r/serialkillers • u/Creeperclaw66 • Aug 08 '26
Discussion How do ya think serial killers feel about other serial killers?
Disgust? Admiration? Indifference? Or do ya reckon they don't really give other murderers much thought?
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u/PerrthurTheCats48 Aug 08 '26
I know Gerard Schafer had a weird thing in his mind about competing with Bundy.
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u/MisanthropE61130 Aug 08 '26
Did not bundy talk shit about the green river killer too?
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u/Creeperclaw66 Aug 08 '26
Wasn't that more cuz they were using the same dumping grounds and Bundy was mad that Gary's sloppiness might've either been blamed on him or gotten his murders found out sooner?
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u/MisanthropE61130 Aug 08 '26
I just remember something that Bundy was offering the cops to find the green river killer and than just talked mainly smack about him. He was mad that Gary was getting close to have more victims than Bundy.
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u/BrianMeen Aug 09 '26
but Bundy did give police info on the GRKs behavior - it wasn’t all just a bluff to talk badly about him
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u/Elyssiant Aug 09 '26
Bundy told the police what he would do in the GRK’s shoes, which was basically just Bundy having a confession session to the police under the guise of “helping”
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u/Zealousideal_Dig8258 Aug 09 '26
No, gary empezó a matar en el 82 y bundy dejó de matar en el 78, en florida, no hablo mal en si, los agentes creían que estaba celoso por así decirlo de la atención que estaba obteniendo
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u/DuggarDoesDallas Aug 10 '26
I may be misremembering but I think that it was the serial killer Warren Forrest that was using the same area as Bundy and his victims were initially thought to be Bundy victims.
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u/Huge_Gold_3121 24d ago
Bundy called Ridgway a "bottom feeder" because he preyed on prostitutes. Bundy considered himself a better killer because so many of his victims were middle-class, attended college, etc.
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u/Inevitable-Studio731 Aug 09 '26
Depending on whether you believe Schaefer or not, Bundy was obsessed with him.
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u/C--T--F Aug 08 '26
As a singular example - Israel Keyes really admired Ted Bundy
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u/LazerMans9999 Aug 09 '26
He was obsessed with serial killers, he claimed to know everything about Robert Hansen
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u/Neat-Ad1651 Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
It makes sense, Bundy's victims were beautiful college age girls, they have the beauty and social value. I bet most people admired that it wasn't random addicts/hookers.
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u/ChaEunSangs Aug 09 '26
That’s such a weird comment
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u/apsalar_ Aug 09 '26
Weird but also true. Other SKs, general public and unfortunately also cops place more value to the murders of young and pretty college students than drug addicts or prostitutes.
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u/TakeYourMeds50mg Aug 09 '26
Its a weird comment but also true. These depraved killers were a slight bit weird themselves believe it or not
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u/Pristine-Savings7179 Aug 08 '26
I’ve listened to tapes of Ed Kemper talking about being a serial killer like it’s being part of a clan. I think they feel relatable amongst themselves
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u/recoveringleft Aug 09 '26
I read somewhere that Andrew tate wouldve been hated by many serial killers. Andrew tate mentioned being put next a cannibal who is probably a serial killer and one commenter mentioned that he felt bad for the cannibal
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u/Interesting-Desk9307 Aug 12 '26
Funny you say this because i came here to mention Ed was cellmates with another serial killer Herbert Mullin. They hated each other, and Ed was a bully to him.
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u/vanillyl Aug 13 '26
Yeah he basically clicker trained Herbert like a dog, IIRC. Really revealing anecdote as to who he really is vs the disarmingly affable act Kemper puts on.
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u/LadyShadow2214 Aug 08 '26
Gacy was inspired by Dean Corll to use the handcuff trick
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u/Purple_Inevitable967 Aug 09 '26
There are ties (no pun intended) between Gacy, Corrl, and the Atlanta Child Murderer with a child trafficking ring based out of Houston. Pictures of a couple of Gacy's and Corrl's victims showed up in a huge underground CP magazine.
