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(#1) The Zodiac Killer
Who he was:
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Zodiac Killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay area. Although only five murders were confirmed to be the work of the Zodiac, letters that were allegedly from him took credit for nearly 40 murders. His identity remains unknown.Who it was sent to:
The Zodiac (or an impostor) sent this creepy Halloween card to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery in 1970. Avery had been covering the Zodiac case for the paper.Creepiest part:
"Peek-a-boo you are doomed." -
(#2) Donald Harvey
- 04-15-1952
Who he was:
Donald Harvey served as an orderly in hospitals in Ohio and Kentucky during the 1970s and 1980s. It was during this time that he found creative ways to poison at least 30 patients. Before he was discovered, Harvey had been given the nickname "Angel of Death" by a co-worker because he always seemed to be nearby when a patient died.Who it was sent to:
Harvey sent this lengthy letter to someone who wrote to him in prison.Creepiest part:
This morbid joke that Harvey included with the letter: "Lord, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, change the things I can and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill because they pissed me off." -
(#3) H. H. Holmes
- 05-16-1861
Who he was:
It's unknown how many people Holmes killed as he was very meticulous. He confessed to 27 murders but is believed to have killed nearly 200 people. Most of these murders happened during the 1893 World's Fair at his infamous "murder castle," a hotel he built in Chicago that was filled with death traps.Who it was sent to:
From prison, Holmes arranged to have his confession letters published exclusively in the Philadelphia Inquirer.Creepiest part:
“I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing." -
(#4) Albert Fish
- 05-19-1870
Who he was:
An unassuming, grandfatherly looking man, Fish was actually a serial killer, kidnapper, and cannibal. Although he only confessed to three murders in the 1920s, he would later claim that he had killed at least 100 children.Who it was sent to:
Fish sent this letter anonymously in 1934 to the family of Grace Budd, a 10-year-old girl he killed, cooked, and ate in 1928. The letter detailed how he became a cannibal and how he killed Budd.Creepiest part:
"I choked her to death, then cut her in small pieces so I could take my meat to my rooms." -
(#5) John Allen Muhammad And Lee Boyd Malvo (Beltway Snipers)
Who they were:
In October 2002, the Washington, DC, metro area was rocked by a series of sniper attacks along busy roadways. In total, 17 people were killed by duo John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo during three weeks of terror.Who it was sent to:
This four-page extortion letter was likely written by Muhammad and was left in the woods near Ashland, VA, following a shooting in the area. The letter details how the snipers' previous attempts to make contact with authorities proved unsuccessful and outlined how they wanted $10 million to stop the killings.Creepiest part:
"P.S. your children are not safe anywhere at any time." -
(#6) Jack the Ripper
Who he was:
The serial killer dubbed by the British press "Jack The Ripper" killed and mutilated at least five women in the Whitechapel neighborhood of London in 1888. The killer's identity remains unknown.Who it was sent to:
This letter, popularly known as the "Dear Boss" letter, was sent to the Central News Agency of London. Ripper scholars still debate whether this letter was sent by the real killer or an impostor. In this letter, the writer details how he killed and how he wanted to use a victim's blood to write the letter.Creepiest part:
"I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha." -
(#7) The Axeman of New Orleans
Who he was:
In 1918 and 1919, at least eight individuals in New Orleans (primarily Italian immigrants or Italian-Americans) were killed by a mysterious man with an ax. Making things even more unsettling, in most of these cases, the victims were killed with axes they themselves owned. The identity of the Axeman remains unknown.Who it was sent to:
On March, 13, 1919, a letter from the Axeman, addressed to "Esteemed Mortal," was published in several New Orleans newspapers. In it, he explained that he would kill again on March 19, 15 minutes after midnight, but would spare anyone who was listening to jazz music. Unsurprisingly, many parties were held that night to ward off the Axeman and no murders occurred.Creepiest part:
"At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens, for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death." -
(#8) Gary Ridgway
- 02-18-1949
Who he was:
