20 Chilling Facts About Serial Killers

These 20 disturbing facts about serial killers will give you a glimpse into the terrifying and often twisted minds of some of history’s most notorious criminals, each fact revealing just how chilling reality can be.

“Jeffery Dahmer used a drill to drill into a guy’s head and then put acid in the hole. This caused the guy to be very confused and disoriented, appearing almost drunk. The guy escaped Dahmer’s apartment while he was out and was stumbling down the street naked and confused. Cops came and were asking him questions. On Dahmer’s way home he saw the guy with the cops and went and convinced the cops that this was his gay lover and that he was really upset and very drunk and the cops let Dahmer take him back home.”

“Serial killer [Rodney Alcala] won ABC’s ‘The Dating Game’ while in the midst of his killing spree.”

“Ted Bundy returned to a crime scene the morning after he had abducted and killed a student, Georgann Hawkins, in order to retrieve some evidence. There, in the midst of a major investigation, he took her earrings and one of her shoes from an adjoining parking lot, and left, unobserved.”

“Pedro Lopez, who was convicted of 110 murders but claimed to have committed 300, was released from prison in 1998 having served 18 years. He hasn’t been seen since.”

“John Wayne Gacey viewed the young men he killed as property. His thought was; since he paid for their company, they were his to do with as he pleased. Like if he had bought a toaster or a set of plates. If he wanted to destroy what he purchased, that was his right as the buyer.”

“Many of them were only caught because they got bored and started leaving hints for the police, sending letters to newspapers, or stopped hiding the bodies. Some, like Edmund Kemper, gave themselves in. If a serial killer doesn’t want to be known, the police may not even realize that they’re dealing with a serial killer and not just a bunch of unconnected cold cases.”

“The most disturbing fact? Probably that we only know about the sloppy and inept serial killers. We don’t know about the good ones who kill without anyone knowing. Could be your neighbor or your friend. You could have avoided death by neighbor just because you chose to not yell at him/her on a bad day for their dog getting loose.”

“Ted Bundy once rescued a child from drowning.”

“There are an estimated 25 to 50 active serial killers in the United States. There are most likely even more that will never leave any trace that they were active.”

“[Vlado Taneski], a reporter who wrote stories about a serial killer was actually the serial killer himself – and he later allegedly committed suicide by drowning himself in a bucket of water”

“Serial killer Ted Bundy helped police catch Gary Ridgway, the ‘Green River Killer’. In 1984, Bundy offered his opinions on the psychology, motivations, and behavior of the killer, and that he was revisiting body dump sites, which turned out to be true. Ridgway was arrested in 2001.”

“[H. H. Holmes], one of America’s first serial killers built a maze above a drug store with over 100 windowless rooms, where he would trap, torture, and murder his victims.”

“Australian serial killer Ivan Milat lost 25kg from a failed hunger strike in prison when he was denied a PlayStation”

“The minimum kills to be called a ‘serial killer’ is three”

“When demolishing the house of serial killers Fred and Rosemary West, every brick was crushed and every timber beam burned in order to discourage souvenir hunters.”

“Serial killer Ed Kemper befriended the very police officers investigating his murders, and would socialize with them at a bar called the ‘Jury Room’. They called him ‘Big Ed’ and never suspected him. When he initially confessed, they thought he was pulling a prank.”

“Kansas serial killer, the BTK Killer, installed alarms as a part of his job, and many of his clients had booked the company to stop BTK from ever entering their home.”

“Serial killer Richard Chase would only go into homes that were unlocked to murder his victims, as he felt locked doors meant he was not wanted.”

“TIL of the Gold Sock Killer, a unidentified Floridian serial killer active only in 1973 who got his moniker for strangling his victims to death with socks; however, a gold-colored sock was only used in two murders.”

“TIL the “Smiley Face Theory,” which alleges that from 1990–2010, 45 young men found dead in bodies of water across the Midwest did not accidentally drown but were rather victims of a serial killer. The only known connection is grafiti depicting a ‘smiley face’ found near at least a dozen bodies.”