Talking With Psychopaths and Savages

1. Serial Killers: Beyond Mass Murder and Spree Killers

Serial murderers are the polar opposite to the virtuous and the honourable, for they are cowardly, weak-willed, ruinous, maleficent, lacking any moral compass, sexually discontent, subconsciously full of a twisted desire for revenge for the self-perceived injustices and sorrows that society as a whole has, they feel, heaped upon them.

Defining the Categories. It's crucial to distinguish between serial killers, mass murderers, and spree killers. Serial killers commit three or more slayings with cooling-off periods, while mass murderers kill en masse at a single location. Spree killers kill two or more victims in a short time at several locations with almost no time break between the murders.

Motivations Differ. Mass murderers and spree killers are often driven by political, religious, or personal grudges, while sexual serial killers are motivated by an overwhelming need for sex and the dehumanization of their victims. This book focuses on the latter, exploring the twisted minds of sado-sexual serial killers.

Exocet Missiles. Serial killers, mass murderers, and spree killers all share one terrifying trait: they strike without warning. They come in under the radar and, without conscience, rain down death and destruction. This makes them particularly difficult to predict and prevent.

2. Spotting a Serial Killer: An Impossible Task

I’m the most cold-blooded son-of-a-bitch you’ll ever meet. There are people like me who could be living next door to you.

No Predictable Profile. Despite popular belief, there is no reliable way to identify a homicidal psychopath before they strike. Books and articles detailing supposed characteristics are misleading. A killer's attack will come without warning, making protection nearly impossible.

Victim Selection. Once a serial killer has chosen a victim, that individual is likely a dead person walking. No amount of precaution can guarantee safety. The killer's determination and warped mindset make them incredibly difficult to evade.

Avoid Sentimentalizing. Never feel sympathy for these killers. Their crocodile tears are selfishly designed to elicit compassion. They don't care about the suffering they have caused. Any expressions of remorse are to be viewed with suspicion as being born of the criminal’s self-interest and cunning.

3. Interviewing Killers: A Descent into Darkness

To even try to understand; even begin to attempt to study, communicate, interview or interrogate homicidal psychopaths, you have to think like them so that they can identify with you.

Preparation is Key. Interviewing serial killers requires extensive research into their background, crimes, and psychological makeup. Knowing more about the killer than they know about themselves is essential for maintaining control and gaining insight.

Dangers of Empathy. It is of little use sitting at the edge of the abyss and peering over – one has to take the plunge to become one with their warped mindset – then they identify with you, and you ‘get it’ with them. However, it is no bed of roses, for theirs is a sickening, stinking, infernal underworld, the dread place of the dead.

Maintaining Control. Interviewers must remain detached and avoid being manipulated by the killer's charm or intimidation tactics. Recognizing their weaknesses and maintaining psychological checks and balances is crucial for survival. The trick is to just look back with a blank expression and say, ‘So what?’ while thinking What an asshole.

4. The Varied Faces of Evil: Physical and Mental Profiles

Quite obviously, serial killers come in all shapes and sizes.

No Stereotype Exists. Serial killers defy easy categorization. They can be overweight or scrawny, intelligent or moronic. Their physical appearance and mental capabilities vary widely, making it impossible to create a single profile.

The Eyes Tell a Story. The eyes of a killer can be particularly telling, ranging from the black eyes of a Great White shark to the ever-blinking eyes of a nervous individual. These visual cues can offer glimpses into their inner psychopathology.

Prison as a Leveler. Despite their notoriety, once incarcerated, killers are reduced to mere identity numbers. The "Correctional Facilities" they inhabit are soulless human warehouses reeking of cheap disinfectant, urine, and stale food.

5. Reaching the Unreachable: The Limits of Communication

What we’ve got here is … failure to communicate. Some men you just can’t reach.

Lack of Morality. Sado-sexual serial killers are utterly amoral, conscienceless, and heartless. They lack any understanding or compassion for their fellow man. This absence of morality makes meaningful communication extremely difficult.

Emotional Disconnect. Psychopaths' brains have weak connections among the components of the brain’s emotional systems. This disconnect is partly responsible for their inability to feel emotions deeply, including fear, empathy, and remorse.

Thriving on Pain. Many of these evil people thrive on the pain and suffering caused by their own hands. They revel in their notoriety and revel in their notoriety. Indeed, oft times they have been smirkingly gleeful when describing their crimes to me during interviews.

6. The Homicidal Brain: A Landscape of Disconnection

Human morality is unthinkable without empathy.

Disgust Threshold. Psychopaths have extremely high thresholds for revulsion, as measured by their responses when shown mind-numbing photographs of mutilated faces and when exposed to foul smells. This allows them to engage in acts that would be repulsive to most people.

Limbic Under-activation. fMRI scans of psychopaths' brains show greatly reduced activity in the emotion-generating limbic system, particularly the amygdalae. This phenomenon, known as limbic under-activation, may indicate a lack of basic emotions.

Dopamine and the Amygdalae. The neurotransmitter dopamine plays a crucial role in executive functions, motor control, motivation, and reward. If low levels of dopamine are being produced and the amygdalae are not getting the right amount of it, expect to suffer depression, inability to handle stress, fatigue, mood swings, and an incapability to concentrate.

7. John Christie: The Banality of Evil and Superficiality

For years I knew I had to kill just ten women then my work would be finished.

