Top 10 Biggest Serial Killers in World History
Top 10 Greatest Serial Killers in World History - They are usually cold-blooded psychopaths who have absolutely no problem taking other people's lives, sometimes for no other reason beyond their own pleasure. Of the unfortunate serial killers throughout this history, a few have managed to stand out. Maybe it's because they've never been caught (Jack the Ripper, The Zodiac Killer, etc.), because they're atypical killers (Ted Bundy, etc.) or because of their inhuman ways of doing things (Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, etc.). But the following list ranks and focuses on the serial killers who have killed the most people.
Jack the Ripper illustration, perhaps the best known serial killer in history, but not among the top 10 when it comes to the number of victims
Note: Only those who have directly killed people are counted here. The leaders of nations that have commanded the deaths of sometimes millions (Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, etc.) are therefore NOT included in the ranking. Serial killers who are doctors and medical professionals and have intentionally killed their patients (most notably Harold Shipman) are also NOT included in this list of serial killers.
The 10 biggest serial killers in history (by number of victims):
The 10 biggest serial killers in history (by number of victims):
1. Elizabeth Bathory
Elizabeth Bathory
Also known as "The Blood Countess"
Killed about 650 people (all girls and women)
Born: 7 August 1560 in Nyirbator, Kingdom of Hungary
Died: 21 August 1614 in Csejthe, Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Cachtice, Slovakia)
Nationality: Hungarian
Occupation: Countess of the noble Bathory Family
Kill Time: 1590 - 1610
Location of the murders: Cachtice Castle in present-day Cachtice, Slovakia
How it worked: Tortured and killed women and girls (usually orphans, widows, and peasant women)
Punishment: Arrested in 1610 and sentenced to life in prison (died in prison 4 years later)
2. Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Rais
Kills about 600 people (all teenage boys & girls)
Born: 1405 in Champtocé-sur-Loire, Duchy of Anjou, Kingdom of France
Died: 26 October 1440 in Nantes, Principality of Brittany, Kingdom of France
Nationality: French
Occupation: Lord, knight and commander in the French Army during the Hundred Years' War
Kill Time: 1432 - 1440
Locations of the murders: Across the North West of France (especially in Anjou & Brittany)
How it works: Kidnaps, rapes, and kills young boys and girls from poor families he encounters across the North West of France.
Punishment: Captured in September 1440 and hanged to death a month later
3. Peter Niers
Peter Niers
Killed 544 relatives
Born: 1540 (place of birth unknown)
Died: September 16, 1581 in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, kurpfalz, Holy Roman Empire
Nationality Germany
Occupation: Thief
Murder Time: 1566-1581
The location of the murder: Across the southwestern regions of the Holy Roman Empire (present-day southwestern Germany and eastern France)
How it works: Robbes and kills his victims, sometimes cannibals (eating pregnant female victims)
Punishment: Captured on September 13, 1581, and alive at the wheel three days later
4. Amelia Dyer
Amelia Dyer
Also known as “The Ogress of Reading”
Kills around 400 people (all teenage boys & girls)
Born: (exact date unknown) 1836 in Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Died: June 10, 1896 in London, England, Great Britain
British nationality
Occupation: Nurse & newborn babysitter
Murder time: 1880 - 1896
Location of murder: Bristol, England and later in Reading, England
How it works: Murdered the orphaned and unwanted children she previously adopted for financial reasons
punishment: arrested in April 1896 and hanged to death about two months later
5. Pedro Lopez
Pedro Lopez
Also known as "The Beast of the Andes"
Killed about 350 people (all underage girls)
Born: October 8, 1948 in Santa Isabel, Tolima, Colombia
(probably still alive)
Nationality: Colombian
Occupation: None (occasionally car thief)
Time to kill: 1969 - 2002 (possibly continuing)
Location of Murder: Andes Region of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador
How it works: Rape and murder of underage girls
Penalty: Arrested in 1978 in Peru but released, arrested in 1980 in Ecuador and sentenced to prison until 1994, then deported to Colombia, where he was declared insane and was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital in Bogota, Colombia. Released from there in 1998.
