Throughout history, humans have committed horrific crimes, and our list 25 True Crime Stories About Serial Killers To Keep You Up At Night truly reflects this. But what exactly makes someone a serial killer? Are they the product of bad genes, environmental factors, or something even worse? The truth is that no one really knows, and despite the efforts of modern criminology to decode the brain of a typical serial killer, we haven’t reached a concrete explanation yet. However, the one thing we know is that many serial killers have suffered early childhood trauma, such as sexual or physical abuse. Trauma is the most common element in the lives of the worst serial killers in history. So, although they may look nothing like Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger, we promise you that the following 25 true crime stories about serial killers, will keep you up at night.
He was captured and confessed his crimes in 1991. He was murdered by a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution three years later. He would drug them and then murder them while they were sleeping. After he stole their belongings and money, he mutilated them and buried them under his shop. Mesfewi was finally arrested and executed in 1906. Mikhasevich had a double life. He became a prestigious member of the Communist Party and started a family, but he kept killing. Mikhasevich sexually assaulted and strangled women in isolated locations without raising any suspicions. Strangely, he also robbed his victims and gave their precious jewels to his wife as gifts. He was arrested and executed by firing squad in 1987. Wang killed his first victim in 1995. By the time of his arrest in July of 2003, Quang had murdered 45 people. According to his confessions, he enjoyed raping young girls after he killed them. He was executed in 2005 at the of 30. Investigators speculate that the serial killer was a native of Tatarstan during 2011-2012 where the crimes took place and studied in one of Kazan’s schools. Currently, the investigation continues. He lured his victims off the street by offering them candies and other treats. Fortunately, in 1934, he was arrested and executed by hanging. When he was 16, Ridgway stabbed a six-year-old boy. Luckily, the child survived the attack. As a young adult Ridgway served in the war of Vietnam, where he had sex with local prostitutes. Ridgway was a sex addict and had a fixation with prostitutes. He reportedly killed 71 women and young girls. Thankfully, Ridgway is now serving life at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Miyazaki was born prematurely with deformed hands, a fact that stigmatized him for the rest of his life. It is reported that Miyazaki cut and kept the hands of his victims, from which he drank blood and ate their flesh. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of nine people. Despite his claims, investigators never found conclusive evidence he killed others. He was executed in 1991. He would then mutilate the boys by cutting off their ears and fingers, and move onto other body parts. He enjoyed emasculating to compensate for his own shortcomings. The only good news is that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Hansen confessed that he enjoyed hunting down his victims in the wilderness of Alaska with his gun and knife. He also confessed that he had no respect for women. In his eyes, they were nothing but animals, to be hunted and killed. In 2014, he died at the age of 75. He was serving a life sentence for his crimes. Chikatilo was a Russian language and literature teacher, and he used that outlet to capture his victims. His first victim was a student of his. Chikatilo’s rampage lasted 20 years until he was finally arrested. He was executed in 1994. Camargo began raping young virgin girls after he found out that the woman he married with wasn’t a virgin. He abused and murdered mostly helpless, poor young women who were looking for a better future. In 1994, Barbosa was stabbed to death in prison by the nephew of one of his many victims. In one grisly killing, Xinhai raped a woman while her husband and their six-year-old daughter were forced to watch. Afterward, he killed them. Xinhai was arrested and executed on 14 February 2004 by firing squad. Mansour raped his victims first and murdered those who threatened to report him to the police. He was eventually arrested in 2006 and executed in 2010 by the local authorities in Egypt. Nicknamed “Zodiac” because of the mysterious letters he sent to the media in San Francisco, this unidentified killer murdered five people and injured two more. However, it is believed that he killed more than 30. His story became a movie in 2007 starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. Sithole targeted women and teenage girls. He lured them with promises of work. Sadly, once the victims fell for his scam, they were killed. After raping them, Sithole’s usual method was to beat the victims to death as well as strangle them using their own underwear. As if that wasn’t deprived enough, Sithole wrote the word “bitch” on their dead bodies, blatantly showcasing his sick hatred for women. He committed several atrocious crimes, but none of them compared to the one of 1989. During one horrifying home invasion, he murdered a family of 10. Eight of them were children. Onoprienko was arrested in 1996 and died of heart failure in the prison of Zhytomyr in 2013. The only difference between Matador and the rest serial killers in this list is the fact he goes after murderers and rapists almost exclusively. Little claimed to have raped, tortured and murdered more than 90 women in nine different states. He’s currently linked to more than 34 murders, while investigators suggest that he’s connected to many more sexual assaults and killings. Gacy buried most of his victims under the basement of his home. He also threw away the bodies of his last four victims in the Des Plaines River in Wisconsin. The “Killer Clown” was arrested and executed by lethal injection in 1994. He offered the victims free rides and then raped them. Afterward, Popkov would kill his victims in a grisly manner, using knives, screwdrivers, baseball bats and axes. He claimed that he started raping and murdering women after he caught his wife cheating on him. The deprived killer described himself as “the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you’ll ever meet.” Needless to say, the violent nature of his evil crimes leaves no doubt about the exactness of his statement. After spending several years in prison, he was finally executed in 1989. The scariest part is that he continues to this day confessing to more crimes he committed. Local investigators in Colombia estimate that the number of his victims could exceed 300.