The most prolific serial killer in the United States to date, Ridgway was a truck painter who confessed to killing 70-85 women in Washington in the 1980s and 1990s before he was caught in 2001 due to DNA testing. The media gave him his alias after his first few victims were discovered near Washington's Green River.Who it was sent to:
Following his arrest in 2001, Ridgway wrote letters to his wife almost daily. When he finally confessed to the police, he wrote a letter revealing the truth to her.Creepiest part:
"I made a prayer to God I will stop killing if I don’t get caught, I had to live with all that in me all those years. I couldn't tell you. I was like a alcoholic dry for a time. Then fell off the wagon. I miss you so much." -
(#9) John George Haigh
- 07-24-1909
Who he was:
In the 1940s, Haigh killed six people and then dissolved their bodies in acid. It's believed that this English killer murdered for money to attain a lavish lifestyle. However, at his trial, he pled insanity, claiming that drinking the blood of his victims caused him to go mad. The court didn't believe his claim and he was sentenced to hang.Who it was sent to:
Haigh wrote this letter to his girlfriend, Barbara Stephens, after she visited him in prison.Creepiest part:
"How foolish of you to ask why I hadn't murdered you. Of course I had millions of opportunities I know that. But the idea, never crossed my mind I wouldn't have hurt a hair on your head." -
(#10) Jeffrey Dahmer
- 05-21-1960
Who he was:
Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men and teenage boys. He is well known because he would often perform acts of cannibalism and necrophilia on his victims' corpses.Who it was sent to:
Dahmer wrote this letter to the judge in 1989 asking that he be released from prison following 10 months imprisonment on a child molestation conviction. He said that his actions were deplorable and promised to be a better member of society. Dahmer was released in March 1990 and went on to kill 13 more people.Creepiest part:
"The world has enough misery in it without my adding more to it. " -
(#11) Dennis Nilsen
- 11-23-1945
Who he was:
Often referred to as the British Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Nilsen was a seemingly mild-mannered civil servant who, during a five-year period beginning in 1978, killed at least 12 young men and preserved their corpses.Who it was sent to:
Interestingly, Nilsen wrote this "self-appraisal letter" to himself six weeks after he had been arrested for his crimes. Unlike similar serial killer confession letters, Nilsen's letter is cold and introspective, rather than boastful.Creepiest part:
"I have felt that since my teenage days that I am a creative psychopath." -
(#12) Jane Toppan
- 01-01-1857
Who she was:
Jane Toppan was a murderous nurse who worked in Massachusetts in the late 19th century. During her nursing career, Toppan engaged in sadistic experimentation, testing the effects of morphine and other opiates on her patients to see what it would do to their nervous systems. Additionally, she claimed to take sexual pleasure from watching her patients die.Who it was sent to:
This letter was sent as an open statement to the press after Toppan had been found guilty of murder by reasons of insanity and sentenced to a mental institution.Creepiest part:
In her statement, Toppan said, "That is my ambition. To have killed more people. More helpless people than any man or woman who has ever lived." -
(#13) Richard Ramirez
- 02-29-1960
Who he was:
In the early 1980s, Ramirez struck fear into the hearts of suburban Los Angeles residents by engaging in a campaign of home invasions and murder.Who it was sent to:
Writer and humorist Bill Geerhart. In the 1990s, Geerhart wrote to celebrities, politicians, and criminals claiming that he was a young boy named Billy. In his letter to Ramirez, Geerhart said he was thinking about dropping out of school and one of his friends suggested he should ask Ramirez if he should drop out.Creepiest part:
"You should stay in school. Send pictures." -
(#14) Dennis Rader
- 03-09-1945
Who he was:
From 1974 to 1991, the BTK killer (named for his method of binding, torturing, and ultimately killing his victims) committed 10 home invasion murders in Wichita, KS. After going quiet for 13 years, BTK began sending letters to the police in 2004, leading to his arrest in 2005. His identity was revealed to be Dennis Rader, a respected member of the Wichita community.Who it was sent to:
Rader sent this poem to Anna Williams, a potential victim of his two months after waiting in her home one night, ready to kill her. Lucky for her, she was out late dancing with friends and, after hours of waiting, Rader gave up and left.Creepiest part:
