history Serial Killers: From Jack the Ripper to Charles Manson

His reign only lasted 3 months, but those were among the longest 3 months in history for the town Whitechapel at the East End of London. Of the five confirmed victims, all were prostitutes, though experts believe the body count to be closer to eleven. Women throughout the city lived in fear from mysterious murderer - whose identity still remains (officially) unknown. One report said, "The throat had been cut right across with a knife, nearly severing the head from the body. The abdomen had been partially ripped open, and both of the breasts had been cut from the body...." The list goes on. His murders will be remembered as bloody, savage, and unsolved. Of the four confirmed victims, five were sexually mutilated.

Weird to say, but Ed Gein is the most influential serial killer ever to emerge from the underground. The inspiration of Psycho, Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs) and Leatherface... The idea it that he was the original skinner.

When his mother died in 1945, Gein was left alone and began to obsess over sex and the woman anatomy. A friend named Gus told Ed about the experiments he wanted to perform an women, so together, they began to rob graves. This hobby went on for ten years, and the experiments became more and more bizarre. One of the grave robberies was of Gein's own mother's grave.

He was obsessed with becoming a woman, and so would drape the skin, breasts, and faces on his body. He even made a full size woman-skin jumpsuit. Technically, Gein only killed two women, and he was caught immediately after the second murder. He was recognized as criminally insane and was sentenced to life in a mental institution.

He killed five people and left two wounded in Vallejo, CA, near San Francisco. The symbol of "Zodiac" was a circle with a cross in the middle. He sent letters to many San Francisco papers taunting journalists and detectives alike.. His letters consisted of lined ciphers that, if cracked, would reveal his identity. One decoded cipher read, "I like to kill people because it is so much fun. It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest, because Man is the most dangerous animal of all. To kill someone gives me the most thrilling experience. It is even better than [sex]..." Some of his cryptograms remain decoded, and the case of the Zodiac Killer remains unsolved.

He was a manipulator who preached religion to attract and brainwash young women with troubled histories. Manson gained followers, adopting them into what became known as "The Family," who all lived in a movie ranch owned by George Spahn. The women began to call Manson 'Jesus Christ' and would do anything for him, including sexual favors. He brainwashed them into believing that African-Americans would gain power, kill all the white families, and that the Manson Family will be the only white family left alive. All of this was revealed to him through Beatles records, particularly the song "Helter Skelter."

Though there is no evidence that he ever killed anyone himself, Manson was found responsible for all seven murders done by the Manson Family and of conspiracy to commit murder. He has been in prison since 1971.