21 Most Terrifying Serial Killers Of The World

How often do you get to hear about serial killers? Rarely, right? But when you do, it sends shivers down your spine! The way they choose their prey, hunt them down, kill them and cleverly get rid of their bodies say a lot about their psychology. For them, killing is not done in a fit of rage, instead it is a crime done out of desire to kill. And when they get convicted, there is a least amount of regret on their faces, as if they are in a completely different zone, overcome by the power to kill.

The world has seen various kinds of serial killers through decades and we have compiled a list of the most famous, rather infamous ones. Read on to known more.

1. Luis Garavito

The Beast – with the count of his possible victims going over 300, Luis is by far the most terrifying serial killers of all times. This child-murdered and rapist was a torture-killer who confessed to having killed 140 boys aged 8-16 over a seven-year period in Columbia and its neighbouring countries. However, he is suspected of killing more than 300 victims, most of which are believed to be street children.

2. Pedro Lopez

Monster of the Andes – Another child-murderer and rapist, his victims were young girls ages 8-12. Pedro was arrested in 1980 and was finally convicted for killing 3 girls, however, he claimed to have killed in hundreds. The number of victims killed by Pedro are estimated to be more than 300. His victims ranged from Columbia, Peru and Equador.

3. Javed Iqbal – Kukri

Hailing from Pakistan, Javed killed 100 street children by strangling them and dissolving their bodies in acid after cutting them into pieces. He was arrested in 1999 and he was supposed to be executed in the same manner as he executed the children, but in the presence of their parents. However, he committed suicide before he could be executed.

4. Mikhail Popkov

The Werewolf – He was known to be a rapist-killer who killed victims for two decades in the regions of Angarsk, Irkutsk and Vladivostok in Russia. He was convicted for a total of 78 killings between 2015-2018, however, his estimated possible count could be 81.

5. Daniel Camargo Barbosa

Daniel’s areas of target were spread over Columbia, Ecuador and supposedly, Brazil. He was a rapist and murdered who targeted children and women, preferring young girls who were virgins. He confessed to killing, however, escaped after his arrest only to kill more in Ecuador. In total, he was convicted for 72 killings, however, his possible count of victims is believed to more than 100. He was killed in the prison by the nephew of one of his victims.

6. Pedro Rodrigues Filho

Now this one is going to gross you out! Pedro, from Brazil, started killing from the age of 14 killing two victims. Later, he killed his father and ate a piece of his heart. He has been convicted for 71 killings, 47 of them were inmates, however, it is believed that his count of victims was more than 100. He was arrested in 1973 and was sentenced to a prison term of 128 years.

7. Yang Xinhai

Monster Killer – Yang’s modus operandi was entering homes In China at night and kill his victims with axes, hammer, shovels and meat cleavers. Convicted for 67 murders, he was executed in 2004 by gunshot.

8. Samuel Little

A dreaded serial killer in USA, Samuel was convicted for a total of 61 murders, however, the investigation is pending in various other cases and hints that his killing count could be around 93, many of which he has confessed about.

9. Andrei Chikatilo

The Butcher of Rostov/The Red Ripper/ The Rostov Ripper – convicted for murdering a total of 53 people in Soviet Union, Andrea was initially a schoolteacher. However, after numerous complaints of inappropriate behaviour, he was fired. Soon he started befriending runaways and then raping and killing them once he lured them to a nearby forest. It is believed that often he would gauge the victim’s eyes out, fearing that his image would be left on their eyes.

10. Anatoly Onoprienko

The Beast of Ukarine/The Terminator/Citizen O – Anatoly targeted people from Soviet Union and Ukraine, killing a total of 52 people between 1989 and 1996. He is believed to have travelled illegally all over Europe and was sentenced to death for the killings. He eventually dies in 2013 due to a heart failure.

