8 Terrifying Books About Serial Killers

books about serial killers blog post image

There’s something about the human mind that make us naturally gravitate toward the dark and dreadful. This gives rise to a morbid curiosity that urges many of us to seek out horrifying stories from deep in the night until early in the morning.

Consuming true crime dramas has recently become a favorite pastime among the masses, with publishers and production companies churning out books, documentaries, and films that center on gruesome and mysterious cases that are often perpetrated by serial killers.

Though terrifying, it’s easy to see how serial killer cases can grip the imaginations of the public, as we try to understand what could cause a seemingly ordinary person to turn down such a dark path. This led to an active niche of true crime enthusiasts.

8 Chilling Books About Serial Killers

Below is a list of popular, spine-tingling books about serial killers that are sure to keep you turning pages through the night.

1.The Stranger Beside Meby Ann Rule

Imagine a crime writer being friends with a serial killer. That’s exactly what happened to Ann Rule, who became friends with Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in America. She didn’t know it, of course. Back then, she was just an aspiring crime writer who happened to be hunting down a mass murderer who had been beside her all along.

The Stranger Beside Meis one of the most definitive biographies about Bundy, offering raw and in-depth details taken from combined public knowledge and Rule’s personal observations. The read is made all the more chilling by the fact that she knew him personally.

2.The Devil in the White Cityby Erik Larson

H.H. Holmes is considered to be the first modern serial killer, with a body count estimated at more than 200, although he only confessed to 27 murders. He built a building almost solely for murder, complete with sound proof rooms, mazes, and chutes that led to acid vats and a crematorium.

The book follows two threads, interweaving Daniel Burnham’s struggles in creating the World’s Columbian Exposition, the titular white city, and H.H. Holmes’ plans of building his murder castle.

3.The Complete History of Jack the Ripperby Philip Sugden

Jack the Ripper might be considered the cover boy for serial killers. With his identity still shrouded in mystery, myths about him have often overtaken the facts, with rumors swirling that he had demonic powers or wasn’t even human at all.

Philip Sugden’s book is considered to be one of the best researched and most comprehensive accounts about the Ripper case. Give this a read to gain a solid understanding of the case before diving into the countless fictionalized works about Jack.

4.Zodiacby Robert Graysmith

The Zodiac killer gained a level of notoriety that rivals that of Jack the Ripper. Still unidentified, the killer claimed to have murdered 37 people, actively taunted the police and sent cryptic notes which later became an obsession for codebreakers.

Robert Graysmith worked as a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle when the Zodiac killer began messaging the press. His book details all evidence about the still-unsolved case to an almost obsessive degree. It reveals previously unreleased information, including the complete text of the killer’s letters

5.John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monsterby Sam Amirante

Imagine being fresh out of the Public Defender’s office, just starting your private practice, and having a serial killer as your first client. This is the situation Sam Amirante found himself in in 1978 when John Wayne Gacy called him for help. Known as the Killer Clown, Gacy assaulted and murdered at least 33 young men and boys.

In the book, Amirante, now a judge, details the events of the two-year rollercoaster ride he suddenly found himself on as the chief counsel to what was called the “trial of the century” at the time.

6.The Night Stalkerby Philip Carlo

Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, was not only a serial killer, but also a serial rapist and pedophile whose home invasion and murder sprees were characterized by excessive violence.
Philip Carlo’s book examines in detail all of Ramirez’s crimes, based on nearly a hundred hours of exclusive interviews conducted while Ramirez was on death row.

From his earliest crimes to the manhunt that led to his arrest,The Night Stalkerchronicles how Ramirez terrorized the Greater Los Angeles and San Fransisco Bay areas.

7.My Friend Dahmerby John “Derf” Backderf

Jeffrey Dahmer was a convicted serial killer and sex offender whose list of crimes include necrophilia and cannibalism. His murder spree consisted of 17 young men and boys that occurred from 1978-1991.

Backderf was friends with Dahmer during their time in high school. His graphic novel and memoir details Dahmer’s struggles with alcoholism, sexuality, and a broken family. Though sympathetic in tone, the novel does not defend the actions of a serial killer, but merely seeks to add insights to how a sad and lonely person was led down a dark path.

8.Mindhunterby John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Douglas is a retired FBI agent who has made significant contributions to criminal profiling. From examining each scene and reliving the criminal and the victim’s actions, his book details how profiling is used to find the most likely suspects and predict their next moves.

The book specifically focuses on how profiling is used to delve into the minds of the most notorious serial killers and include profiles on Edmund Kemper, Larry Gene Bell, Wayne Williams, Robert Hansen, and the Atlanta Child Killer.

Why Do We Love the Morbid?

想想。你赶工作和圣uck in a traffic jam. Inch by inch you advance until you see the source of the congestion: an accident. Despite the urgency of being late, you still find some time to slow down and stare for a good minute.

This kind of fascination also manifests itself in our love for violent movies and TV shows, gruesome video games, combat entertainment, and the lives of serial killers.

Carl Jungargued that our mental health depends on the hidden self, the part of our psyche that deals with darker thoughts and emotions. The more we repress the morbid, the more neuroses and psychoses can develop. To achieve the balance we need in life, we must first acknowledge our darker inclinations and consider them as integral to living.

We are attracted by the ugliness because we want to gain insights that will make us appreciate more the things that are beautiful. For example, past scholars kept skulls in their studies to remind them how important life is.

But it’s also possible that our love of the macabre could simply be our way of empathizing with the situations depicted. Eric Wilson, in his book,Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck, concludes that “our attraction to the macabre is, on some level, a desire to experience someone else’s suffering.” While being safe from the situation, we are able to explore the moralities and danger that the macabre evoke.