What makes certain criminals “scary” depends on the specifics of their offenses, the damage they caused, and the level of public terror they inspired. But there are certain murderers who have become historic characters in criminal literature due to the horrific deeds they committed. Below is a detailed exploration of some of the most notorious criminals that the world has ever encountered.
1. Jack the Ripper
One of the most notorious unsolved murder mysteries in history is that of Jack the Ripper. During his 1888 rampage in London’s Whitechapel neighborhood, he savagely killed five different women, all of whom worked as prostitutes. The serial murderer’s popularity grew as he managed to elude arrest while writing threatening letters to law enforcement and the media.
His horrific techniques, which included mutilation, cast him as a mysterious and terrifying character, suggesting he may have had surgical training.
2. John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy was a construction worker who, under different guises, brought young boys to his house and sexually assaulted and killed them. He was known as the “Killer Clown.” His conviction was based on a string of killings he perpetrated in Chicago in the 1970s.
Before his imprisonment, the neighborhood lived in constant fear of Gacy, who had buried most of his victims in the crawl space under his home.
3. Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer, who went under the name “the Milwaukee Cannibal,” murdered seventeen teenage boys and adults between 1978 and 1991. He was guilty of murder, necrophilia, and cannibalism, among other crimes. Dahmer drugged and murdered his victims after luring them to his house.
Photos of severed corpses and other proof of his horrific activities were among the disturbing facts found by police upon his arrest, which stunned the country.
4. Ted Bundy
In the 1970s, American serial murderer Ted Bundy admitted to killing 30 women in many states. Bundy, who was well-known for his brilliance and charisma, would seduce unsuspecting victims before he would viciously assault them.
The dramatic nature of his trial brought it national attention, and the fact that Bundy represented himself in court on occasion only added to the fascination.
5. H.H. Holmes
Many people believe that H.H. Holmes was the first serial murderer in the United States. At the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, he built a hotel complete with gas chambers, soundproof rooms, and trapdoors to murder unsuspecting visitors.
We still suspect Holmes of many more killings, even though he admitted to more than 30. He was a terrifying character due to his craftiness and complex plots.
6. Pedro Lopez
Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia were the sites of more than 300 killings carried out by Pedro Lopez, aka “The Monster of the Andes,” at the end of the twentieth century. Pedro Lopez confessed to murdering many more females from indigenous tribes than the 110 convictions he obtained; he targeted them especially.
Due to his early release from jail, many are concerned that he may still be out there, having served just a portion of his term.
7. Tsutomu Miyazaki
The Japanese animator Tsutomu Miyazaki became notorious as the “Otaku Murderer.” He abducted, raped, and killed four teenage girls in Tokyo in the late 1980s, and then he performed necrophilic practices on their bodies, which horrified the whole country.
8. Andrei Chikatilo
Between 1978 and 1990, Andrei Chikatilo, a serial murderer from the Soviet Union, murdered 53 individuals in Russia. He preyed on children and women, earning the name “The Butcher of Rostov” for his horrific practices of sexual assault and mutilation.
According to Chikatilo’s psychological profile, he committed these heinous murders because he had long suppressed concerns.
9. Dennis Rader (BTK Killer)
Dennis Rader, who tortured Kansas from 1974 until his capture in 2005, detailed ten killings in letters he sent to law enforcement under the moniker BTK (bind, torture, kill).
Particularly terrifying was Rader, who managed to elude detection for decades while leaving behind evidence, all thanks to his careful preparation.
10. Luis Garavito
The late 1990s were a particularly brutal decade for young boys in Colombia, as serial murderer Luis Garavito admitted to more than 300 killings he committed, mostly against those aged 6–16. Garavito, who went by the name “La Bestia” (The Beast), committed heinous acts of torture and murder after luring victims with gifts or promises.
11. Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar, a drug lord from Colombia, was the head of the Medellin Cartel in the latter part of the twentieth century. As he strove to dominate cocaine trafficking routes into the United States, Escobar’s reign of terror went beyond Colombia. His merciless techniques included bribery and killing.
He was one of the most feared criminals in the world, and his brutal tactics killed countless people.
12. Adolf Hitler
Although Hitler is most often associated with being the dictator who started World War II and ordered the Holocaust, his participation in coordinating such a massive slaughter also fits this description.
During a terrible moment in history, millions of people died as a consequence of his ideology’s systematic genocide.
13. Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden was responsible for several terrorist acts, notably the ones on September 11, 2001, which caused widespread panic and tragic loss of life throughout the world. He also founded al-Qaeda.
His capacity to incite radical ideology and plan massive assaults solidified his position as one of the most terrifying personalities of the modern era.
14. Aileen Wuornos
In the years 1989 and 1990, American serial killer Aileen Wuornos killed seven men in Florida. According to Wuornos, she was acting in self-defense after being the victim of many rape attempts while employed as a sex worker.
Mental illness and social deprivation were front and center in the media coverage of her turbulent past and trial.
15. Vlad the Impaler
Vlad Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, was a real person who drew inspiration from history for Bram Stoker’s famous vampire. Vlad, king of Wallachia, was known for his brutal executions and torture techniques, such as pinning his prisoners to enormous wooden stakes.
He became a famous and terrifying figure in medieval Europe due to his reputation for excessive brutality and cunning methods.