10 Disturbing Serial Killers That Will Haunt Your Thoughts

We're counting down our top 10 list of the 10 disturbing serial killers who will haunt your thoughts today on True Crime. We'll be looking at the most well-known serial killers on this list, whose horrifying tales will keep you up all night. Who is the most dreadful serial killer you are aware of? Post a comment with their name.

10. Robert Hansen

Robert Hansen participated in hunting as a teenager to get away from his difficult home situation. But as he aged, his prey changed from animals to people. He would kidnap women, frequently sex workers, attack them, and then fly or drive them into the bush.

He would hunt them down like prey and play with their lives. Hansen, who the media dubbed "The Butcher Baker," was found to have killed at least 17 women and abused at least 17 others. Cindy Paulson, a young sex worker, was supposed to be on the list in 1983.

However, she was able to flee as he was tracking his plane, which allowed the police to apprehend him. He was given a 461-year sentence, and after serving 31 years, he passed away in custody.

9. Israel Keyes

Unknown killers are the most dreadful to both the public and the police. How about one who was also trained by the American Army to make matters worse? Israel Keyes' case was one such instance. Keyes had set up death kits across the nation, giving him access to tools wherever he chose to attack someone.

The FBI was able to track his bank account activity after he killed Samantha Koenig, and made an arrest as a result of the ransom demand. Israel Keyes, 34, was detained by police in Texas, 4,000 miles away.

But as soon as he was in custody, authorities learned that Keyes had killed other people. Keyes committed suicide in 2012, just before going on trial, and he took with him information that could have helped solve additional cases.

8. John Wayne Gacy

People often have a fear of clowns, and the case of John Wayne Gacy didn't do anything to ease those fears. Gacy often went to parties and events as a clown, but behind the scenes, he was a serial killer who killed boys and men.

In 1978, Gacy would tell his lawyers what he had done because he thought the police were on to him. The police had everything they needed to search his house, where they would find several bodies in the crawl space.

He was accused of killing 33 young men and would spend 14 years on death row before being put to death with a lethal injection.

7. Marcel Petiot

In the 1940s, when Germany controlled France, a doctor named Marcel Petiot preyed on people who were trying to escape persecution. He later said he was working for the resistance, even though there was no proof. Under the name Dr. Eugene, Petiot set up a fake escape route. He gave those who were running a fake vaccine that had cyanide in it, then stole their things and got rid of their bodies. Petiot was put to death in 1946 after 23 bones were found. He may have killed about 60 people all together.

6. Jeffrey Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer started a horrible murdering spree in his late teens. The majority of his later crimes entailed terrible actions to the body, and all of his victims were men or boys. Tracy Edwards was invited back to Dahmer's apartment in 1991 with the promise of drink and cash for pictures.

Edwards, though, recognized something wasn't right and made it away. He signaled for police, who went to Dahmer's residence and found some disturbing evidence that led to Dahmer's arrest. He was given a life sentence after being found guilty of 15 murders. He was, however, fatally attacked by fellow prisoner Christopher Scarver in 1994.

5. David Parker Ray

Sometimes murderers go the additional, dreadful mile with their scheme. A trailer that David Parker Ray designated as his "toy box" was modified. The trailer was equipped with his violent tools and soundproofed. With the help of accomplices, including his girlfriend Cynthia Hendy, he would kidnap women, abuse them for weeks in the trailer, and likely terminate their lives.

After three days, a woman in 1999 was able to escape the toy box with the assistance of a neighbor. As soon as possible, the police detained Ray and Hendy. Ray received a 224-year prison term as part of a plea agreement, while Hendy, who testified against her former partner, received a 36-year sentence.

Ray killed at least 60 women, according to some estimates, while the exact number is unknown. He alleged to have kidnapped 40 ladies from all around the United States. He was never charged and he never will be because no bodies were ever discovered. Ray passed away after a heart attack in prison in 2002.

4. Fred and Rosemary West

Serial killers can sometimes be found in couples. Although Rose's first victim was allegedly Fred's stepdaughter, Fred had committed murders before meeting Rosemary. After that, the two continued on the rampage, killing nine additional individuals along with West's first wife Catherine Costello and their daughter Heather West.

Numerous of the dead were interred on their lands. The cops discovered proof of the violence after looking into assault allegations against the pair. Despite being formally accused of 12 murders, more are thought to have occurred. West committed suicide in 1995, just before his trial, and Rosemary received a life sentence.

3. Albert Fish

Nearly a century ago, the "Gray Man" and even the "Boogeyman" were among the names given to a murderer who was on the loose in New York. It's really not that far off. Albert Fish was a sick person who preyed on kids. Even though we aren't able to specifically name the atrocities committed against children, they are terrible.

Even more disturbingly, the insane Fish sent a letter outlining his actions to the mother of one of his victims. Fish was apprehended in 1934 after ten years of his deeds when witnesses claimed to have seen him with kidnapped children.

Fish would acknowledge the killings while also asserting that he had more than 100 victims. He was given the death penalty at his trial the following year, and it was carried out in 1936.

2. Harold Shipman

Doctors are supposed to be trustworthy individuals. This makes the Harold Shipman case all the more terrifying. He was an English general practitioner who exclusively treated patients for the purpose of taking their lives. One of his patients passed away unexpectedly in 1998, and Shipman received a sizable inheritance thanks to a will that the patient's family was unaware of.

When the police looked into the doctor, they discovered forged documents. Further investigation revealed that several of his patients appeared to have died from diamorphine overdoses. Shipman was accused of killing 15 patients, many of them elderly women, in 1999.

There may have been as many as 250 victims after he was given a life sentence in prison. He was discovered at 6:20 in the morning having committed suicide in his prison cell.

1. Pedro Lopez

What could possibly be worse than a serial killer? How about a known person who authorities are now unable to find? Pedro Lopez, who was born in Colombia and went by the moniker "Monster of the Andes," committed numerous murders in South America.

It seemed improbable that one individual could have committed so much violence. If Lopez were telling the truth, he would be one of history's most active serial killers. Lopez was detained in Ecuador in 1980 after attempting to kidnap someone. He was shortly accused of 110 homicides. Lopez allegedly said that he may have had more than 300 victims.

Before it was removed out of bad taste, the Guinness World Records had him listed as the most prolific serial killer in 2006. Unfortunately, Lopez was deemed sane and released for good behavior in 1998. But as of 2002, his whereabouts are a mystery after he was connected to another homicide.