Psychology of Serial Killers

Many of us have heard the terrifying stories of serial killers, the havoc that they cause and the lives that they take. But not all understand the true underlying psychological aspects of the crimes that they commit. These monstrous individuals seem to have no filter over what is wrong to do. Perhaps this is why they are perceived as such terrifying people, because they are truly capable of anything that their urges insist they do. Over the years, as more and more serial killers have emerged, psychologists have often pondered exactly why they do it. Are there conditioning aspects, is it hormonal, or biological? Perhaps its a mixture of all of these things, but there is no clear cut answer. Clearly, however, there is a deeply rooted crack in their functioning. And once that crack is exposed, unpredictable catastrophic events can unfold.

In my opinion the most terrifying aspect of a serial killer isn't that they are severely disturbed, and could act on any urge. It is that they are intelligent and thoughtful, they know exactly what is going on, yet they have no remorse, or need to stop what they are doing. I find it intriguing that while they typically  have no remorse, they still try to always find an outside excuse as to the actions that they did, instead of putting the blame onto themselves. Ted Bundy put his blame on pornography, while Jeffery Dahmer clam is that he was born with a part of him missing.

As this website here states, there are specific classifications that are used to identify a serial killer.

• They have to have at least 3 victims, with a brief, or extensive break in between. 
• They murders will appear to be random and unconnected to them.
• They typically do not do these crimes in order to gain any sort of material profit, but instead they do it for their sick mental satisfaction. 
• They often have a specific and unique way about killing their victims. 
• They choose a victim who is vulnerable, and low profile.

Now that it is clear exactly what perimeters a killer must fit inside to be classified as a serial killer, we can discuss a specific individual. Perhaps the most well know of all monstrous men is this man...

Charles Manson
Based out of California Manson was capable of many things, including manipulating a group of followers called "the family" to carry out his chaotic crimes for him. He assembled a type of cult, and within a short amount of time they were able to install fear into the homes of every family in the region. He is truly a sick man who will live in prison for the rest of his days. Charles Manson has been diagnosed with numerous mental disorders, and that combined with his rough upbringing created this monster. However, that is the wonder of the human mind, no matter how sick and twisted someone can be, they are still human and rooted from the same forces as us  "normal" citizens.  For specific information about Manson you can check out this site here.

It has always terrified me that any person, given the wrong mental set up, the wrong up bringing, can formulate a dark and sinister creature like all of the serial killers that we have heard of today, yet they are all driven from the same psychological factors.

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The Psychological Effects of Horror Movies on The Brain

Combining my interests for psychology and horror, I stumbled upon this article here. Upon reading it gave me extra insight as to why we may be so attracted to horror movies. While also giving me the base to come up with my own ideas using my psychology knowledge. There are a few key things that give us our natural attraction towards horror. There are basic human instincts such as fight or flight, the need to protect ourselves in the face of danger and the thoughts of pure fear that these events could actually happen to us. All of these combined allow movie creatures to establish films that are derived straight from people's internal concerns. Why would we want to experience these things? Well it's the adrenaline of course. We are able to reach that high without even putting our self in harms way. We can have the full experience, without even leaving the comfort of our home, or by simply traveling to the theater.

Perhaps one of our most common instincts of survival is fight or flight. Just as it seems, this is our natural reaction when danger comes at us head on, we wither chose to stay and fight off the dangerous stimulus, or we run away from the issue. While fighting or running, adrenaline gives us extra abilities. With the adrenaline coursing through your blood, you are able to fight harder than you normally would have been able to and you're able to run farther and faster than ever before. I believe that the idea of being able to come as close as possible to a fight or flight situation, without actually being in danger, is the key reason as to why we enjoy horror.

This article got me thinking of neurotransmitters, specifically dopamine. When we do something we enjoy, our body rewards itself with dopamine, that is what gives you that feeling of "wow I enjoyed that, lets do it again." When we add adrenaline to our system, as I talked about before, dopamine is released. As a result, we naturally have a desire for horror, even if it is not realized.

