The Serial Killer as Evil Monster

Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer, HS Yearbook at age 17

Source: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons

Serial killers seem to provide us with an endless source of fascination, fear, and entertainment. As a criminologist and sociologist, I believe that society—including, news and entertainment media, law enforcement authorities, and the public—turn serial killers into larger-than-life celebrity monsters to alleviate its collective fear, apprehension, and confusion about them.

More specifically, society frames serial killers as evil or monsters in an effort to make sense of the incomprehensible nature of their crimes. The social construction of serial killers serves to minimize the confusion and chaos triggered by their presence on the public stage because it offers simple black-and-white explanations of their motivations and crimes. I believe that society does this through a process of reductionism by which the serial killer is transformed into a one-dimensional, evil monster.

It is important to understand that many people are drawn to dangerous things like sharks, tornadoes, and serial killers because they create a sense of invigorating psychological and physical arousal. However, such pleasure often comes at a cost. The fascination, excitement, and euphoria over serial killers, for example, can be accompanied by feelings of anxiety, ambiguity, shame, or guilt.

During my research on this topic, I had people tell me that serial killers are a “guilty pleasure” for them. I believe that the source of the guilt is the same as the source of the excitement—that is, a lack of understanding of the motives and behavior of serial killers. To a certain extent, society’s anxiety and guilt are neutralized by the news and entertainment media because they routinely present narrative frames that provide overly simplistic explanations for the actions of serial killers.

Popular narrative frames of serial killers include childhood neglect and abuse, brain trauma, or mental illness. Interestingly, and paradoxically, these stereotypical narrative frames provide meaning to the actions of serial killers and, therefore, reduce society’s collective confusion, anxiety, and guilt concerning them. The overly simple narrative frames of serial killers presented by the media serve to neutralize the feelings of shame or guilt experienced by some people over their morbid fascination with them.

It is also important to recognize that serial killer narratives allow society to engage in pleasurable fantasy entertainment. My research has revealed that the graphic serial killer image depicted in popular culture offers a pleasurable mix of excitement, shock, and horror to enthusiastic fans.

The key to such pleasure is that stylized serial killer images in the news and entertainment media enable the public to delve into the world of the macabre and sinister without actually coming into contact with a serial killer or being exposed to real danger. That is, mass media images of serial killers allow us to experience the excitement of danger, and the adrenaline rush of fear, but in a safe and controlled setting. I believe that this is a large part of the popular appeal of serial killers.

The single most common narrative framing of serial killers by law enforcement authorities and the news media involves the use of supernatural labels. Because the crimes of serial killers seem so unreal and cold-blooded, the perpetrators are typically framed by authorities and the news media as lacking human qualities or, more simply, as pure evil. Serial killers are often described as being dead or empty inside and as having “cold dead eyes or a dead expression.”

Fundamentally, the evil designation of the serial killer reflects society’s need to distinguish and distance itself from the incomprehensible actions of the perpetrator in order to feel safe. As such, the serial killer identity is not a natural or real human category.

Rather, it is an unnatural one that is socially constructed with a specific purpose in mind—that is, to convince society that the serial killer is not one of us. That is why law enforcement authorities and the news and entertainment media tell society that the serial killer is neither civilized nor even human.