According to statistics we just made up, you have an 85%
chance of running into a serial killer in your life. So with a practical guarantee
that one day you'll be in a fight for your life against a madman, how can you survive
a serial killer? We took to researching previous serial killer survival accounts
and even asked some security experts to come up with our ultimate serial killer survival guide.
Survival Tip 1- Get Fit
This one's a no-brainer, but the less physically fit you are, the less chance
you'll be surviving an encounter with a serial killer. Most people who survive being
attacked do so by either fighting off their opponent or putting up so much resistance,
that their would-be killer simply gives up and moves on to easier prey. In fact,
just looking like you'd be difficult to handle can make a killer take a hard pass on you.
Taking a basic self-defense course is not a bad idea either. You don't have to be a martial arts
master to fight off an attacker, there's some very basic self-defense moves that are devastatingly
effective- specially against an unwary attacker who may not be expecting you to fight back.
Basic palm, elbow, and knee strikes can mean the difference between life and death.
The most important reason to get fit however has nothing to do with fighting back- it's so you can
run away. Any serious self-defense expert in the world will tell you that the best way to win a
fight is to never have to fight it in the first place, which means putting on your running shoes
and doing your best Forrest Gump impression as you flee for your life. It may not look very bad ass,
but getting yourself killed is also not very bad ass, so take our advice and run.
Getting fit can also help you survive an attack that you couldn't fight off or avoid.
A survey of 40 serial killer survival stories found that 20% of them had survived by being
left for dead by the killer. If you're in good physical shape and your body is strong,
you have a better chance of surviving an attack and lasting long enough to be discovered,
or to crawl to get help after you're left for dead.
But physical fitness is only one part of the equation, because mental fitness is
just as important. Life and death situations are typically survived by people with extraordinary
mental strength, who refuse to give up and die when others would have fallen long ago.
Your encounter with a serial killer may be a quick, brief, but very violent affair,
or could turn into a days-long struggle for survival. Being mentally tough is
as important as being physically fit if you're to survive a serial killer.
Survival Tip 2 – Stranger Danger
This should go without saying, but if you want to survive an encounter with a serial killer,
don't make their job easier by making yourself a victim. Your mom's age old adage of not talking
to strangers holds true even in your adult years. If somebody is making you uncomfortable,
don't hesitate to let them know and put some distance between you two. Many serial killers
snared their prey by taking advantage of our instinct to avoid socially awkward interactions-
you know the type, someone invites you to do something you don't' really want to do,
but it would be rude to decline, so to avoid the awkwardness you relent. It's believed that
multiple times Ted Bundy harassed his victims to accept a ride from him as they walked home alone,
until finally not wishing to be rude and off-putting, they accepted and sealed their fate.
So get comfortable with saying no.
If someone is asking for help and seems to be in an emergency, it's ok to leave your front
door locked while you call 911 for them from inside. Same if someone flags you down and
there's no other people around- simply inform them you'll be calling 911 for them and drive a safe
distance away. You should definitely help people when you can, but your safety is a priority.
Also, you should be aware of anyone asking for specific personal details about your
life. If someone keeps asking about your schedule- what time you get home from work,
what time you go to sleep- or about the general area where you live- do you have a roommate,
is your neighborhood rural or on a busy street- this is a massive red flag, and you should avoid
giving any of those details out. You should also remove yourself from that situation as
quickly as possible, reporting the individual to an authority figure if possible. Many serial
killers have been scared off the hunt by simply being reported to a work or police authority
for harassing behavior- the last thing these guys want to do is attract unwanted attention.
Which also means that you should be attracting as much attention as you can if you're ever in
an uncomfortable situation with a stranger. Maybe that cute guy you met at the bar really
is just into you, or maybe he's sizing you up as his next victim. Either way,
make sure your friends are aware of him, draw attention to the two of you throughout
your interactions- basically, create as many witnesses as you can so if you go missing,
everyone is going to be pointing the finger at one person. A serial killer will very
quickly change his mind about you and seek out prey that will keep him more anomymous.
Survival Tip 3- Fight
Serial killers have different methods of operation, with some enacting mindless,
random violence such as Zodiac, who would shoot people and then drive away,
and others who would turn their killing into a ritual like Ted Bundy.
While there's little you could do to fight off an ambush attack like Zodiac, ritual serial
killers can be seriously dissuaded from their attack if you simply put up enough of a fight.