Each person has an evolutionary instinct to keep themselves alive, this is derived from our internal instinct to carry on our genes to a new generation. This is a perfect base for horror creators to make their villi ans off of. By developing these characters around people's fears, they are able to create the perfect figure for any movie. This is precisely what a slasher film is, a killer who stalks their prey, and seeks to kill them. We all have a fear that this could happen in real life, and that this would effectively destroy the evolutionary instinct to carry on our genes. Again, horror naturally influences us.

The primary source of fear is our visual cortex. Simply put, visually seeing a horror movie acts directly upon our bodies, and induces the fear head on. Also, perhaps seeing the violence first hand allows us to "purge our negative emotions," as Aristotle suggested. This may lead to cognitive dissonance. As Aristotle believe, we may have negative thoughts within all of us that are brought through in horror movies. As we subconsciously realize these thoughts, perhaps we deflect them back onto the movie in order to give our selves a piece of mind.

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Halloween Horror Nights Offseason

Previously I have posted about Halloween Horror Nights. However, I mainly focused on the current situation during the fall haunt season. As Thanksgiving passes, and Christmas is in the close future, the Halloween Horror Nights season is just starting to begin again. One of my favorite website to venture onto is Horror Night Nightmares. Every year, once I am ready to begin speculation I go to this site, and discuss the possibilities for the following year.

Even though everyone has moved on from the Halloween/ Fall season, the true Halloween Horror Nights fans are still going strong. John Murdy, the creative director, is still doing planning for next years event and is currently trying to narrow down the possible properties that will be featured. This includes reading scripts for movies that have yet to be released, checking out video games, and released movies, reading books, and collecting photos as references.

All along with this process comes the financial planning, and meetings to try to convince the company that his choice of property should be featured. He after all, knows what is the best options for the ultimate success of the next year. His planning not only generates great profit for Universal Studios, but it also makes the hardcore fans, and the general public very pleased.

As Thanksgiving ends, the speculation site picks up its speed. We will continue to focus our attention on figuring out the properties until they are released. Every year, it starts out rough, weeding out the impossible ideas all through out. We do finally come to a decent conclusion, and typically uncover all of the properties before our time is up. How do we go about doing this?

John Murdy gives us deviously tricky carny hints. These are called code names. They are composed of layers and layers of hints that all boil down to what the property is. It is nearly impossible, and every code name could even lead to many different properties. We take this information that the code names have given us, and combine that knowledge with how likely the property is. We do this by asking three basic questions. Is it well known? Are there many solid characters? Are there many environments, or scenes that could be represented in a maze? If the answer is yes to all of these questions, then the property has a good chance of being at the event. With this information we can figure out if we are on the correct path.

This continues on until Murdy releases the properties for each code name that he released. This is about the time when the rest of the population is catching up with the Halloween season, and we can finally blend in and give our reviews about that years event.

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Wes Craven's Scream

Scream includes all of the major dynamics that an effective movie must include. There is a strong female lead, a unique killer, and of course the intense twist at the end. This is a movie that I grew up watching. From the very first film, to the brand new one that came out in recent years. This franchise has worked its way to become a cult classic, but not quite a top slasher. To me, this is a shame. This movie does a great job of including all aspects, as I said before.

Among all of the horror movies out there, this is the one movie that I can recall that actually makes fun of horror movies within its context. From as far back as I can remember, this stood out to me. This isn't just in one of the films, every single one of them encompasses this aspect, particularly the latest expansion. Throughout the entire film I continued to notice (sometimes subtle) comments that they were making towards horror. Including all of the many cliche things that seem to ALWAYS happen. Ever watch a movie where the character didn't fall when running? Or where they didn't go upstairs when being chased by a killer, even though the front door was right in front of them? Well the creatures of this movie noticed this just like myself and many other may have. They take every opportunity to cut at these characteristics. Along with these, they even call out specific movies. During one scene that you can watch here, Kirby blatantly lists off many horror movies, with the clear intention of making fun of them.

This has always seemed like such a unique yet risky thing for them to do. However, they pulled it off. They did it in a subtle and somewhat respectful or joking way. This mixed with the completely amazing plot, twist, and character development is why I have always been extremely fond of the entire franchise. This movie honestly deserves more credit than it gets.