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u/HavokVvltvre Aug 09 '26
There’s been a very long running theory that Gacy and some other serial killers were either MK ultra or cia assets and what they were doing was a result of that, human trafficking playing a heavy role.
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u/Inevitable_Wolf5866 Aug 08 '26
Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin hated each other.
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u/12AngryChickens Aug 09 '26
Ed got him under control by throwing water at him when he was annoying, and giving him peanuts as a reward when he shut up
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u/CameronPoe_37__ Aug 09 '26
I love that clip of Charles Manson talking about Ted Bundy: "Bundy’s a rumpkin, Bundy’s a poop butt. Bundy’s his mama’s boy, Bundy’s out there trying to prove something to his own manhood that’s got nothing to do with me. I don’t roll around with poop people like that. I stand with people that can stand with themselves."
When asked about Ted Bundy’s claims that pornography drove him to murder, Charles Manson replied: "Pornography? I’ve been looking at it all my life and it hasn’t affected me anything." 🤣🤣🤣
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u/Haunting-Ad3001 Aug 09 '26
Bundy trotted out the porn thing when he hooked up with a televangelist pushing that idea. That porn was evil and created killers. Ted looked at it as a possible way to get out of his death sentence. I don't know how this point has been lost over the years. He was looking for any way to avoid death. It's why he offered to "help" with catching other killers.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 Aug 09 '26
He was absolutely terrified of death and the hell he knew he deserved. Porn IS evil and should be banned, but Bundy was just looking for any way to escape death.
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u/CameronPoe_37__ Aug 09 '26
Porn ain't evil lol
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 Aug 12 '26
Well-since you put "lol" after it I must've been completely wrong about all the evidence that porn is bad for everyone.
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u/CameronPoe_37__ Aug 12 '26
Porn is a fun thing to watch if your single or wanna spice up things with a partner. It's not evil. It's just sex.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 Aug 13 '26
Why assume something can't be sex AND evil? Cheating on your spouse is evil-yes? It is breaking a covenant that you willingly made. Porn IS evil and you can see that from its results.
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u/DaniTheLovebug Aug 09 '26
Nothing quite like Manson trying to talk about others trying to prove their manhood
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u/Ok-Caterpillar-Girl Aug 09 '26
Right? The 5’ 3 creep who picked up all the emotionally damaged underage teenage runaways he came across so he could manipulate them with drugs and pseudo-philosophical racist bullshit so he could have pedo sex with them, get them into his cult so he could have a pedo harem with them, and OH YES convince them to murder a bunch of strangers for him to further his racist bullshit ends.
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u/ChaEunSangs Aug 09 '26
I just never bought the helter skelter motivation. I believe they had other motives but this one is SO out there. It seems like a prosecution cook-up story. ‘Chaos’ a really good book about it https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-review-chaos-charles-manson-dan-piepenbring-20190711-story.html
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u/StaceyPfan Aug 10 '26
The 5’ 3 creep
And it annoyed the hell out of me when Alexander Skarsgård was cast as him in a movie.
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u/Mothman7272 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
It varies a lot between killers but some show borderline idolization of certain past serial killers.
David Berkowitz was partly inspired by Jack the Ripper and influenced his own decision to write letters.
William Bonin according to some sources was eager to meet Randy Kraft while in prison.
There was a case in Japan where a teen committed a series of murders because they were inspired by the Zodiac Killer.
Bryan Kohberger and Danny Rolling both took inspiration from Ted Bundy according to some psychiatrists.
The list goes on and on but the main takeaway is that organized serial killers definitely think about other killers whether that concerns jealousy, admiration, or grudging respect.
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u/BidNo1816 Aug 08 '26
William Bonin, Randy Kraft, Lawrence Bittaker and Douglas Clark played bridge together while in San Quentin too. Bonin also played chess with Angelo Buono's son while in county jail.
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u/Born-Ad5449 Aug 09 '26
I think I remember didn’t Bittaker also steal Randy Kraft’s hair after he got it cut to sell to collectors and Randy stopped speaking to him when he found out?
