I'm not sure if I would consider Manson a "serial" killer or not. After all, he was too much of a coward to do it himself. But, seeing as he could order the brutal murder of an eight-month pregnant woman, I would agree he is a horrible monster.

Well, give the definition "serial-killer" some liberty, and Charles Manson fits perfectly IMO.

He was insane, he was ingenius, he reveled in bloodshed and the absolute corruption and destruction of innocence.

I think we can label him as one of those people, perhaps he is even WORSE then the serial killers who do the job themselves.

I'm not sure that Ed Gein would count as a 'Serial Killer'. I think he only killed 2 people, and the rest of the bodies he robbed from graves.

I think that The Burnies were horrible. Thy only killed about 5 people, but what they done was terrible

That would be too much liberty. There is no evidence that Manson killed anyone. Although he is considered the mastermind. He talks and let people do the walking for him.

Dunno if mentioned yet but how about Alexander 'Sawney' Beane?

IT was a scene straight out of hell. Hanging from improvised butcher's hooks in the dank underground cave were row upon row of severed human limbs. Hiding in the shadows of the subterranean lair was Sawney Beane and his hideously deformed family who had killed and eaten more than 1,000 people during a 25-year reign of terror.

Now the true story of the Scottish cannibal is set to terrify cinemagoers with the release of a new film inspired by his atrocities. The Hills Have Eyes, out today, tells the story of a family of maneaters who prey on unwary passers-by.

While the film features scenes of shockingly graphic violence, the story of Beane and his twisted clan is infinitely more chilling - a twisted tale of incest, robbery and murder.

Alexander 'Sawney' Beane was born eight miles east of Edinburgh at the start of the 15th century, during the reign of James I of Scotland. While his parents earned a living hedging and ditching, their son developed into a lazy delinquent who despised authority. Sometime during his teens, he left home with a woman of an equally devious character - reputedly a suspected witch called Black Agnes Douglas - to live in a dank cave just north of Ballantrae in what is now Ayrshire.

With a strip of sand in front, their home was a giant network of elaborate passages that had been eroded almost a mile into the rock. Twice a day, the high tide would flood the first 200 yards of their home, making it an ideal hiding place.

It was from this underground lair that the couple began one of the most infamous chapters in Scottish folklore. By cover of night, they would hold up passing travellers, rob them of their possessions and then, to ensure they couldn't be identified, murder them.

Their plan was to live on the proceeds, but with people reluctant to travel with much money in their pockets, the couple began to starve. Their solution was to eat their victims, pickling leftover limbs in sea water.


Soon, the Beanes were thriving and had so much food they took to throwing unwanted bodyparts into the sea. As they washed up on nearby beaches, panic spread. Spies were sent to investigate the disappearances but, of those that returned, none were able to find the culprits.


Meanwhile, the Beane family was multiplying. Sawney and his wife produced 14 children and, in an horrific twist, the family interbred to produce 18 grandsons and 14 granddaughters.


But it was inevitable that the Beanes would make a mistake. It came one night when they ambushed a husband and wife riding back from a fair. The family dragged the woman from the back of the horse and disembowelled her. As her husband fought back, more riders from the fair arrived prompting the family to disappear into the woods.


When the King was told of the attack, he resolved to take charge of the manhunt personally, assembling an army of 400 men and packs of bloodhounds. And it was the persistence of the dogs which eventually unearthed the Beanes' lair.


A mile into the catacombs, the search party was confronted by a sight of unimaginable horror. Along the damp, dripping walls were the arms, legs and hands of men, women and children, hanging like the cuts in a butcher's window. Nearby were bundles of clothes, and piles of trinkets and bones.


Transported to Leith, the bandits were shown no mercy. The men had their legs and hands cut off and were left to bleed to death in front of the female members of the clan. The women and children were then burned alive in three fires.


Although historians have questioned parts of the story - some even claiming it's no more than a myth - the legend of the Beanes continues to fascinate and appal.


In 1977, 500 years after Beanes' executions, horror director Wes Craven used the tale as inspiration for the low-budget horror film The Hills Have Eyes.

Although he might not be counted as a serial killer, he's definitely one of the most well known, and his story is very twisted but interesting.

They might not be the worst ever but for most recent, I'd say Gacy or Dahmer. But The Zodiac Killer, and Jack the Ripper have always been the most interesting to me because of the mystery surrounding them.

That Alexander Beane story creeped me out, I had no idea The Hills Have Eyes was inspired by that.

Kratos- I completely agree with you for Elizabeth Bathory! She was insane.

My other choices are Vlad the Impaler (basis for Bram Stoker's Dracula), estimated to have killed over 100,000 people, often through his form of impalement, which is..well..there is NO way to put it lightly. Up the rear and out the mouth.

The Green River Killer, (I forgot his real name) killed/raped about 60 people.

Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer as well, simply because they really did get away with murder; no one knows who they really were!

Well Vlad usually had people do that for him. But he is considered a mass murderer, not a serial killer.

i think lopez was released from prison in south america a few years ago.manson is just a truly evil fish oil salesmen that could sell you a trip to hell,and make convince you you would enjoy it!!!

