Horror in October: Serial Killers, True and Imagined

Serial killers are terrifying, whether conjured from the imaginations of your favorite fiction writers or a true story of real-world murder and mayhem. 

The term “serial killer” is a relatively new term for people who kill more than one person. Prior to the late 20th century, they were called mass murderers (Bonn, 2014). The two crimes, mass murder and serial murder, are distinguishable in that mass murder is the killing of multiple people at one specific time and place, while serial killings take place over a period of time and may occur in the same or multiple locations. Robert Ressler, who worked as investigator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, popularized the terms “serial murder” and “serial killer” in the 1970s (Jenkins,). 

While the term is relatively new, there have been serial killers throughout history. Cases of serial murderers have been documented as early as the first century in Rome and in several medieval European countries (Jenkins). Perhaps the most famous case of an early modern serial killer is Jack the Ripper in late 19th century London. 

Many well-known cases of serial killers have been investigated in true crime books. Serial killers also make fascinatingly disturbing content for horror, suspense, and mystery novels. We've gathered a list of both fiction and nonfiction books about serial killers and hope you find them an enjoyably terrifying read. Get these books scary fast by downloading them through BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, a download service provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) and Kansas Talking Books (KTB) through a variety of platforms. To learn more, visit our website, or contact the KTB office at KTB@ks.gov or 1-800-362-0699.

References:

Nonfiction

Audio

DB 94190 Sons of Cain: a history of serial killers from the stone age to the present by Peter Vronsky 
Historian examines the motives and methods of serial killers and society's attempts to classify and understand them. Uses case studies to highlight murderers from the fifteenth to the twenty-first centuries. Analyzes the ways the surrounding culture has allowed for the development of serial killers. Violence and some descriptions of sex. 2018.

DB 126602 Lady killers: deadly women throughout history by Tori Telfer 
"When you think of serial killers throughout history, the names that come to mind are likely Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, and Ted Bundy. But what about Tillie Klimek, Moulay Hassan, and Kate Bender? The narrative we're comfortable with is one where women are the victims of violent crime--not the perpetrators. In fact, serial killers are thought to be so universally male that, in 1998, FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood infamously declared that There are no female serial killers. Inspired by Telfer's Jezebel column of the same name, Lady Killers disputes that claim and offers fourteen gruesome examples as evidence. Although largely forgotten by history, female serial killers rival their male counterparts in cunning, cruelty, and appetite. Each chapter explores the crimes and history of a different female serial killer and then proceeds to unpack her legacy and her portrayal in the media as well as the stereotypes and sexist cliches that inevitably surround her."-- Goodreads. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 43669 Mindhunter: inside the FBI's elite serial crime unit by John E. Douglas 
Douglas, who pioneered criminal profiling, gives an inside account of the FBI's elite Investigative Support Unit. He recounts some of his most famous cases and describes various tactics used to identify and prosecute serial criminals. Violence, descriptions of sex, and some strong language. Bestseller.

