Love Connection Serial Killer' title='Love Connection Serial Killer' />Myths about Serial Killers and Why They Persist ExcerptExcerpted with permission from. Why We Love Serial Killers The Curious Appeal of the Worlds Most Savage Murderers, by Scott Bonn. Skyhorse Publishing. Copyright 2. 01. Much of the general publics knowledge concerning serial homicide is a product of sensationalized and stereotypical depictions of it in the news and entertainment media. Colorful story lines are written to pique the interest of audiences, not to paint an accurate picture of serial murder. By focusing on the larger than life media images of socially constructed celebrity monsters, the public becomes captivated by the stylized presentation of the criminals rather than the reality of their crimes. Love Connection Serial Killer' title='Love Connection Serial Killer' />Media stereotypes and hyperbole create myths and great distortions in the public consciousness regarding the true dynamics and patterns of serial murder in the U. S. The Reality of Serial Homicide in the U. S. Serial killings account for no more than 1 percent of all murders committed in the U. S. Based on recent FBI crime statistics, there are approximately 1. U. S. in any given year. The FBI estimates that there are between twenty five and fifty serial killers operating throughout the U. S. at any given time. If there are fifty, then each one is responsible for an average of three murders per year. Serial killers are always present in society. However, the statistics reveal that serial homicide is quite rare and it represents a small portion of all murders committed in the U. S. Persistent misinformation, stereotypes and hyperbole presented in the media have combined with the relative rarity of serial murder cases to foster a number of popular myths about serial murder. The most common myths about serial killers encompass such factors as their race, gender, intelligence, living conditions and victim characteristics. Myth 1 All Serial Killers Are Men. Reality This is simply not true but it is understandable why the public would hold this erroneous belief. As late as 1. 99. FBI profiler said there are no female serial killers. The news and entertainment media also perpetuate the stereotypes that all serial offenders are male and that women do not engage in horrible acts of violence. When the lethality of a femme fatale is presented in book or film, she is most often portrayed as the manipulated victim of a dominant male. Excerpted with permission from Why We Love Serial Killers The Curious Appeal of the Worlds Most Savage Murderers, by Scott Bonn. Skyhorse Publishing. David Richard Berkowitz born Richard David Falco June 1, 1953, known also as the Son of Sam and the. Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who pled. This popular but stereotypical media image is consistent with traditional gender myths in society which claim that boys are aggressive by nature while girls are passive. Serial Port Xenserver. In fact, both aggressiveness and passivity can be learned through socialization and they are not gender specific. Love Connection Serial Killer' title='Love Connection Serial Killer' />The reality concerning the gender of serial killers is quite different than the mythology of it. Although there have been many more male serial killers than females throughout history, the presence of female serial killers is well documented in the crime data. In fact, approximately 1. U. S. are committed by women. Interestingly, only 1. U. S. are committed by women. Therefore, relative to men, women represent a larger percentage of serial murders than all other homicide cases in the U. S. This is an important and revealing fact that defies the popular understanding of serial murder. Myth 2 All Serial Killers Are Caucasian. Reality Contrary to popular mythology, not all serial killers are white. Serial killers span all racial and ethnic groups in the U. S. The racial diversity of serial killers generally mirrors that of the overall U. S. population. There are well documented cases of African American, Latino and Asian American serial killers. African Americans comprise the largest racial minority group among serial killers, representing approximately 2. Significantly, however, only white, and normally male, serial killers such as Ted Bundy become popular culture icons. Although they are not household names like their infamous white counterparts, examples of prolific racial minority serial killers are Coral Eugene Watts, a black man from Michigan, known as the Sunday Morning Slasher, who murdered at least seventeen women in Michigan and Texas Anthony Edward Sowell, a black man known as the Cleveland Strangler who kidnapped, raped and murdered eleven women in Ohio and Rafael Resendez Ramirez, a Mexican national known as the Railroad Killer, who killed as many as fifteen men and women in Kentucky, Texas, and Illinois. Myth 3 All Serial Killers Are Isolated and Dysfunctional Loners. Reality The majority of serial killers are not reclusive social misfits who live alone, despite pervasive depictions of them as such in the news and entertainment media, including the socially challenged Tooth Fairy serial killer in the film Red Dragon. Real life serial killers are not the isolated monsters of fiction and, frequently, they do not appear to be strange or stand out from the public in any meaningful way. Many serial killers are able to successfully hide out in plain sight for extended periods of time. Those who successfully blend in are typically also employed, have families and homes and outwardly appear to be non threatening, normal members of society. Because serial killers can appear to be so innocuous, they are often overlooked by law enforcement officials, as well as their own families and peers. In some rare cases, an unidentified serial killer will even socialize and become friendly with the unsuspecting police detectives who are tracking him. The incredible tale of Ed Kemper the Co ed Killer provides an example of this phenomenon. Serial killers who hide out in plain sight are able to do so precisely because they look just like everyone else. It is their ability to blend in that makes them very dangerous, frightening and yet very compelling to the general public. Myth 4 All Serial Murderers Travel Widely and Kill Interstate. Reality The roaming, homicidal maniac such as Freddy Krueger in the cult film A Nightmare on Elm Street is another entertainment media stereotype that is rarely found in real life. Among the most infamous serial killers, Ted Bundy is the rare exception who traveled and killed interstate. Bundy twice escaped from police custody and committed at least thirty homicides in the states of Washington, Utah, Florida, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho and California. Articulate, educated, well groomed and charming, Bundy was truly atypical among serial killers in his cross country killing rampage. Unlike Bundy, most serial killers have very well defined geographic areas of operation. They typically have a comfort zonethat is, an area that they are intimately familiar with and where they like to stalk and kill their prey. Jack the Ripper provides the classic example of this geographic preference because he stalked and killed exclusively in the small Whitechapel district of London in the fall of 1. The comfort zone of a serial killer is often defined by an anchor point such as a place of residence or employment. Crime statistics reveal that serial killers are most likely to commit their first murder very close to their place of residence due to the comfort and familiarity it offers them. John Wayne Gacy The Killer Clown buried most of his thirty three young, male victims in the crawl space beneath his house after sexually assaulting and murdering them. Serial killers sometimes return to commit murder in an area they know well from the past such as the community in which they were raised.