6 Myths about Serial Killers That Won’t Die
At least there are fewer of them then in the 1970s
Serial killers are a Hollywood staple, from Dexter to American Psycho, because American audiences like them. Pure evil begets the perfect villain, especially if he’s portrayed as charismatic and charming, playing a diabolic cat-and-mouse game with authorities.
There is some truth in that portrayal, but the whole story about these vicious creeps is at once more mundane and far more disturbing.
They are, first of all, exceedingly rare. Estimate in the US range from 50 to 3,000 active serial killers today. Even at the high end, that’s .0009 percent of the population. Most estimates say about 150 operated within any given year.
Here’s what we know isn’t true.
1 / They are white and male
Serial killers come in all colors and both genders but the myth of the white, male serial killer persists.
People who kill more than 3 victims — the technical definition of a serial killer — are usually male, but there are proportionately just as many black and Hispanic serial killers in the US as white males.
Race has nothing to do with it.