 

11. Gary Leon Ridgway

The Green River Killer – Gary was a truck painter who targeted sex workers and runaways between 1982 and 2000. He would get the ladies to his home and then dump their bodies in the areas nearby after strangling them. He was convicted for 48 murders; however, his count is believed to be more than 90.

12. Ahmad Suradji

The sorcerer – Ahmad was convicted for the murders of 42 women and girls in Indonesia between 1986 and 1997. He started killing after his late father came in his dream and told him to kill 70 women to gain magical powers. He met women on the pretext of being a healer and would bury them waist down (as part of the cure), after which he would strangle them.

13. Alexander Pichushkin

The Chessboard Killer – He was convicted of killing 48 people in Russia from 1992 to 2006. It is believed that he used to lure homeless men to his home on the pretext of giving them alcohol. Then he would hit their heads with hammer repeatedly and insert the vodka bottle into the wound. Since, as per him he wanted to kill 64 people to complete a chessboard, he got the name ‘the Chessboard Killer’. He is suspected of killing more than 60 people.

14. Moses Sithole- The Gauteng Killer

South Africa’s Ted Bundy – In just one year, this serial killer from South Africa is known to have killed 38 women. He used to lure unemployed women to an isolated place on the pretext of giving them a job. Once there, he used to rape, torture and kill them. He was sentenced to an imprisonment of 2,410 years with a non-parole period of 930 years.

15. Serhiy Tkach

He was a former Ukrainian police criminal investigator who was convicted of killing 36 girls, however, he is suspected of killing more than 100 victims. His victims were young girls between 8-18 whom he used to suffocate and perform sexual acts on their dead bodies. Although he was sentenced for life imprisonment, he died of a heart failure in 2018.

16. Gennady Mikhasevich

He was convicted for killing 36 women from 1971 to 1985 in Soviet Union. He used to rob the victims after killing them and would gift the valuable items to his wife. He was executed by the firing squad in 1987. While he was convicted for 36 killings, he is suspected to having killed more than 55 people.

17. Ted Bundy

One of the most known serial-killer and necrophiliac of USA, Ted Bundy was convicted of killing 35 women during 1974-1978. He was a well-educated and charming man, who went to become the most notorious serial killer. He committed his first murder in Seattle in 1966 and managed to escape prison twice, after conviction. It is believed that he indulged in sexual acts with the dead bodies of the victims and in some cases, decapitated their heads as trophies. He was executed in 1989 by an electric chair.

18. Karl Denke

The Cannibal of Ziebice- From the period of 1900 to 1924, Karl is believed to having killed and cannibalised homeless people and poor travellers in the German Empire and Germany. Karl is believed to have kept a ledger accounting for all the murders he committed with 31 names on it. However, as per the human remains found in his apartment, it is suspected that he killed more than 42 victims. Before he could be tried, he committed suicide by hanging himself in his home.

19. Jeffrey Dahmer

The Milwaukee Cannibal – He was convicted for killing and dismembering 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. He was a necrophiliac who also consumed the body parts of his victims after cooking them. After killing 17 people, he was finally caught when a victim succeeding in saving his life. Jeffery was sentenced to life imprisonment; however, he was murdered in the prison in 1994.

20. Francisco Das Chagas Rodrigues De Brito

He was a paedophile who is known to have sexually assaulted, killed and mutilated 30 children in the regions of Maranhao and para in Brazil from 1989 to 2003. He was convicted and subsequently sentenced to 217 years of imprisonment.

21. Majid Salek Mohammadi

Between the years 1981 and 1985, this serial killer killed women that he believed were unfaithful to their husbands. He is believed to having killed 24 people in Iran, which includes the women and the children accompanying them.

The list is very long and in some cases the killings get even more gruesome and heinous. The above names have been complied based on the scope of killings. The serial killers do not just kill by accident or in a fit or rage, instead they kill as they derive happiness from it. It becomes their habit to hunt preys and end their lives using different techniques and enjoying the feeling of taking someone’s life.