In 2002, he was suspected of murdering another girl and is currently wanted by Interpol. However, his whereabouts are still unknown.
6. John Johnson
John Johnson
Also known as "Johnson eats liver"
Killed about 300 people (all members of the Native American tribe Ravens of Montana)
Born: 1 July 1824 in Little York, New Jersey, USA
Died: January 21, 1900 in Santa Monica, California, USA
Nationality: American
Occupation: Soldier, Woodman & Mountain Man
Time to kill : 1847 - 1864
Locations of the murders: Across Montana
How it works: Ambushes and murders members of the Crow tribe in Montana to avenge the wife killed by Crow; allegedly ate the victim's liver (unconfirmed)
Penalty: None (died of natural causes after returning to California)
7. Herman Mudgett
Herman Mudgett
Also known as "HH Holmes"
Killed about 200 people
Born: May 15, 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, USA
Died: May 7, 1896 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Nationality: American
Occupation: Entrepreneur & insurance scammer
Time of murder: unknown beginning - 1894
Murder Locations: Mostly in Chicago, USA, some in some other places in USA and also in Toronto, Canada
How it works: Killed random men, women, children, including friends and family members, and made their bodies disappear afterwards. In Chicago, he buys a two-story building that he turns into his "murder castle" and lures his victims there.
Punishment: Arrested in 1894 and hanged to death two years later
8. Daniel Camargo
Daniel Camargo
Killed about 150 people (all underage girls)
Born: January 22, 1930 in Anolaima, Cundinamarca, Colombia
Died: November 13, 1994 in Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador
Nationality: Colombian
Occupation: Street vendor & occasional thief
Time of murder: Early 1970s - 1986
Location of murder: Barranquilla, Colombia & Guayaquil, Ecuador
How it works: Lure young girls from poor families into the woods, where he first raped and then strangled them to death.
Punishment: Arrested in 1974 in Colombia and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but he escaped in 1984 and fled to Ecuador, where he continued his murderous act. Recaptured in 1986 in Ecuador and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
In 1994, he was killed in an Ecuadorian prison by an inmate who was the grandson of one of the girls Camargo murdered.
9. Luis Garavito
Luis Garavito
Also known as “La Bestia”
Killed about 140 people (all underage males)
Born: January 25, 1957 in Genoa, Quindio, Colombia
(still alive)
Nationality: Colombian
Occupation: Criminal gang member & ordinary worker
Murder time: 1992 - 1999
Murder Sites : All throughout Colombia
How it works: Target young boys 6-16 from poor families or orphanages, then rape and kill them
Punishment: Arrested in 1999 and sentenced to 1,853 years in prison (still being held to this day)
10. Thug Behram
Thug Behram
Also known as "King of thugs"
Killed about 125 people (all men)
Born: (exact date unknown) 1765 (place of birth unknown)
Died: (exact date unknown) 1840 in Jabalpur, British-owned India
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Leader of the Thuggee sect
Time to kill: 1790 - 1840
Location of Murder: North-Central India
How it works: With his followers ("Thuggees") he ambushed and robbed travelers and merchants, then strangled to death in a ritual
Punishment: Captured in 1840 by British officers and hanged to death the same year
The 10 biggest serial killers in history
10 BIGGEST Serial Killers IN HISTORY:
1. ELIZABETH BATHORY
~650 murders
2. GILLES DE RAIS
~600 murders
3. PETER NIERS
544 murders
4. AMELIA DYER
~400 murders
5. PEDRO LOPEZ
~ 350 murders
6. JOHN JOHNSON
~ 300 murders
7. HERMAN MUDGETT
~200 murders
8. DANIEL CAMARGO
~ 150 murders
9. LUIS GARAVITO
~ 140 murders
10. THUG BEHRAM
125 murders
Top 10 biggest serial killers in world history