that you all have the foregoing to keep you awake at night, I must add that serial killings are not necessarily the work of lone killers.  One can share his killings with another person while still being addicted to the same fantasy.  In fact, killings have been recorded that were done not only by pairs but by dysfunctional families.

As you might imagine, there is a huge amount of information about serial killers in the form of accounts and theories – much too much to include in a simple essay – so I have mercifully limited these remarks to a piece that will take readers less than a whole afternoon to read.

Have a  haunting Halloween, everyone; but be careful for whom you open your door.  THEY are out there . . . somewhere.

RCJ

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