He is one of the most famous around in England.He is pure evil and is a true monster.But I have to agree, he is interesting.

Yeah, he was one cruel son of a .....! He did some of his own handy work and ordered men to do the rest.

Also, what he did could be considered war crimes which the thread excludes.

I found this guy pretty disturbing

Andrei Chikatilo gets my vote for the worst serial killer ever. There is an excellent book about him- Camrade Chikatilo The Psychopathology of Russia's Notorious Serial Killer by Mikhail Krivich and Ol'gert Ol'gin. This man was just sick!

I also think that the Green River Killer is perhaps one of the worst- after all , it took how many years to catch him? Dennis Nilsen was a pretty inventive serial killer, cutting up his victims and flushing them down the toilet. Ted Bundy started off as a pretty smart killer, but got pretty sloppy as he escalated. Gacy was stupid for keeping the bodies in his house, he should have kept dumping them in the water, how did he live in that house? THE SMELL!! Dahmer- what can I say? One of the worst most deffinately, drugging people, drilling holes in their heads and pouring acid in the wound, keeping flesh in the freezer and a skeleton in his shower-insane!

There are soooooo many notorious killers. How sad!

I forgot about Holmes. that guy was...creative.

I think the worst killer of all time was the Zodiac.

Richard Chase. You can read about him on wikipedia because I don't have the stomach to repeat his atrocious crimes on here.

My vote would go for Gille De Rais, Marshall of France during the early 15th century, Abused, raped and killed hundreds of young boys in his castle. By all accounts he was a lunatic

Richard Chase the schizophrenic blood drinker?
He had problems.
But the worst ones imo are the psychopaths that are driven for other motives. Chase, if I'm not mistaken, was paranoid that if he didn't drink blood, his would turn into powder.

I had forgotten about the Beanes until I read the story on here. I remember going out and renting the original version of the movie (The Hills Have Eyes) right after reading about it. . .it's amazing and disturbing that they lived like that. . .

I do like Elizabeth Bathori (aka the blood countess). . .but the Zodiac Killer would have to get my vote, mainly because of the mystery around him and the fact that he was never caught. . .

Edit: I had forgotten about "HH Holmes", also. . . That was an extremely fascinating case. ..I was just trying to remember his name the other day when my husband and I were talking about strange murder cases. . .

Are you kidding me I don't understand why nobody has said Henry Lee Lucas & Ottis Toole. You could even say that jimmy jones was the worst killer of all time but the person that just scared the people to death was charles manson. But out of all the people talked about the only one that ever used dead bodies to get money holmes has to be the weirdest he is already rich and he pulls insurance scams must be something wrong with that fellow. And to top it all off how bout Pee Wee Gaskins who was said to be the meanest killer of all time...can't be easy getting that tittle.

Harold Shipman and Fred West killed themsleves. They were both serial killers.

As for my vote I say Pedro Lopeez, AKA, The Monster of the Andes. He is suspect of killing over 300 girls.

I just read a book about Ed Gein. I think he has my vote for worst serial killer of all time.

I think my favorite serial killer would have to be Jack the Ripper . There was also a pretty disgusting serial killer in my home town called " The Zoo Man".

John Wayne Gacy gives me the creeps.

The clown killer gives alot of people the creeps. I heard of this on guy who has some paintings by him. Gacy did a portiat (sp?) of his son for the kid's 3rd birthday.

Letter by the 'son of sam'-

"Dear Captain Joseph Borrelli,

I am deeply hurt by your calling me a wemon hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the 'Son of Sam.' I am a little brat.

When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean. He beats his family. Sometimes he ties me up to the back of the house. Other times he locks me in the garage. Sam loves to drink blood.

'Go out and kill,' commands father Sam.

'Behind our house some rest. Mostly young -- raped and slaughtered -- their blood drained -- just bones now.

Papa Sam keeps me locked in the attic too. I can't get out but I look out the attic window and watch the world go by.

I feel like an outsider. I am on a different wavelength then everybody else -- programmed too kill.

However, to stop me you must kill me. Attention all police: Shoot me first -- shoot to kill or else keep out of my way or you will die!

Papa Sam is old now. He needs some blood to preserve his youth. He has had too many heart attacks. 'Ugh, me hoot, it hurts, sonny boy.'

I miss my pretty princess most of all. She's resting in our ladies house. But I'll see her soon.

I am the 'Monster' -- 'Beelzebub' -- the chubby behemouth.

I love to hunt. Prowling the streets looking for fair game -- tasty meat. The wemon of Queens are prettyist of all. It must be the water they drink. I live for the hunt -- my life. Blood for papa.

Mr. Borrelli, sir, I don't want to kill anymore. No sur, no more but I must, 'honour thy father.'

I want to make love to the world. I love people. I don't belong on earth. Return me to yahoos.

