America's Most Notorious Serial Killers

A Pilgrimage of Blood and Tears

Since the very founding of America, serial killers have relentlessly preyed upon both the vulnerable and unexpecting.

The accompanying map illustrates just a handful of the hotspots where these monsters chose to terrorize.

We begin in the Golden State.

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Not to be outdone, we now aim our attention to the central midwest, in particular the Badger State, otherwise known as Wisconsin.

Ed Gein, known throughout the media as “The Butcher of Plainfield”, enjoyed exhuming corpses from local graveyards and fashioning trophies from their skin and bones. This body snatcher confessed to two murders in the 1950s and was the inspiration behind popular Hollywood films such as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs.

And whoever said nothing exciting ever happens in the great city of Milwaukee? Well, come meet Jeffrey Dahmer, our local, exquisitely charming cannibal. Having both murdered and dismembered 17 young men from 1979 to 1991, Dahmer to this day is perhaps most well known for his favorite pastime hobby … eating people. But that’s not all, folks! Dahmer also enjoyed long walks on the beach, necrophilia, writing letters to his grandmother, decapitation, and assisting the disabled pouring hydrochloric acid into people's brains. Yay for fun!

But I hope you didn’t think the party ended there. Because our next bogeyman actually specialized in parties! That’s right. John Wayne Gacy, “The Clown Killer”, fulfilled his nickname by dressing up as a clown and then attending birthday parties, children’s hospitals and a plethora of charitable events. Throughout the early 1970’s, Gacy assaulted and murdered 33 young men in Norwood Park, just outside the metropolitan Chicago area. His favorite magic trick? Asking unassuming victims to strap on handcuffs before raping, torturing and eventually strangling them to death. Call me old fashioned, but this is a party I think I’ll pass on.

Just a few miles away we have our most senior maniac, H.H. Holmes. Born in 1861 in the quiet town of Gilmanton New Hampshire, Holmes confessed to 27 murders which he all committed in a mixed use building he owned close to the world famous World’s Fair in Chiacgo. While 27 victims puts Holmes on the higher side of the mortality count, it is speculated he may have killed as many as 200 people.

The next time someone says “the east coast is the beast coast”, ask them if they are referring to our next schizoid of sorts, Albert Fish. A man of many nicknames including “The Gray Man”, “The Werewolf of Wysteria”, “The Brooklyn Vampire”, “The Moon Maniac” and “The Boogey Man”, Fish once claimed to have a child in every state. A notorious serial killer, rapist and cannibal, he one time stated his victim count surpassed triple digits, despite eventually only confessing to three he all committed in the 1920’s in the city of Brooklyn New York.

Last but not least we have perhaps our most well known serial killer on our list, Ted Bundy. Known for his intellect, charm and dashing good looks, Bundy committed over 30 homicides across multiple states throughout the early 1970s. By meeting young women in public places and pretending to have a handicap or disability, Ted would lure his unexpecting victims back to his home where he would murder, decapitate and then have sex with their headless bodies. His biggest crime? Attending law school. (I joke).

From Birth to Death: A Murder Migration

Perhaps it’s amusing to visualize not just where our subjects murdered, but where they were born and raised before they really grew into their own. The following maps illustrates the geographical distance between where they had their first breath, and where they took their victim’s last.

Bundy, a Burlington Vermont native, covers the most ground on our map by far, reaching all the way to Washington, Utah, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Idaho and California.

Manson, hailing proud from Cincinnati Ohio, was able to extend his evil influence all the way to the city of Los Angeles. H.H. Holmes also makes good ground here, originating in New Hampshire and ending in Illinois.

Remember Richard Ramirez? From El Paso Texas to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Gary Ridgway? Salt Lake City Utah to the pacific northeast.

Albert Fish (a.k.a. the man with many nicknames)? From Washington DC to Brooklyn New York.

How about that Zodiac character? Well, remember he was never caught, so we don’t exactly know anything about him (or her).

But not all of our subjects like to travel. Some get homesick ya know.

Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy all murdered in their own childhood backyards. Interesting enough, all three were born and raised in the friendly midwest! What’s also interesting here is a majority of the murder migrations originate east and eventually make their way out west. Perhaps In-N-Out isn’t as good as the hype suggests it is.

What’s that bar chart below the map you may ask? That can be used to answer the question, "In any given year, how many serial killers are active in the United States?" (Source: Radford University/FGCU Serial Killer Database). The 1980s were a weird time.

A Choropleth of Chloroform

Finally we get to our last map. But please don’t be sad. We still have a ways to go.

While the previous illustrations were better accompanied with some text, this one is a bit more straightforward, simply measuring serial killer victims by state (Source: Worldpopulationreview.com).

I always knew to stay away from Texas.

A Spider Plot for Sociopaths

John Wayne Gacy may have depth, but Jeffrey Dahmer sure has breadth. This is a radar chart that illustrates each subject’s proclivity to engage in that respective method of assault based off victim accounts, histories and various forensic reports.

Visualizing Distances with Arc Diagrams

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And that doesn’t even include some of his other ambitious crusades, including homicidal trips to Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Florida, Oregon and California.

While he perhaps never accumulated the United Airlines miles Bundy accrued, Gary Ridgway was no traveling slouch either. This sicko traveled from his home town of Salt Lake City Utah to the great state of Washington to murder 49 people.

But we once again can’t forget about our subjects who didn’t exactly feel the need to travel cross country. Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer all stayed close to home to fulfill their favorite pastime hobbies. The other arcs represent all the other assassins who decided to split the difference.

America: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave Mentally Insane

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These numbers are even more terrifying when we combine them globally.

Three Dimensional Coffins: Who Reigns Supreme?

Getting back to our villains, it’s time we visualized total victim count in a different geometry. But first, just remember, while some prefer quantity, others take pride in quality. I’m looking at you Jeffrey Dahmer.

So the final tally is (Source: Wikipedia: Confirmed, Not Claimed and/or Suspected).

Drumroll, please ...

10th Place: Ed Gein: 2 Kills

9th Place: Albert Fish: 3 Kills

8th Place: Zodiac Killer: 5 Kills

7th Place: Charles Manson: 9 Kills (Despite not doing it himself)

6th Place: Richard Ramirez: 14 Kills

5th Place: Jeffrey Dahmer: 17 Kills

4th Place: H.H. Holmes: 27 Kills

3rd Place: Ted Bundy: 30 Kills

Runner Up: John Wayne Gacy: 33 Kills

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: Gary Ridgway: 49 Kills