Real-Life Monsters: A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer PDF
Preview Real-Life Monsters: A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer
R Reeaall--LLiiffee MMoonnsstteerrss This page intentionally left blank R Reeaall--LLiiffee MMoonnsstteerrss A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer Stephen J. Giannangelo Copyright 2012 by Stephen J. Giannangelo All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Giannangelo, Stephen J. Real-life monsters : a psychological examination of the serial murderer / Stephen J. Giannangelo. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-313-39784-4 (hardcopy : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-313-39785-1 (eISBN) I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Homicide—psychology. 2. Criminal Psychology. WM 605] 616.89—dc23 2012014963 ISBN: 978-0-313-39784-4 EISBN: 978-0-313-39785-1 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook. Visit www.abc-clio.com for details. Praeger An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC ABC-CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America For Mom and Dad– together again together always And for Kathy thank you for finding me This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii PART I: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SERIAL MURDERER 1. Introduction: An Identification of the Offender 3 2. Clinical Diagnoses and Serial Killer Traits 13 3. Biology and Its Effect on Violent Behavior 33 4. Environment, Background, and Personality 43 PART II: TOWARD AN EXAMINATION OF A THEORY OF VIOLENCE 5. Theoretical Discussion and Methodology 63 6. Case Studies 71 Case 1: Andrei Chikatilo 72 Case 2: Arthur Shawcross 77 Case 3: Jeffrey Dahmer 82 Case 4: Edmund Kemper 86 viii Contents Case 5: Anthony Sowell 91 Case 6: Aileen Wuornos 96 Case 7: Dennis Rader 100 Case 8: Rodney Alcala 104 7. Reflecting on Case Studies 109 8. Theoretical Analysis and Development 121 9. A Conversation with a Monster? 129 10. Conclusion 143 Appendix A: Case Briefs 159 Appendix B: Glossary/Explanation of Terms 169 References 173 Index 185 Preface In the early 1960s, as a child growing up in New England, I spent a great amount of time with a riveted focus on the subject of movie monsters. Plastic models, magazines, and the latest horror flick ruled the day for this child. I even managed to convince my slightly skeptical mother to allow me to go to bed early on Saturday evenings, so she could wake me up in time to watch the weekly monster movie shown at midnight. Concerned relatives counseled my mom, thinking that maybe I could turn out, well, odd. Maybe they were right. Still, for some reason, I never was all that affected by the horrors of the cinema. While interesting, I never did buy into the terror of Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolf Man, or the C reature from the Black Lagoon . They were interesting, but not real. Later movies came closer: T he Exorcist, The Omen — these monsters looked a little more like they could be hiding under my bed—but not really. I believe this is what sparked my interest in human psy- chopathology and extreme abnormal psychology. I wanted to know what real monsters were capable of. For it’s the people who walk among us that strike fear into our hearts. Not the seven-foot tall hulk with bolts in his neck, sewn together with leftover parts from the graveyard—it’s the normal-looking scrawny kid who works at the chocolate factory, brings people home, and desperately clings to the idea they might not leave this time. And then eats them. It’s not the half-man, half-wolf that howls at the full moon and scours the night for victims—it’s the chubby ex-shoe salesman turned contractor, the part-time performing clown, who lures a parade of young, unsuspecting victims to his home. And then buries them in his crawl space. These are the monsters of real life. This is what real nightmares are made of. In a 1993 New York Times interview, prolific true-crime author Jack Olsen recalled:
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