Dexter, Hannibal Lecter, even Michael Myers. There’s no shortage of serial killers and
mass murderers in TV shows and movies, but what exactly is the difference between them?
Keep watching to find out.
The term "serial killer" wasn't used before FBI investigators Robert K. Ressler and John
E. Douglas coined the term in the 1970s while doing research on violent offenders and interviewing
serial killers for criminal profiling. Ressler was inspired by the movie industry terminology
"serial adventures," which was used to describe a series of films where each episode ended
in a cliffhanger, and the audience was left with the desire to watch the next movie to
see what happens next. Ressler compared that to a killer who had the desire to commit a
series of murders to be satisfied. Douglas and Ressler's work in the field went on to
inspire the Netflix series, "Mindhunter."
"It's about trying to figure out the why of it all. Trying to figure out what his relationship
was with those victims."
Today, the FBI has a definition of the term serial killer, calling it,
"The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender, in separate events."
There are also other factors that are studied when using the term, such as the cooling-off
period between killings. For some serial killers, cooling-off periods can last years, and it's
usually the time when they continue living their seemingly normal lives until the compulsion
to kill reemerges. Some of the most infamous serial killers include Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos,
and John Wayne Gacy. Some serial killers even have families that don't have any idea of
their illicit activities until they are caught.
It is also quite common for serial killers to be psychopaths who don't feel guilty after
doing horrible acts. Some are also charismatic, as was the case with Bundy, which helps mask
their true intentions and allows them to live seemingly normal lives despite being killers.
While a serial killer kills in separate instances, a mass murderer kills many people in a single
event. The term "mass murder" was first used in a 1982 New York Times article. Unlike a
serial killer, a mass murderer doesn't have a cool-off period and takes the lives of at
least four individuals in one incident. Those who commit familicide, in which the perpetrator
takes the lives of several family members, also fall under the category of a mass murderer.
According to psychiatry professor Dr. Michael Stone, via Crime Museum, mass murderers are
typically loners who don't have many friends and struggle with social interactions. Their
motivations for killing are not easily identified, and most are not diagnosed with psychosis
but may have paranoid tendencies that may lead to mass murder.
Mass murders can be carried out by individuals, organizations, or even the government. An
example of a mass murderer is James Oliver Huberty, a mentally unstable man who randomly
opened fire at a McDonald's restaurant in California in 1984. He killed 21 people and
left many others wounded within an hour of the attack.
Although serial killers have varying motivations when they kill, in most cases, they do so
to achieve gratification after they commit the crime. This sets them apart from one-time
killers who don't get the same satisfaction. According to an article in Psychology Today,
one of the main reasons serial killers kill is because of their fear of being rejected,
which in most cases, root from abandonment in their childhood years. For instance, infamous
serial killers Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz were both left by their biological mothers.
However, there are many other factors that contribute to a serial killer's motivations,
such as financial gain, anger, and sexual satisfaction, among others.
On the other hand, per the Los Angeles Times, the majority of mass murderers experience
triggers leading up to their crime. The trigger may be losing a job, being left by a significant
other, or a big crisis that may be experienced by any individual. The difference is a mass
murderer's response to the problem. Political issues and racism are other common motivations
for mass murderers as well. These criminals often show drastic changes in behavior and
express to those close to them their plans to kill. As shown in a study conducted by
the FBI in 2018, 77% of mass murderers plan their attack at least a week before they commit
the crime.
Ultimately, although there are differences between serial killers and mass murderers,
both commit horrible crimes that leave many loved ones devastated.