12 Horrifying Books About History’s Most Notorious Serial Killers

I’m always amazed at how many books are available about grizzly murders and the lives and trials of serial killers. There are countless books about some of the most notorious killers like Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, or Jeffrey Dahmer. I think we are curious about the extreme morbidity, and maybe we want to understand what can cause a person to kill with no remorse, or maybe we’re hoping to protect ourselves from psychopaths by knowing more about them. Whatever the case, if you happen to be someone who can’t get enough of these books, check out the list below and hopefully you’ll see some titles you’ve never read before.

 

1. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry

Bugliosi was the prosecuting attorney in the Manson murders trial, and in this book he recounts the disturbing story of mind control and brutal murder with a detective level of detail.

2. The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer by Anthony Bruno

Richard Kuklinski took morbid joy in his mob contract to kill. Known as the Iceman because he hid the victim’s bodies in an ice-cream truck freezer, the dangerous killer was hard to stop. Read from the perspective of Dominick Polifrone, who put his own life at risk to put a stop to the merciless murderer.

3. The Spider and the Fly: A Reporter, a Serial Killer, and the Meaning of Murder by Claudia Rowe

As a journalist, Claudia Rowe was compelled by the facts of the Francois murders, and as a justice-determined woman she was drawn to the darkness and cruelty exhibited by the killer. Read on as Rowe recounts her fascinating four-year correspondence with convicted serial killer Kendall Francois.

4. Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Co-ed Killer by Jack Rosewood

Kemper’s story is particularly chilling because he was known for necrophilia and cannibalism. After his murdering spree of six women in Santa Cruz, his grandparents, and his mother’s best friend, he then killed his mother, whom he vehemently hated, and turned himself in.

5. I: The Creation of A Serial Killer by Jack Olsen

Journalist Jack Olsen takes readers through the terrifying life of serial murderer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as “The Happy Face Killer.” Olsen offers readers access to interviews and diaries of Jesperson to spin a chilling, up-close perspective.

6. The Devil’s Rooming House: The True Story of America’s Deadliest Female Serial Killer by M. William Phelps

In the 1900s, Amy Archer-Gilligan was the owner and operator of the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids. Archer-Gilligan was a respectable widow earning her keep, or so it seemed. In truth, the depraved widow had killed both her husbands, and continued her killing sprees daily by serving her patients poisonous cocktails of arsenic and lemonade. Join Phelps as he unravels the story that shocked the inhabitants of a small New England town.

7. Suddenly Gone: The Kansas Murders of Serial Killer Richard Grissom by Dan Mitrione

When three women suddenly disappeared from their homes in Witchita, Kansas in 1989, panic engulfed the city as it became clear that a serial killer was terrorizing the town. Dan Mitrione is a former FBI agent, and he brings readers along as he uncovers the twisted reasoning behind the killings committed by convicted killer Richard Grissom.

8. Monster: My True Story by Aileen Wuornos with Christopher Berry-Dee

Aileen Wuornos tells her own story in this autobiography of the woman known for killing her gentlemen callers in her work as a prostitute.

9. The Good Doctor by Wensley Clarkson

Clarkson reveals the terrifying story about a country doctor who was more content killing people rather than healing them.

10. Forever and Five Days: The Chilling True Story of Love, Betrayal, and Serial Murder in Grand Rapids, Michigan by Lowell Cauffiel

Two lovers working as nursing aids together at a nursing home participated in a pact to ‘accidentally’ kill patients. Even though the women didn’t keep their slayings secret, few people believed the evil truth.

11. Butcher Baker: A True Account of a Serial Murderer by Walter Gilmour and Leland E. Hale

For Robert Hansen, being a baker was merely an auspicious cover. His true passion was murdering and butchering women in his town of Anchorage, Alaska. This book congratulates the extraordinary efforts of the Alaska State Troopers who finally convicted the demented baker.

12. The Serial Killer Letters by Jennifer Furio

This book offers a revealing and up-close perspective as Furio compiles her letters of correspondence with infamous serial killers.

After seeing the wealth of material out there about serial killers, I’m curious to know, what fascinates you most about these twisted minds?

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Featured image via The National Enquirer