DB 129808 Murderland: crime and bloodlust in the time of serial killers by Caroline Fraser 
"Caroline Fraser grew up in the shadow of Ted Bundy, the most notorious serial murderer of women in American history, surrounded by his hunting grounds and mountain body dumps, in the brooding landscape of the Pacific Northwest. But in the 1970s and '80s, Bundy was just one perpetrator amid an uncanny explosion of serial rape and murder across the region. Why so many? Why so weirdly and nightmarishly gruesome? Why the senseless rise and then sudden fall of an epidemic of serial killing? As Murderland indelibly maps the lives and careers of Bundy and his infamous peers in mayhem--the Green River Killer, the I-5 Killer, the Night Stalker, the Hillside Strangler, even Charles Manson--Fraser's Northwestern death trip begins to uncover a deeper mystery and an overlapping pattern of environmental destruction. At ground zero in Ted Bundy's Tacoma stood one of the most poisonous lead, copper, and arsenic smelters in the world, but it was hardly unique in the West. As Fraser's investigation inexorably proceeds, evidence mounts that the plumes of these smelters not only sickened and blighted millions of lives but also warped young minds, including some who grew up to become serial killers. A propulsive nonfiction thriller, Murderland transcends true-crime voyeurism and noir mythology, taking readers on a profound quest into the dark heart of the real American berserk."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 127983 Serial killers: the minds, methods, and mayhem of history's most notorious murderers by Richard Estep 
"This chilling book looks at the horrifying stories of forty malevolent killers and hundreds of innocent victims, including such notorious homicidal maniacs as John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Jeffery Dahmer, but it also looks at lesser-known and overlooked murderers like Herbert Baumeister, America's I-70 Strangler; Japan's "Anime Killer," Tsutomu Miyazaki; Russia's "Rostov Ripper," Andrei Chikatilo; the "Giggling Granny," Nannie Doss; and many more. It journeys to 16th-century Scotland to meet a clan of cannibals whose existence is still debated by historians today, and to the fog-shrouded alleys of Whitechapel, London, where Jack the Ripper earned his grisly namesake. Along the way, we'll meet the Dating Game Killer, the Milwaukee Cannibal, the Acid Bath Murderer, and other monsters."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DBC18791 The midnight assassin: panic, scandal, and the hunt for America's first serial killer by Skip Hollandsworth 
"A sweeping narrative history of a terrifying serial killer--America's first--who stalked Austin, Texas in 1885. In the late 1800s, the city of Austin, Texas was on the cusp of emerging from an isolated western outpost into a truly cosmopolitan metropolis. But beginning in December 1884, Austin was terrorized by someone equally as vicious and, in some ways, far more diabolical than London's infamous Jack the Ripper. For almost exactly one year, the Midnight Assassin crisscrossed the entire city, striking on moonlit nights, using axes, knives, and long steel rods to rip apart women from every race and class. At the time the concept of a serial killer was unthinkable, but the murders continued, the killer became more brazen, and the citizens' panic reached a fever pitch. Before it was all over, at least a dozen men would be arrested in connection with the murders, and the crimes would expose what a newspaper described as "the most extensive and profound scandal ever known in Austin." And yes, when Jack the Ripper began his attacks in 1888, London police investigators did wonder if the killer from Austin had crossed the ocean to terrorize their own city. With vivid historical detail and novelistic flair, Texas Monthly journalist Skip Hollandsworth brings this terrifying saga to life. The introduction and epilogue are read by the author."--publisher's summary. Adult. Some descriptions of sex. Some strong language. Violence.

DB 127114 Bind, torture, kill: the inside story of BTK, the serial killer next door by Roy Wenzl, Tim Potter, L. Kelly, and Hurst Laviana 
"For thirty-one years, a monster terrorized the residents of Wichita, Kansas. A bloodthirsty serial killer, self-named "BTK"--for "bind them, torture them, kill them"--he slaughtered men, women, and children alike, eluding the police for decades while bragging of his grisly exploits to the media. The nation was shocked when the fiend who was finally apprehended turned out to be Dennis Rader--a friendly neighbor...a devoted husband...a helpful Boy Scout dad...the respected president of his church. Written by four award-winning crime reporters who covered the story for more than twenty years, Bind, Torture, Kill is the most intimate and complete account of the BTK nightmare told by the people who were there from the beginning. With newly released documents, evidence, and information--and with the full cooperation, for the very first time, of the Wichita Police Department's BTK Task Force--the authors have put all the pieces of the grisly puzzle into place, thanks to their unparalleled access to the families of the killer and his victims."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 44273 Journey into darkness: follow the FBI's premier investigative profiler as he penetrates the minds and motives of the most terrifying serial killers by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker 
A former FBI agent explains the technique of behavioral profiling of violent criminals to gain understanding of their motives and actions. Recounts cases in which this technique was used. Strong language and violence. Bestseller.

Braille

BR 23974 The case of the murderous Dr. Cream: the hunt for a Victorian era serial killer by Dean Jobb 
Profile of a nineteenth-century Canadian doctor who was convicted of murders in the United States and England, and is believed to have also murdered people in Canada through the use of poison. Discusses criminal investigation techniques of the late 1800s and his 1892 trial in London. Violence. 2021.

BR 09122 The search for the Green River killer by Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen 
In the early 1980s, the Strip in Washington state had become an outdoor sex market. Suddenly women were disappearing--their bodies turning up in the Green River. By the time the third body was found in August 1982, the Green River police department knew a serial killer was responsible. By the end of the 1980s, forty-nine bodies had been found and the police still had no suspects. Violence. Bestseller.

