When I was younger, I was fascinated with serial killers. I wasn't obsessed with the killing, I was obsessed with the minds of serial killers. During my formative years there was a plethora of television shows and movies that depicted serial killers as these reclusive diabolical geniuses. Every move a serial killer would make was thought out in advance with contingencies put in place in case anything went wrong. They were always 5 moves ahead of the cops and the only time they ever got caught was if they turned themselves in.
I could identify with the killers in movies and TV because I hated people for the same reasons they hated people. The people they killed were mean, stupid, abhorrent individuals. Further, the serial killer had thought provoking ideas on the way the world should be, but he faced limitations that didn't allow him to implement his revolutionary plans. Real serial killers don't compare to the generous way that they are portrayed on television. When they say serial killers are of above average intelligence, that doesn't mean that they are geniuses, that just means that most of them, if they tried could probably achieve a college degree.
The reason serial killers kill is not because the world has overlooked their inherent specialness, they kill because they are mentally ill. If they aren't sick, then the reason they kill is simply because they are good at nothing else. Why do you think some men get good at bowling, pool or darts? It's because they have little to no athletic ability but their desire to compete and achieve pushes them into an arena where they can succeed. Many killers I imagine come to the same crossroad in life. They realize that what they are passionate about they are no good at. By accident or out of rage/frustration they make their first kill. From killing they get a feeling of power and success, one they never had before. The power that they feel is fleeting because after the kill subsides they are reintroduced into the real world, a harsh and apathetic place. In order to feel special and powerful, they must kill again and so they plot their next move.
Charles Manson didn't become the next Bob Dylan because he sucked as musician, not because people didn't get his music. Sure, the Zodiac killer used symbol substitution but his methods nor his messages were very complex. Dahmer? a sex deprived homosexual who didn't have enough pick up lines to get guys into bed so he bludgeoned them instead. Gacy buried the bodies of his victims underneath his own house, what kind of genius plants evidence on himself?
There is no serial killer who has made any true contributions to the scientific or artistic worlds before going on a killing spree. The reason serial killers kill is because they want, love, fame or recognition but they don't have the skills necessary to earn it, so they kill people instead.
