The Golden Age of Serial Killers

Can you believe there was such a thing?

And that somebody would actually call it that? Shouldn't it be The Dark Underbelly of America? Or Psychosis Unfettered? Or The Best and the Brightest at Multiple Murders?

The golden age ran from 1970 to 2000. The top dogs were Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jefffrey Dahmer, Dennis Rader, and Gary Ridgway. Please bear in mind that if you don't restrict the list to 1970-2000, the list of names is staggeringly long. Quite bizarre.

Their accomplishments: Ted Bundy - 28 dead; John Wayne Gacy - 33 dead; Jeffrey Dahmer - 17 dead; Dennis Rader - 10 dead; Gary Ridgway - 49 dead.

I guess that makes Ridgway the MVP.

These guys were competitive - they followed press coverage of each other and felt insulted if someone was getting more attention. 

Dennis Rader once left a note for the police asking: "How many do I have to Kill before I get a name in the paper or some national attention?" He even suggested nicknames for himself. He eventually became known as B.T.K. (bind, torture, kill), which is one of the nicknames he suggested.

I am fascinated by serial killers.

So often the story from relatives, friends and co-workers is that you would never guess the depravity in these men from day to day contact.

How can that be? They run around killing multiple innocent victims, they hide the bodies, conduct their bizarre rituals and there is a never a hint of something being a bit off? Amazing.

Then again, you and I go to work with hatred in our hearts - for the job, the people we work with. Our bank balance disgusts us. We are jealous of those who are more successful than us. We feel slighted by the treatment of other people and harbor a general hatred of the unworthy who are seen as more valuable than us.

But nobody knows it. We smile, we laugh heartily at non-jokes, we do the boss's bidding despite the malice in our hearts, we tell everyone we are fine when we are anything but. We are robots acting out a part that kills us inside, while outwardly we project calm, contentment and good behavior.

I am not drawing a direct line from your average working stiff to serial killers. I do not condone the horrible things they do and the suffering they cause.

Ted Bundy was executed in 1989. Jeffrey Dahmer was murdered by an inmate. John Wayne Gacy was executed in 1994. Dennis Rader is serving life in prison. Gary Ridgway is serving life in prison.

Well done. Although the argument can be made they have not suffered enough for the lives they took and the pain they caused family members of the victims.

Serial killers are the most extreme example of the end result of a society that makes false promises to it's members; a society that misleads, sabotages, and throws up road blocks at every opportunity in the lives of human beings who only want peace of mind, love and happiness.

Serial killing has dropped off drastically since 2000.

I hope this is a good sign, but I am not convinced.