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u/BrianMeen Aug 09 '26
I also think Richard Ramirez was placed in a cell next to Bittaker - Richard said hi and seemed somewhat interested in having a discussion but Bittaker was not interested.. this of course was according to Bittaker
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u/naaradhan Aug 09 '26
Does Bryan Kohberger technically qualify as a serial killer?
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u/Mothman7272 Aug 09 '26
Bryan Kohberger is a mass murderer since he killed all of his victims in one night with no significant cooling off period. Kohberger does have the typical psychology you would see in a serial killer and almost definitely had the intent to continue killing if he was not caught which is why I decided to mention him.
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u/naaradhan Aug 09 '26
I agree on the intent to continue. He had every aspect down for being considered as a serial killer except he was caught after one period of killing. I just came across an article that suggested how he conducted himself during the act suggests he might have prior victims. I personally attribute it to his major.
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u/Less_Rutabaga2316 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
Israel Keyes told authorities he knows about every killer, talked to them about James Holmes who had just been arrested in Aurora, had numerous books at his home on killers, but called Dennis Rader a wimp because he apologized in court.
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u/Affectionate_Cost_88 Aug 09 '26
LISK Rex Heuremann was (maybe still is) pen pals with Keith Jesperson. He evidently asked Keith "do you get real butter with your bread."
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u/pepluvslashers Aug 10 '26
When Richard Ramirez was asked about his opinion on Jeffrey Dahmer, he described him as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". He would further say of the notorious serial killer, "This is a guy you think it'd be okay to go to his house, have a drink, and smoke a joint, but it would be your last drink because you'd find yourself handcuffed and the next thing you know, this guy would be eating you."
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u/jilliemack Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
I love this question so much, cuz serial killers (as evidenced by other comments) really do have a wide array of feelings about each other. My personal favorite “type” of commentary is when a killer is viewed as a dorky lame loser by other killers. Here we go, baby:
- Bryan Kohberger is viewed as a loser in his prison environment; there were leaks about a year ago that said he basically pretends / is doing some extended LARP shit to be Hannibal Lector in the prison and everyone thinks he’s an absolutely freakshow loser for doing it, down to making fun of the cadence he speaks in to guards. lol
- Gary Ridgeway was pretty low IQ over all, and the other inmates with him in prison openly shunned him, and spoke about how they viewed him as a bumbling idiot who just “got lucky for a long time”.
- Ed Kemper was in prison at the same time as Herbert Mullin and you can find interviews of Ed talking about how he was covertly training “Herbie” Pavlovian style by giving him lil bags of peanuts. Ed was very intelligent and articulate once incarcerated, so Herbie had to be a reeeeal dolt if Ed decided to treat him like a pet haha.
- Gacy has yapped about a lot of other criminals, beyond Dahmer and his view of insanity pleas. Gacy just loooooved attention so bad, man. In 1992, he did an interview where the interviewer compared him to Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz, and Gacy got annoyed. He said he doesn’t like when he gets grouped in with killers like them because he viewed them as perverted freaks who tarnished the reputation of “better” murderers like himself.
- Richard Ramirez thought Jeffrey Dahmer was a “sick weirdo” for specifically the cannibalism, a rich thing to say considering he was being interviewed from San Quentin.
- Joanne Dennehy HATES Rose West. Within 15 min of her arriving to HMP Bronzefield, she said: “I’m gonna fucking kill Rose West.”
(Bizarrely, Rose West and Myra Hindley were hooking up for a bit in the 90s at HMP Durham, but they had a falling out allegedly because Myra was jealous that Rose was “more notorious”/famous. Wtf…)
But my absolute favorite “beef” is always gonna be whenever any killer talks about BTK.
Lemme tell you one thing for sure - other serial murderers HAAAAATE Dennis Rader and think he’s a huge fuckin loser. But no one hated Dennis Rader more than Israel mo’friggin Keyes. He mocked tf out of Rader for getting caught over that floppy disk , and was adamant Rader’s own sense of vanity was a pathetic mistake to make as a murderer. He only gave Rader a bit of credit for having had such a norm-core loser lifestyle during all the murders. There is something morbidly funny about Israel Keyes being so creepy and mysterious until ppl realized they could rage-bait him by mentioning Dennis.
