10 Worst Psychopaths in History

10 Worst Psychopaths in History

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re having a look at the most notorious psychopaths in history.

Richard Ramirez, AKA “The Night Stalker”

Richard Ramirez brought terror to California in the 1980s. His M.O. was home invasion, followed by heinous crimes. He boasted about 15 victims, yet there are probably more. Ramirez came from a troubled childhood, as his father was a violent alcoholic. This likely contributed to his psyche, as did physical brain trauma from the events. As well, his cousin Mike was a wartime Green Beret and would sometimes share gruesome photographs with Richard, who claimed he was fascinated rather than offended by the images. In addition to a traumatic childhood, Ramirez showed impulsiveness, criminal versatility, and lack of remorse: all traits on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist.

Albert Fish, AKA “The Gray Man”

Albert Fish was born in 1870, and was once placed into an orphanage for about 5 years. In the orphanage, he suffered harsh physical punishments, at which point Fish noticed that such violence caused him pleasure. He found himself fascinated with mutilation after seeing anatomical bisections at a museum. Fish would also attack himself, displaying the tendencies often seen in psychopaths. Fish would capture young people, and claimed numerous victims. On the psychopath checklist, Fish would tick off lack of empathy and remorse as well as impulsivity, among many others.

Albert DeSalvo, AKA “The Boston Strangler”

Albert DeSalvo took the lives of over a dozen women between 1962 and 1964, in most cases by entering their apartments. DeSalvo was initially convicted in late 1964 for a series of crimes dubbed the “Green Man” attacks. In custody, he confessed to many crimes. Much like others on this list, DeSalvo grew up in a problematic home: his father tormented his wife in front of their children. DeSalvo began to mistreat animals at age 12. Forensic psychologist J. Reid Meloy points out that psychopaths tend to devalue their victims. DeSalvo would don his victims with neckties and position their bodies in horrible ways: a form of posthumous devaluation in turning them into displayed objects.

Dennis Rader, AKA “The BTK Killer”

Dennis Rader was convicted of 10 killings that took place between 1974 and 1991. Rader, like numerous others on this list, also displayed typically brutal animal mistreatment in his youth, capturing and killing them. His main motivation was realizing his twisted fantasies, hence the nickname he gave himself, BTK. He is an “unconventional” psychopath to some experts, as one of the key traits is lack of acknowledging responsibility for one’s actions. Rader sent taunting letters to media outlets and law enforcement, boasting about his crimes. Though he ticks the “grandiose sense of self-worth” box, boasting about responsibility separates him from some textbook psychopaths.

Elizabeth Báthory, AKA “The Blood Countess”

Though her guilt is actually still debated by historians, Hungarian Elizabeth Bathory was a countess who lived between 1560 and 1614 and allegedly took the lives of around 600 young women. Many of her victims were sent to her by their families in order to learn proper etiquette, a typical practice at the time. She is said to have bathed in blood in order to maintain her youthful appearance, but this is also highly debatable. Bathory reportedly displayed mental health issues from the age of 5, and was exposed to executions and the beatings of servants from a young age. She also displayed obvious disturbed public behaviors in her adult life, watching others suffer for pleasure or harming them herself.

Vlad the Impaler, AKA Vlad III, AKA Vlad Dracula

Vlad III was born somewhere between 1428 and 1431, second son to eventual leader of Wallachia Vlad Dracul (recognize that?). Dracul was a member of the Order of the Dragon, a society that opposed the Ottoman conquest of Europe. As a result of this, little Vlad and his brother Radu were taken hostage by Ottoman Sultan Murad II in an attempt to gain Dracul’s loyalty. After this ordeal, Vlad’s father and older brother were killed. When in power, Vlad had a particular penchant for impaling his enemies and leaving them to die. He was responsible for an estimated 80, 000 deaths. Some psychological researchers claimed Vlad fit the “Dark Triad” mold, which consists of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.

H.H. Holmes

Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes, was a career criminal guilty of a number of crimes including forgery, illegal marriage and causing deaths. He is best known as the proprietor of the “Murder Castle”, which was subject to so many sensationalized stories that it’s impossible to give an actual account of its layout or events. Holmes’ childhood was harsh, as is the case with most of the others on this list. His father was an alcoholic and he was treated badly by his schoolmates due to his academic proficiencies. Holmes became obsessed with anatomy and dissection, performing the latter on animals. He was convicted of causing only one death, but is presumed to have committed four more and is suspected of nine.

Ed Gein, AKA “The Butcher of Plainfield”

Ed Gein was a killer and body snatcher (exhuming and stealing human remains from cemeteries). Gein was born to a militantly religious mother, Augusta. Augusta would forbid her children from making friends, contributing to Ed’s poor social skills. The family farm went to Edward upon the deaths of his family members. He reportedly boarded up all rooms used by his mother, leaving them spotless compared to the rooms in which he lived. Gein was eventually discovered to have fashioned a long list of objects from human body parts, for example skull bowls and a skin lampshade. Gein was diagnosed with schizophrenia and also with psychopathy, which will surprise no one.

Charles Manson

Charles Manson was understandably evaluated a number of times while imprisoned, resulting in various diagnoses such as schizophrenia and personality disorders. After Manson’s death, his initial evaluations by psychologist Tod Roy were publicly released, giving other professionals the chance to weigh in. More modern researchers claimed Manson was more on the bipolar spectrum displaying psychopathic, narcissistic and antisocial behaviors. Manson attracted followers easily, a sign of grandiose self-worth as seen on the Hare checklist. His Rorschach test answers were apparently consistent with under 1% of comparable results. He also came from a troubled childhood with a neglectful mother, unstable father figures and time spent in a boy’s school where he was beaten for the smallest infractions.

Ted Bundy

The infamous Ted Bundy confessed to dozens of horrific crimes between 1974 and 1978. Though recollections of his childhood are scattered (with differing stories from different people, including Bundy himself), it is seemingly the case that he never had a clear father figure. He was made to believe his grandparents were his actual parents, and his mother his sister. The truth clearly marked him in some way. Bundy was initially diagnosed a psychopath by prominent psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley in the late 1970s, yet has subsequently also received many other psychiatric diagnoses and designations. Bundy had a successful “mask of sanity”: he could easily charm his victims into trusting him.

Is there a psychopath in history that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments.