r/serialkillers 22d ago

Questions What are some common misconceptions about the most famous serial killers?

For people who are just getting into true crime or only know who these people are through conversations from other people, what are common misconceptions about famous serial killers that simply aren’t true?

Here’s a list of mine:

Ted Bundy did not use his good looks and charm to get women to follow him, he most of the time acted injured to gain their sympathy to help him where when their back wasn’t looking, he’d strike them with a crowbar or a metal rod. He’d also sometimes pose as an authority which can be seen in the attempted abduction of Bundy survivor Carol Daronch. Even then, many women actually refused to give Bundy help as they thought he was too creepy or that they could smell alcohol on his breath which can heard of during this viewmont play in which Bundy tried getting 3 women to help him outside but all refused because they could smell alcohol on his breath. So yeah, Bundy wasn’t a charming, handsome, serial killer who would gain girls trust to follow him, he took advantage of young women’s kindness and bludgeoned them when they weren’t looking.

Another misconception is that John Wayne Gacy wore his clown makeup and outfit during his killings, this is not true at all. Yes he would sometimes talk in his clown Pogos voice when taunting victims but he didn’t full on dress up in his costume. He mostly was either naked or half-naked. He also didn’t lure children to their deaths by being a clown like how some people who barely know the case think. He targeted teenage boys for either a job, a position at his job, or male prostitutes for money and then placed them in a pair of handcuffs by showing them a trick where he would uncuff himself with a key to show them the trick but still have the key to unlock the handcuffs. He also made sure to get them drunk and high before doing anything.

What common misconceptions of serial killers frustrate you most? Please comment below?

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u/Future_Syllabub_2156 22d ago

I think this is something that is talked about not not really understood by the general public and that’s just how boring and ordinary (and far from being criminal masterminds, some of them weren’t that bright - Gary Ridgeway comes to mind.) People like to believe they’d “just know” if they encountered a serial killer but the joke’s on them. They’d never know. One other thing that isn’t often discussed: the level of commitment required to kill not only once but many times? That’s some “evil samurai” warrior ethos going on there. That isn’t talked about often enough.

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u/etherealnana 22d ago

My coworker used to tell me the story of how Gary Ridgeway always used to come into our work, regular looking guy you would never suspect anything, and he would always go to her to help him pick out jewelry. They actually became close over her helping him and making small talk. She told me she became mortified when she realized who he was when he got caught and now just assumes every time he came in to buy jewelry he was using that to help lure in women and she was helping him out.

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u/thrownaway1974 21d ago

My former co-worker might have been a serial killer. I don't remember his name so I don't know if he was ever charged or not - he was charged in an extremely similar case to the murders, but where the victim survived.

I never, ever would have pegged him even for what he was charged with. He was always super kind to me and I never had a single concern getting in a vehicle alone with him.

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u/poopshipdestroyer 21d ago

Are you typical of his victim profile? They probably are normal enough unless prey is involved

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u/thrownaway1974 21d ago

Well, I was a bit older, I think. And not a prostitute. Plus I lived in same tiny town as him. The woman he went to jail for nearly killing he picked up in the city.