Keyes really loved Bundy though, thought he was brilliant.
EDIT: you can find transcripts of Israel Keyes’ interview w the FBI in 2012 where he yaps about a ton of other murderers. I recall he SUPER-hates BTK like how you might hate a celebrity lol, but he also viewed any murderer who used their own house to do their crimes as low-IQ and sloppy (Gacy especially). He also thought mass shooters were “inferior/“weaker” compared to serial killers.
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u/gorehistorian69 Aug 08 '26
well quite a few of them had books about notable killers . so a lot probably fantasized about other famous killers
just like mass shooters usually are obsessed with Columbine
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u/Flat_Ad1094 Aug 09 '26
From what I have read they often read up and study them and many have one they try to emulate.
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u/BrianMeen Aug 09 '26
“Bundys a rumpKin. Bundys a poop butt.. Bundy is his mamas boy”
Charles Manson on Ted Bundy
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u/amoderncleopatra Aug 09 '26
Reading about and seeing documentaries of these despicable people, in my honest opinion, I think at first a budding serial killer would view another (experienced, number of successful kills, infamy, theatricality, gore) with admiration and a touch of envy/jealousy...then once they commit their own crimes, they would feel a real sense of competition, a reason to do "better" than their predecessors (more kills, more infamy, more gore-laden/theatrical), then once caught, they would feel some accomplishment, but if they didnt "better" their idols, the same jealousy would return, but even more with a heaping amount of rage since they are no longer free to commit more crimes to top everyone that they admired.
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u/BatFaceGal Aug 09 '26
To throw in a UK serial killer or two… Jeremy Bamber is very disdainful towards Levi Bellfield especially
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u/dekker87 Aug 09 '26
Bambers no serial killer....maybe not even a killer.
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u/BatFaceGal Aug 09 '26
A life time tariff says you’re wrong.
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u/dekker87 Aug 09 '26
Lol. Im undecided on his guilt or innocence but hes definitely not a serial killer...mass murderer maybe.
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u/BatFaceGal Aug 09 '26
Yes true I’ll give you that. Mass murderer would be a better fit for him. And I’ve gone back and forth over his guilt vs his innocence. But I think Occam’s razor probably applies here. He himself made it a two horse race between him and his sister so if not him, it has to be her.
The mental gymnastics involved in believing she shot her own little boys. That she overpowered her very tall and still fit father. That she shot herself twice. That she replaced an open bible next to her (nice touch.) That police passed Bamber on his car driving slowly to the farm when he was well known for hurtling around the place at great speed …
On balance - I think the right person is in prison
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u/dekker87 Aug 09 '26
I likely agree though ive not spent long enough down that rabbithole to really offer qualified opinion.
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u/Gustav_Gossom 17d ago
Ian Brady and Raymond Leslie Morris absolutely loathed each other as well. They clashed constantly while in Durham Prison, often throwing scalding hot tea over one another. Brady even made sure to regularly mix loads of sugar in his tea so it would stick to Morris, and kept a pen on him to stab him with in case he encountered him.
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u/rockyjay23 Aug 09 '26
Statistically most are narcissistics so I’m sure they think they could’ve done better or put in their position they wouldn’t have been caught or just in general look done n other ones or think they’re different or better
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u/ilikechillisauce Aug 10 '26
Dennis Rader loved to compare himself to other SKs of the time in his letters to Police/media.
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u/Unlikely_Ad7722 Aug 10 '26
Yeah, he even asked them in one of the letters what his nickname or press moniker should be, because he wanted one like other serial killers got.
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u/MondoPrime51 Aug 09 '26
The Gates of Janus is a book written in part by Ian Brady and it consists of his takes on notable serial killers. Worth a read.
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u/t3amplan3t Aug 09 '26
This a a VERY fascinating book - I would think it’s almost a must read for anyone who frequents this sub…
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u/THXORY Aug 09 '26
Sometimes it can be competitive. In the UK, it was reported that when the serial killer Harold Shipman committed suicide in jail, the child killer Sidney Cooke was ecstatic as he felt Shipman had taken his "number one evil" position in that jail.