Fighting is going to draw attention to you both, which is the one thing the serial killer fears
the most. Be loud, be violent, scream and call for help- make as much noise and ruckus as you
possibly can. Even if you can't physically overpower your attacker, every second you
spend putting up a fight is another second that someone might notice what's going on,
or at least make your attacker think that the possibility of discovery is growing.
Eventually, all but the most determined killers are probably going to break off their attack,
and once more go looking for easier prey.
In the age of social media though, you can take your fight to the electronic medium.
If a stranger approaches you and is giving you seriously bad vibes, snap a photo of them and post
it on your social media. If it's a serial killer, they'll almost certainly break off their attack
once they release they are no longer anonymous. In the age of live streaming, your phone may be
your best tool for protection, as you strip away the anonymity of a would-be attacker and
they realize that they'll be the prime suspect if you go missing. Nothing turns off a serial killer
like knowing that within days of the attack a photo of their face will be plastered on news
bulletins across the country. Contrary to popular belief, serial killers don’t want to get caught,
and go to great lengths to ensure they remain out of law enforcement’s cross hairs.
Finally, as long as we’re talking about personal electronics and social media,
if you’re going to be going somewhere sketchy or are getting seriously bad vibes from someone,
share your location with a friend. They’ll be able to track you across most platforms
and have up-to-date information if you go missing. While a serial killer will likely
make you toss your phone right away, even knowing where you were last active
can help police catch your killer before you become his next victim.
Survival Tip 4- Cooperate
Survival Tip 4 may sound strange considering that we just told you to fight-
and you should absolutely fight any and every chance you get. However,
there may come a time when cooperation is the better survival strategy.
Most serial killers find it easy to kill because in their twisted minds, you are not truly human.
Perhaps you remind them of a hated parent, or you're of a certain demographic that the killer
doesn't consider to be fully human. There can be a million reasons why a serial killer targeted you,
but the common theme amongst almost all serial killers is that they
don't see their victims as being as fully human as they themselves are.
In a select number of cases, victims have actually been let loose by their attacker
after they humanized themselves to their would-be killer. Making yourself a real person in the eyes
of a killer can sometimes avoid getting killed, and this means connecting emotionally with your
attacker- not an easy feat to pull off if you're terrified or your killer is insane.
A common tactic is to ask questions about the killer's life, history, or family. You can
explore hobbies, comment on current events, or even just talk about tv shows or movies.
If you can make a legitimate connection by sharing in return parts of your life-
like for instance the fact that you're both huge Star Trek fans- the odds of
you surviving a serial killer just went up dramatically. The more of a real person you
seem to your serial killer, the less odds that they'll go through with the murder.
Though there's a fine line. Begging for one's life or pleading by talking about
the family who depends on you rarely works, and that's because begging behavior typically
plays straight into the power fantasy that has led a serial killer to attack you in
the first place. You are not going to convince a serial killer to spare you by pointing out that
you never really got a good look at their face, or promising you won't tell anyone,
or pleading that they spare you because your sick grandma depends on you for support- instead you
need to make real, honest emotional connections, or at least do a really good job of faking them.
Survival Tip no. 5- Don't fit the stereotype
Our final survival tip is related to avoiding an attack in the first place. Serial killers
are almost always opportunistic predators- meaning that it's very rare for them to seek out and kill
prey that isn't already easy to track, isolate, and kill. This means that people living on
the fringes of mainstream culture are the most vulnerable to being victim to a serial killer.
Serial killers like to go for the easiest, most vulnerable, and most disposable prey- what some
police authorities have labeled “less deads”. These are people on the fringes of society,
such as the homeless, sex workers, drug addicts, loners- people who when are found
brutally murdered, are considered 'less dead' than a normal, 9 to 5 office worker.
It seems it isn't just serial killers who have a problem with dehumanizing people.
What this means is avoiding a transient lifestyle or associating with people in fringe cultures
is going to seriously reduce the odds you yourself are attacked.
Backpacking solo across Europe may sound like a dream trip, but it also is an open
door invitation for any serial killer looking for someone who if they went missing would be
difficult to track down, and likely wouldn't be reported as missing for a long time anyways.
Now go watch America's Most Evil Serial Killer- John Wayne Gacy,
or click this other video instead!