"Oh, Anna, Why Didn't You Appear? T'was a perfect plan of deviant pleasure so bold on that Spring night." -
(#15) Belle Gunness
- 11-11-1859
Who she was:
In the late 1800s, Belle Gunness used personal ads to attract her victims. She'd exchange letters with lonely bachelors and, after a sufficient amount of time, tell them to come visit her (preferably with their savings in tow). When these suitors came to visit her farm in Indiana, she'd kill them and keep their money. It's been reported that she killed over 40 people between 1884 and 1908 before vanishing.Who it was sent to:
Various men across the Midwest, including Andrew Helgelein. It's believed that Gunness engaged in communication with (and later killed) at least 40 men, plus her own children.Creepiest part:
In the letter to Helgelein, Gunness instructed him: "But, my dear, do not say anything about coming here..." making it easy for her to hide his murder. -
(#16) Carl Panzram
- 06-28-1891
Who he was:
Panzram claimed to have killed 21 people in the 1920s. Although these crimes were not confirmed, he was sentenced to 25 years in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for a variety of other crimes. He was finally sentenced to death after he killed a laundry foreman at Leavenworth. His last words, said while waiting to be hung, were "Yes, hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could hang a dozen men while you're screwing around!"Who it was sent to:
During an earlier prison stay, Panzram became friends with a guard, Henry Lesser. Lesser provided Panzram with writing material, and the two would frequently send each other letters like this one while Panzram was in Leavenworth.Creepiest part:
Panzram detailed his philosophy on life, "For all of these things I am not the least bit sorry. I have no conscience so that does not worry me. I don't believe in man, God nor the Devil. I hate the whole damned human race including myself." -
(#17) Harold Shipman
- 01-14-1946
Who he was:
Shipman was a respected English doctor who was discovered to be poisoning his elderly patients with fatal doses of diamorphine. He'd then forge his patients' wills so he could inherit large sums of money. He began this practice in the 1970s and was not found out until 1998. He was found guilty of 15 counts of murder, but following the trial, an official government inquiry was launched which determined he killed over 200 people.Who it was sent to:
Before he killed himself in prison in 2004, Shipman wrote countless letters to two friends. In 2010, 65 of these letters were released to the public. The letters revealed Shipman's superiority complex and often mocked the police and justice system, claiming that they couldn't prove anything said about him.Creepiest part:
"The police complain I'm boring. No mistresses, home abroad, money in Swiss banks, I'm normal. If that is boring I am." -
(#18) Israel Keyes
- 01-07-1978
Who he was:
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Israel Keyes traveled around the United States to find victims, even leaving murder kits in cities to prepare for future killing attempts. Investigators believe Keyes killed between eight and 12 people.Who it was sent to:
This was Keyes's suicide note in which he reiterated how much he enjoyed killing and his distaste for the lives of normal people.Creepiest part:
"You may have been free, you loved loving your lie, fate had its own scheme, crushed like a bug you still die," -
(#19) Amelia Dyer
- 01-01-1837
Who she was:
One of England's most notorious serial killers, Dyer was responsible for the murder of an estimated 400 children during a two-decade period in Victorian England. Dyer posed as a "baby farmer" who would take care of unwanted infants. Instead, she'd kill the babies and pocket the money given to her by the children's parents.Who it was sent to:
Below is an excerpt from a poem written while she was in prison serving time for her crimes.Creepiest part:
"By nature, Lord, I know with grief, I am a poor fallen leaf, shriveled and dry, near unto death, driven with sin, as with a breath...."
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(#20) The Bloody Benders
Who they were:
The "Bloody Benders" were a family of serial killers who ran an inn and general store in Southeast Kansas in the early 1870s. The Benders' inn drew travelers to their death, and the isolated nature of the building helped to keep suspicions at bay. Only 11 victims of the Benders' hospitality are known.Who it was sent to:
Advertisements, like one claiming that Kate Bender had psychic powers that could cure the ill, were published in Kansas newspapers with the intent of luring more victims.Creepiest part:
The promise that Kate Bender "can heal all sorts of diseases."
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