To the people of Queens, I love you. And I want to wish all of you a happy Easter. May

God bless you in this life and in the next."
-----------
wow

mine would be 'the Red Ripper' - Andrei Chikatilo

Q. What serial killer, would jump off a bridge, kill his victim and then bounce back up again?

A. Ted Bungee.

No?

(cough) I’ll get me coat.

personall i think ed geins was one of the most cold blooded killers that ever lived.he gets my vote.

i would go for jack the ripper too, not for the numbers he killed, but the way he did it.. and the infamy of the character.. and the names and the theorys put forward regarding his identity, this is the original par excellence of serial killers , others may out do him in numbers.. but never in notoriety.

I would have to go with Peter Kurten of Dusseldorf. He wanted his head cut off so he could hear the blood gush from his neck. To paraphrase "It would be the ultimate thirll". Another wacky German(s) are the Alexander's - Harald and Frank who hung parts of their family members all over the walls in the 1970's.

Hi Green, see this is your first post. Welcome. Great thread you brought forward. My vote is for John Gacy. (sp?)

All these freaks are disturbing, but few stood out in my mind.
Those killer psychopaths that grouped themselves in pairs is what I find the most disturbing-
Charles Ng, and Leanord Lake
Otis Tool and Henry Lucas
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (Columbine mass murderers)

Solo, all it takes is one
Robert Berdella (eviscerated)
Andrei Chikatilo (just crazy as living hell, 50 some odd victims)
Ed Kemper ( 6 ft 9, dang! and a serial killer daaaaaang, beheaded his own moma..)
Dennis Neilson (very similar to Dahmer, also kept the dead as the living for "company." )

Ivan Milat.

He was one of the most brutal murderers.


And i agree Gacy was bad.

Ever since I saw It by steven King i have really hated Gacy.



And i used to live down the road from John Bunting the worst serial killer Australia has seen.

Ed Gein was pretty out there. He was the inspiration for Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.

Andre Chikatilo had that "crazy eyes" thing going for him. Also, cannibalism is a sure bonus point winner in the serial killer race.

Ted Bundy was so normal looking; perhaps the worst trait of any serial killer (besides, of course, the killing)

the killer clown was the sickest individual ever!!
hes tortured raped and murdered 33 at least and who knows how many more.
read the book buried dreams its cool..
he has multi personalities too, a policeman, a clown, a concerned citizen, a security officer hes a cuckoo clock

Charles Manson never killed anyone,he was a psycho cult leader, and i belive Charles whitman was called a spree killer not serial killer.The worst serial killer in modern times is the Green river killer.

That letter sends chills through me every time I have seen it. The Son of Sam gets my vote as worst of all time.

Ted Bundy and the Green River killer are the two that come to mind for me. I think GR killed more than Bundy strictly numbers-wise, but I'd pick Ted Bundy as the worst. From what I've read/seen on TV, he would prey on the instict of young girls to help him out (often feigning some sort of injury) then turn on them and brutally rape/murder them. I don't see how a human could be much worse than that.

The fact that he was allowed to continue snuffing out the lives of innocent, vibrant young women who were just starting out into adulthood - with all of their hopes and dreams ahead of them - makes me truly wonder if there is a God. I know people always say "it's God's will" when something bad happens...but how could that sort of thing be God's will?

God should have dropped a big meteorite on that Volkswagon of Bundy's before he could do the things he did.

Albert Fish I don't know if anyone has mentioned him yet. He only liked eating little kids he didnt rape them thought he liked cooking them for days at a time.
He would also play a game with his nephews and neices where they would spank him with a paddle with nails. And he stuck needles into his body all over.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers...fish/index.html

Abrahamic God (God of Jews, Christians and Muslims), death toll in the millions easy

Richard Kuklinski the iceman.i seen him on hbo and the guy was as cold as his name.he says he's killed up to 200 people and the feeling i got from him was that it was more then that.

I saw that show with him and it kind of creeped me out how emotionless he was and how '' matter of factly '' he talked about his hits. He used all sorts of methods but i think his favorite was arsenic. When i saw his eyes i knew he was probably the most cold blooded killer i ever saw.

Yeah, i always was intrigued(and disurbed) by ed gein scince i seen the texas chainsaw massacre, but i really don't think he was a full on "serial killer" as such. I think techicly he only killed two women, the rest of the bodys he dug up from the grave.

yeah i dont think he was a serial killer but he was well on his way to becoming one.who knows what he would have become if they hadnt stopped him when they did.

i think that fred and rosemary west's story is pretty bad.

I agree. The Wests were pretty Bad.

I think it is next to impossible to say who the worst serial killer is. Because to do so means that the others are less bad.

In my opinion ALL serial killers are scum

If we go by satistics and time frame, i have to say Martin Bryant.
If you go by sheer pychcotic evil, Geoffrey Dalhmer.

I think AR's right there are so many and each one has something different that makes them really bad...Its hard to say which would the worse of all time.....

yeah, i remember that one.i think i was in year 8 when the port Arther massicre happened, i heard on the news the other day that he is just like a zombie in prison now, expressionless and unremorcful, doesn't talk to anyone.