Low Achiever. John Christie's historical narrative undoubtedly tells us that he was a low-achiever; later holding down a menial job as a ledger clerk at the time of his murders, all of which did nothing to support his own self-inflated, high and mighty opinion of himself. Underlying his psychopathology was sexual frustration.

Superficiality and OCD. Christie paid meticulous attention to detail, a superficial trait often found among psychopathic killers. This, coupled with his obsession with cleanliness, suggests an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and ritualized, repetitive behaviors one feels compelled to perform.

Victimology and MO. Christie found easy prey in the vulnerable, particularly prostitutes. He used gas and strangulation to kill his victims, often after rendering them unconscious. His crimes were driven by sexual frustration and a desire for control.

8. Peter Kürten: The Embodiment of Sadistic Depravity

I have no remorse. As to whether recollection of my deeds makes me feel ashamed, I will tell you. Thinking back to all the details is not all unpleasant. I rather enjoy it.

Dysfunctional Childhood. Peter Kürten had a dysfunctional childhood, and we can’t take that away from him, for his formative years were an unmitigated disaster. Indeed, he had the worst childhood that anyone could wish for, added to which he had been initiated into bestiality by the local authority’s dogcatcher who lodged in the same building as the Kürtens.

Pyromania and Pyrophilia. Kürten was not just a pyromaniac – that is to say a person who has a compulsive desire to set fire to things – but also suffered from pyrophilia – becoming sexually aroused by setting fires. Kürten admitted as much, telling his psychiatrist: ‘I got pleasure from the glow of the fire, the cries of help. It gave me so much pleasure that I got sexual satisfaction.’

Bloodlust and Sadism. Kürten was a sado-sexual opportunist killer harbouring a morbid love of blood; a sexual predator who committed a series of murders and sexual assaults in and around the city, with his victim-types and MO varying over time. He was a true monster, even by serial killer standards.

9. Neville Heath: The Chameleon of Crime and Fatal Charm

They’re weak and stupid. Basically crooked. That’s why they’re always attracted to rascals like me.

Multiple Masks. Neville Heath was a master of deception, adopting various identities and military uniforms to charm and manipulate women. This chameleon-like ability allowed him to evade suspicion and gain access to his victims.

Sadistic Tendencies. Heath exhibited sadistic tendencies from an early age, suggesting a deeply ingrained psychopathology. He could only achieve full sexual satisfaction by performing, or imagining, acts involving female suffering and humiliation.

Lack of Remorse. Heath showed a complete indifference to his fate, accepting his execution with a chilling calmness. His lack of remorse and empathy further underscores his psychopathic nature.

10. Colonel Russell Williams: The Shocking Dichotomy of a High-Ranking Officer

I hit her with a flashlight … Restrained her … I raped her but couldn’t ejaculate. I gave her oral sex and then made her do it to me. Then I wrapped duct tape around her mouth and her nose and watched her suffocate to death … then I went back to work. I was addicted to sex. It was like a switch I couldn’t turn off.

Elite Status and Hidden Depravity. Colonel Russell Williams's case is particularly disturbing because of the stark contrast between his high-ranking military position and his secret life as a sexual predator. This dichotomy highlights the difficulty of identifying such individuals.

Escalating Violence. Williams's crimes escalated from theft and voyeurism to sexual assault, rape, and murder. This progression demonstrates the addictive nature of his behavior and the increasing need for more extreme acts to satisfy his urges.

The Power of Control. Like many serial killers, Williams was driven by a need for control. He meticulously planned his crimes, taking photographs and videos of his victims to assert his dominance and dehumanize them.

11. Jodi Arias: Obsession, Jealousy, and a Deadly Outcome

I’m sorry I did not write for a month. I have been very busy and there is a lot of football on TV… Stress? Fuckin’ shite! The stress is in my head, so I know where FUCKING STRESS is. The fuckin’ gnawing in there. The doctor says there’s nothing fuckin’ wrong with my head. FUCKIN’ QUACK C**T!

Green-Eyed Monster. Jodi Arias's case is a chilling example of how jealousy and obsession can lead to violence. Her inability to control her emotions and her possessive nature ultimately drove her to murder Travis Alexander.

Flip-Flopping Behavior. Jodi Arias's flip-flopping behavior, her sly and attempted controlling and manipulating demeanour during her 2013 trial in Maricopa County Superior Court, and the manner in which she currently holds herself behind bars showing a self-promoting and cocksure character, seeking sympathy while signally lacking any true remorse for the literal bloodbath she created.

Premeditation and Overkill. The evidence suggests that Arias planned the murder of Travis Alexander in detail. The brutal nature of the crime, with its multiple stab wounds and gunshot, indicates a high level of rage and a desire for revenge.

12. Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy: A Tag Team of Terror and Twisted Justice

No, man, I don’t care who he is. Who would let a half-blind bitch reach over, shoot at the head of a hooker suckin’ his cock and hope like hell she didn’t blow a hole in his knee or chest?

Shared Psychopathology. The case of Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy illustrates the dangerous dynamics of couples who kill together. Their shared psychopathology and twisted desires fueled a spree of violence and depravity.

Bundy's Dominance. Carol Bundy was the driving force behind the murders, using her manipulative skills and sexual prowess to lure victims into their clutches. Her actions demonstrate the capacity for women to be just as violent and depraved as men.

Unreliable Narrators. Both Clark and Bundy are unreliable narrators, making it difficult to determine the full truth of their crimes. Their conflicting accounts and self-serving statements further complicate the already complex case.

Last updated: April 2, 2025