As for why serial killers seem to be on the decline lately, there are a variety of possibilities. As you mentioned, many serial killers were sexually repressed. Some were repressed homosexuals, some had strange fetishes that would destroy their lives if revealed, etc. Today's society is much more tolerant to most sexual behaviors provided that they are acted upon with consent. Today's society also is less religiously minded, and so parents are much less likely to be overtly religious and pound fundamentalist views into the heads of their children which would give those kids a chance to express differences with little or no condemnation.
Another possibility is the advancement of law enforcement techniques and the technology of crime. Fifty years ago, a killer could easily bring a victim to a field, kill them and walk away with no known evidence left behind. Today, we have hair analysis, DNA from minute particles, detailed fingerprints, blood analysis, GPS, satellites, security cameras, cell phone trackers, tire print databases, shoe impressions, etc. The chances that a person kills and doesn't leave any evidence behind is extraordinarily slim. While sitting in this chair, I'm leaving fingerprints on my keyboard, skin particles from when I scratch an itch, the occasional hair, and whatever else Crime Scene Investigators could find if they needed to.
By the way, it isn't wrong to ask questions like this. I'd be willing to bet that there are plenty of scientists and behavior experts who are studying the same exact question.
I've thought the same thing! I've just come to the conclusion no one is talkng about them anymore. Maybe they don't want anymore of them becoming "famous" like Bundy, Gacy, and Manson were. Some people idol these men, you know...
I would agree that serial killers are down but these days its mass shootings. I think back in those days people would see killers in the media and want to emulate them. What's in the media these days? Mass shootings.
www.patbrownprofiling.com This woman called Pat Brown is a profiler she wrote a few books about serial killers and others check her out she explains it well
I'm not making a joke; this is a serious question.
I was watching this show about famous serial killers. In the 60s, 70s and 80s there were a few big name serial killers every decade. But then in the 90s and 00s, there was a sharp and sudden decline in their numbers. What's the deal with that?
Now, when I mean "serial killer" I mean a person who has no specific motive other than a constant urge to kill just for the thrill of killing and the feeling of absolute control over another person. I mean the people who steadily kill a series of victims over a long time. I don't mean the people like that Loghner guy or the Virginia Tec guy who just snap and have a single outburst where they shoot up some place. The number of that sort of mass killing is up but the traditional serial killers are down.
And I know you can come up with a few example from the last 20 years but the number will pale in comparison to previous decades.
I've thought of a couple possible explanations. It might have to do with the proliferation of medications that focus on mental stability. It might have to do with the internet; the people who would have been serial killers find other outlets for their frustrations. They can watch toture porn instead of having to pull it off themselves if they want to see psychosexual violence. Maybe it has to do with th obesity epidemic; they're too fat to catch anyone.
There are two other possible explanations that I think are more likely than those. One is that the decline in the number of serial killers is a reflection of the decline in people's work-ethic. Being a serial killer is a lot of work, especially if you're going to get away with it for any significant amount of time. You have to find victims and keep trying until one gets in your car or gives you the opportunity. Then you have to dispose of the body in a secluded location. Plus, you have to do all that stuff far enough away from where you live to keep the cops from finding you.
The second explanation I think is likely is that in the last few decades, society has become much more accepting of sex-related things that were once unaccepted. If you ever watch an interview with a convicted serial killer, there is almost always some sort of sexual repression involved. I think the more we as a society have come to accept different sexual preferences, there has been a decline in the side-effect of people using serial killing as a way of venting their sexual frustrations.
Anyway, as I said before, this is a serious question. If you have any theories on why we might see so few serial killers in the last two decades, I'd love to hear them.
And I can't stop anyone for making jokes or giving me some self-righteous lecture on how it's wrong of me to even ask this but if you are going to post that kind of an answer, I'd really appreciate it if you could post "Skip" and the top of your response.
Thanks.