BR 20629 Villains, scoundrels, and rogues: incredible true tales of mischief and mayhem by Paul Martin 
Thirty portraits of little-known scoundrels throughout history, whose misdeeds range from unspeakable acts of evil to unscrupulous behavior includes the notorious Ed Gein, the Wisconsin serial killer who was the inspiration for Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 2014.

Fiction

Audio

DB 85299 The killer in me by Margot Harrison 
Every time seventeen-year-old Nina falls asleep, she connects with a serial killer and helplessly becomes a witness to the murders. Determined to stop him before he kills again, Nina, along with her friend Warren, embarks on a dangerous manhunt. Violence and strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2016.

DB 131594 Killer on the road by Stephen Graham Jones (In process) 
"Sixteen-year-old Harper has decided to run away from home after she has another blow-out argument with her mother. However, her two best friends, little sister, and ex-boyfriend all stop her from hitchhiking her way up Route 80 in Wyoming by joining her on an intervention disguised as a road trip. What they don't realize is that Harper has been marked by a very unique serial killer who's been trolling the highway for the past three years, and now the killer is after all of them in this fast-paced and deadly chase novel that will have your heart racing well above the speed limit as the interstate becomes a graveyard." -- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 103845 Survive the night by Riley Sager 
1991. After the murder of her best friend by a serial killer, called the Campus Killer, college student Charlie shares a drive home to Ohio with Josh, whom she met through the college's ride board. The more Charlie learns about Josh, the more she wonders if he's the Campus Killer. Some strong language, some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

DB 77866 Cain's blood by Geoffrey Girard 
Six boys, who are clones of the world's worst serial killers, escape a science research facility in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Former special ops soldier Shawn Castillo tries to capture them before their sadistic desires leave a path of bodies behind. Violence, strong language, and descriptions of sex. 2013.

DB 123956 Blood like mine by Stuart Neville 
"On a snowy December night, single mother Rebecca Carter drives her van into a snowbank to avoid hitting an elk on a desolate mountain highway. She is at the end of her rope, out of money and food. Still, she refuses help from a man in a pickup truck--Rebecca's adolescent daughter, Moonflower, is on the run from a grisly secret, and the last thing they can afford is to be remembered by anyone they meet. Meanwhile, Special Agent Marc Donner of the FBI has spent the better part of two years hunting down a gruesome serial killer who drains victims of blood before severing their spinal cords, leaving a trail of bodies throughout the country. As Agent Donner's investigation brings him closer and closer to where Rebecca and Moonflower are hiding out, in the foothills of Colorado, the life that Rebecca has fought so hard to hold together for her daughter becomes increasingly imperiled. In this deadly, high-stakes game of cat and mouse, nobody is safe and nothing is certain--not even the line between predator and prey."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 115657 Dead of winter by Darcy Coates 
"There are eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run. When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm. She couldn't be more wrong. Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing ... only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport ... and they're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb." -- Provided by publisher. -- Some violence, some strong language and some descriptions of sex.

DB 110958 The mill by Cailyn Lloyd 
"As a psychic, seeing ghosts is routine for Lili. She isn't surprised to discover spirits lurking in the renovated paper mill where she just bought an apartment. What she doesn't expect is the dark, sinister presence under the floor and the serial killer who is prowling about the mill. When a woman is found murdered and another goes missing, Lili tries to work with one of the spirits-a young girl long dead-to expose the psychopath. But not everyone can be trusted and soon, Lili fears the killer will flee, never to be found and free to strike again." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Braille

BR 23950 Chasing the boogeyman by Richard Chizmar 
In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town, and the gruesome evidence points to a serial killer. But soon, a rumor spreads that the evil stalking local teens may not be entirely human. Violence, strong language, and descriptions of sex. 2021.

BR 26341 Sleep tight by James Markert 
"Father Silence once terrorized the rural town of Twisted Tree, disguising himself as a priest to prey on the most vulnerable members of society. When the police finally found his "House of Horrors," they uncovered nineteen bodies and one survivor-a boy now locked away in a hospital for the criminally insane. Nearly two decades later, Father Silence is finally put to death, but by the next morning, the detective who made the original arrest is found dead. A new serial killer is taking credit for the murder and calling himself the Outcast."-- Publisher description. -- Violence, strong language and descriptions of sex.

BR 23616 Later by Stephen King 
An NYPD detective draws Jamie, a young boy born with the unnatural ability to communicate with the dead, into the pursuit of a killer. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine. Violence, strong language, and descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2021.