What Twists a Man so Far as Murder? (Serial Killers)
D.Jay Schaibly
Eng 102
May 2, 2005
What twists a man so far as murder?
Many things today confuse, yet enthrall the masses. War, murder, medical science, incredible rescues, all things you would see on The History Channel. There is another topic that is also made into documentaries however, serial killers. Dark twisted people that commit multiple murders are of interest to the population, but what caused them to be this way. What horrible tragic set of events could twist a man to murder one or many people. Could Schizophrenia, psychopathy, or sociopathy? Many people have researched this topic and believe that childhood trauma, heavy drugs during the growing phase of life, as well as many other things have twisted the minds of men such as Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and David Berkowitz. Many say that their actions were preventable but many other believe that the warning signs were present and that their behavior could have been modified long before the murders began. The triad is the name given to the set of characteristic that serials killers are evident of in their youth. The "typical" serial killer is a sociopath or psychopath that during childhood was subject to three diagnoses: fire starting (pyromania), prolonged bed-wetting, and animal torture. All of these things correlate to a phase in life in which the young person is curious of certain things new to them. Most children grow out of their interest in fire starting when they first get burnt and bed-wetting when they progress out of the same phase. Animal torture is slightly different. Many children enjoy pulling the wings off a fly, or the legs off of other insects however grow up into quite productive members of society. Some children are enthused by larger animals. Jeffrey Dahmer was enthused originally by fish. He would gut them and inspect their organs to examined how they worked. Curiosity being the main reason for his actions, he would also nail frogs to trees and
Eng 102
May 2, 2005
What twists a man so far as murder?
Many things today confuse, yet enthrall the masses. War, murder, medical science, incredible rescues, all things you would see on The History Channel. There is another topic that is also made into documentaries however, serial killers. Dark twisted people that commit multiple murders are of interest to the population, but what caused them to be this way. What horrible tragic set of events could twist a man to murder one or many people. Could Schizophrenia, psychopathy, or sociopathy? Many people have researched this topic and believe that childhood trauma, heavy drugs during the growing phase of life, as well as many other things have twisted the minds of men such as Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and David Berkowitz. Many say that their actions were preventable but many other believe that the warning signs were present and that their behavior could have been modified long before the murders began. The triad is the name given to the set of characteristic that serials killers are evident of in their youth. The "typical" serial killer is a sociopath or psychopath that during childhood was subject to three diagnoses: fire starting (pyromania), prolonged bed-wetting, and animal torture. All of these things correlate to a phase in life in which the young person is curious of certain things new to them. Most children grow out of their interest in fire starting when they first get burnt and bed-wetting when they progress out of the same phase. Animal torture is slightly different. Many children enjoy pulling the wings off a fly, or the legs off of other insects however grow up into quite productive members of society. Some children are enthused by larger animals. Jeffrey Dahmer was enthused originally by fish. He would gut them and inspect their organs to examined how they worked. Curiosity being the main reason for his actions, he would also nail frogs to trees and
Bibliography: Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. New York: Checkmark Books, 2000. Angels of Mercy; The Dark Side. Rick Hampton Dec. 2003 My only source for the final segment on angels of mercy and most probably one of the most interesting finds during my research