Creating Cultural Monsters: Serial Murder in America PDF

Preface

Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, "BTK," the "Night Stalker," and the "Green River Killer": The names are familiar, the men infamous. They have appeared on television, in newspapers and magazines. Their faces are displayed on merchandise like T-shirts, trading cards, comic books, calendars, and action figures. Web sites and fan clubs are devoted to them. Serial murderers have become perverse icons in the United States, cultural monsters as mythic as Frankenstein, the bogeyman, and Freddy Krueger-and American culture is substantially responsible.

A unique and comprehensive explanation of serial murder, Creating Cultural Monsters: Serial Murder in America draws on the years of dedicated research of Dr. Julie B. Wiest. This book examines connections between American culture and the incidence of serial murder and draws clear and well-supported conclusions. Wiest presents empirically supported arguments that have the potential to revolutionize how serial murder is understood, studied, and investigated, including a sociocultural explanation for the overrepresentation of white men as serial murderers. This text is suitable as a reference as well as a textbook for courses exploring serial murder, extreme violence, and criminal profiling.