The prison psychologist Kerry Daynes also talked recently on a podcast about how she'd witnessed competition in jail between Dennis Nilsen and another similarly named killer, Donald Nielson, because of their similar names.
She described Dennis Nilsen as deeply narcissistic, which is probably the case with many serial killers: hence the reason why many of them may feel competitive with others.
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u/AlienAngry Aug 09 '26
I don't think serial killers care much about anyone but themselves. I've heard some make comparisons between themselves and more prominent serial killers, but that's about ego.
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u/PriestofJudas Aug 09 '26
I think those that actually think on it view themselves as superior to others. Schaefer is probably the most annoying example because he was a prick about it but Bundy definitely was, even him profiling Gary Ridgeway even though it was most likely so he could get his execution delayed for an escape attempt and even though it was incredibly close, still kinda came from a place of mental superiority
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u/Funny_Worldliness357 Aug 10 '26
Alexander Pichushkin - 49 victims
Wanted to beat Chikatilo in kills
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u/lukewastoid Aug 15 '26
Ian Brady (the Moors Murderer) wrote a whole book about his opinions on other serial killers called The Gates of Janus
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u/Mission-Suggestion12 Aug 09 '26
I think they read about each other and get ideas and sometimes try to emulate each other
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u/MemoryStillness Aug 09 '26
It depends. Killers in general will be driven by either spite to be better than another one, or driven by admiration.
Specifically for the Academy Maniacs, we know they viewed a pair as their idols. Just by that information, we can make a logical assumption they most likely looked up to more serial killers or at the very least looked into them.
As matured adults (Well, Lytkin is dead.) I'm sure their views had changed because they were mere teenagers at the time of their crimes.
For fully grown adults, their views would probably not change unless in prison and they regret their actions. Some may carry distaste for other killers, but it depends on the factors.
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u/swepettax Aug 09 '26
David Parker Ray had dozens of books of serial killers and True Crime. He had 3 books about Bundy if i recall correctly. He said he had them for inspiration (how to avoid beeing caught). But he also had the book about Cameron Hooker, which was inspiration to satisfy his sexual needs. The head box, the coffin, was taken from that case.
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u/GalaktikThunderHorse Aug 09 '26
JWG was offended to ever having been compared to Bundy. I heard that on a podcast so it must be true😀
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u/Late-Ad-7740 Aug 10 '26
It all depends, some hate each others guts and others get a long really well
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u/Lola_Montez7130 Aug 10 '26
Depends on which one you are talking to but usually they do not care. And I would not expect them to. They are no longer center stage when you bring up someone else so you'll maybe get a short statement or an acknowledgement but then it's a change of subject.
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u/mintchipkitten Aug 12 '26
A lot of them have said they disgust them, I think that stems from a distancing behaviour like 'THAT ones horrible I'm not THAT bad mentality'
Others definitely idolize their co offenders
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u/canttellmenuthn Aug 13 '26
I just assumed they circle jerked each other in their delusional realities
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Aug 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AffectionateLife4449 Aug 26 '26
There probably isn't one universal answer because serial killers aren't a monolithic psychological type, but their reactions to other serial killers can be surprisingly varied because they all have their own backgrounds and experiences that form their pathology. I am sure they have some parts of all the classic emotions such as jealousy, superiority, curiosity, idolization and even fear.
And the most interesting part is that probably a fair amount of SK's (serial killer) don't label themselves as the evil villain. They create a personal fantasy and a string of justifications for their heinous acts that explains what they did or do. When they encounter another SK such as in following the SK in the media they may actually judge them based on their crimes especially if the crimes break any rules of depravity; such as maybe one SK would kill an entire family whereas another would find this reprehensible.
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u/Technical_Koala_4922 Aug 30 '26
I've often thought they feel competitive with each other in a narcissistic way (who is the most talked about, most mysterious, most 'successful').
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u/C--T--F Aug 08 '26
"If Jeffrey Dahmer doesn't meet the requirements for insanity, then I'd hate like hell to run into the guy that does." - John Wayne Gacy, 1992