The Science of Serial Killers
The Truth Behind Ted Bundy, Lizzie Borden, Jack the Ripper, and Other Notorious Murderers of Cinematic Legend
Published on 19. October 2021
264 pages
978-1-5107-6415-6 (ISBN)
Description
Discover the real-life inspirations behind history's most infamous serial killers: John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson, and so many more.
Gothic media moguls Kelly Florence and Meg Hafdahl, authors of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, and The Science of Stephen King, and co-hosts of the Horror Rewind podcast called "the best horror film podcast out there" by Film Daddy, present a guide to the serial killers who inspired the movies and media we all know and love. Delve into the brutal truth behind horror's secret: many monsters portrayed on the silver screen are based on true murderers. Uncover the truth behind the real monsters of horror, answering such questions as:
- What is the science behind serial killers' motivations like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy?
- How did detectives discover the identities of criminals like the Boston Strangler and the BTK Strangler?
- Has science made it possible to unmask Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer?
- What is the science behind female versus male serial killers?
More details
Persons
Meg Hafdahl is a writer and co-host of the Horror Rewind podcast. Her female-driven horror fiction has been produced for audio by The Wicked Library. She is the author of Her Dark Inheritance, Daughters of Darkness, and the short story series Twisted Reveries. Meg lives in Minnesota with her husband, two young sons, and a menagerie of pets.
Kelly Florence is a teacher, a mother, and a horror film lover. She is passionate about female representation in all media and particularly in the horror genre. Kelly teaches at Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota, and produces and co-hosts Horror Rewind.
Kelly Florence is a teacher, a mother, and a horror film lover. She is passionate about female representation in all media and particularly in the horror genre. Kelly teaches at Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota, and produces and co-hosts Horror Rewind.
Content
- Front Cover
- Half-Title Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Introduction
- Section One: Crimes of the Past
- Chapter One: The Legend of Lizzie Borden (Lizzie Borden)
- Chapter Two: From Hell (Jack the Ripper)
- Chapter Three: The Devil in the White City (H. H. Holmes)
- Section Two: Foreign Murder
- Chapter Four: Lake Bodom (Unsolved)
- Chapter Five: Rillington Place (John Christie)
- Chapter Six: Wolf Creek (Ivan Milat)
- Section Three: Women Killers
- Chapter Seven: Monster (Aileen Wuornos)
- Chapter Eight: Arsenic and Old Lace (Amy Archer Gilligan)
- Chapter Nine: America's First Female Serial Killer (Jane Toppan)
- Section Four: Double Lives
- Chapter Ten: The Stepfather (John List)
- Chapter Eleven: I'll Be Gone in the Dark (The Golden State Killer)
- Chapter Twelve: My Friend Dahmer (Jeffrey Dahmer)
- Section Five: Hiding in Plain Sight
- Chapter Thirteen: Summer of Sam (David Berkowitz)
- Chapter Fourteen: Dear Mr. Gacy (John Wayne Gacy)
- Chapter Fifteen: A Good Marriage (The BTK Killer)
- Section Six: I Want to Be Famous
- Chapter Sixteen: Scream (The Gainesville Ripper)
- Chapter Seventeen: Rope (Leopold and Loeb)
- Chapter Eighteen: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (Ted Bundy)
- Section Seven: Traveling Killers
- Chapter Nineteen: American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (Andrew Cunanan)
- Chapter Twenty: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (Henry Lee Lucas)
- Chapter Twenty-One: American Predator (Israel Keyes)
- Section Eight: Never Caught
- Chapter Twenty-Two: Zodiac (The Zodiac Killer)
- Chapter Twenty-Three: Wind River (The Highway of Tears)
- Chapter Twenty-Four: The Man from the Train (Unsolved)
- Section Nine: Home Invasion
- Chapter Twenty-Five: The Strangers (Charles Manson)
- Chapter Twenty-Six: Speck (Richard Speck)
- Chapter Twenty-Seven: American Horror Story: 1984 (The Night Stalker)
- Section Ten: The Strange
- Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Amityville Horror (Ronald DeFeo Jr.)
- Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Boston Strangler (Albert DeSalvo)
- Chapter Thirty: Eaten Alive (Joe Ball)
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- About the Authors
- Endnotes
- Index