On the other end of my last comment, this film has still managed to develop a strong fan base, and a major recognition. Every year, there is not one Halloween store that you can go into where you will not find a ghost face costume. This is because of the strong name that this franchise has made for itself.

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John Landis' American Werewolf in London

I did not see this film until recently, but I wish that I had discovered it sooner. It is a great film, that has you anticipating the next scene the whole way through. I would love to see this film recreated now with today's technology. I believe that the outcome would be phenomenal. The story harnesses an unique plot, that broadly sets itself apart from other werewolf films. This is a must see for any horror or creature fan. It uses great creativity to capture your attention, and then delivers the final punch by incorporating details that pull you farther into the story. 

In a time where horror movies were not too popular, John Landis created an amazing work of art. In my opinion, this movie stands out among the others created during this time. It encompasses many unique aspects that gave it a refreshing feeling compared to other horror movies that I have seen recently.

In the beginning of the film, two characters bake pack across the country. They stumble upon a small town, and decided to take a break there. The environment of this location, initially creates a eerie feeling, that last throughout the movie. They feel so overwhelmed by this awkward environment that they decide to leave. Before their departure the citizens of this town give them a warning to stay away from the marshes. As they venture on their way, they decide to ignore this warning and they head straight into the marsh. At this point it becomes apparent why the warning was initially given. They're both attacked by a werewolf, and as a result one character dies, and one is bitten. The legend of werewolves that is represented in this film, is extremely intriguing. You then continue to follow the story of this character as he transitions from man to werewolf.

As the character progresses, I couldn't help but feel extremely worried for him and the people around him. Was he going to break the curse? Was he going to terrorize the town? As the full moon arrives, you see the detailed transformation. When this film was created they did not have the advanced imaging technology that we have today. With that said, the transformation scene in this film is exceptionally well executed in my opinion.

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Why All Movies Deserve Recognition

When someone sets out to create a movie, it is not just a spur of the moment decision. That is a desire that has most likely been with them for a very long time. When asked as a child what they wanted to be when they grew up, they probably replied with something like, "a director!" This alone is a reason to take everything that they create seriously.

Many of us have gone to see a movie and afterwards we immediately state our opinion of it. "That was  a waste of money," or " why did we decide to see that one?" The fact of the matter is that some people may have enjoyed that film. Just because it was not for you, does not mean that it was worthless, or not worth your time. That movie required an unimaginable amount of work, money, talent, bravery, enthusiasm, and motivation.

Some movies are by nature not as good as others. Maybe the creators did not have as large of a budget, the same opportunities, or not as much experience as the man who created a hit blockbuster, but either way, their movie deserves credit. Every person in the industry has to start somewhere and work their way up. You think Michael Bay was given his place? No. He worked hard for it, and started off doing small time gigs. So take into consideration that someday, that director may be a big deal.

 It is a tough business, and every amount of support could help that individuals dream become reality. Next time you are at the movie store or surfing the web, consider giving a less recognizable movie your attention, and if you like it, share it. Any small boost could help and it is surely appreciated by all the people involved with creating it.

Think about the things that you do in your daily life. Writing? You write to share your ideas, or get them out of your head and onto a page. This is in order to share that. Just like why I am writing this blog right now, it is to share it to a large audience. Well, that is exactly what the creators of movies are doing. They're taking their ideas, and creating something out of it. All in the hopes that someone will come upon it and take their time to watch what they have made. So again, consider switching it up. Instead of watching the big time, high budget, award winning movie, give your time to another. And maybe you will be surprised that you actually enjoy the film.

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John Carpenter's Halloween Review

I think it is an accurate statement to say that anyone who has any basic knowledge of the horror genre has heard of Halloween, Michael Myers, or can at least recognize his face. This movie has been my all time favorite movie since I was young. It was the film that I grew up watching every Halloween season, and even other times throughout the year. If you haven't seen this movie, then you need to.

It is a staple of the Halloween Season, no matter how much time has passed, Michael Myers will always be an iconic image. Watching this movie instantly gets me into the spirit of Halloween. The great thing about it is that it is a franchise, so even after I re-watch the original over and over again, I have a different film to move onto after.

Halloween is not for everyone. Some could find it extremely boring, and some can't look passed the low quality. It is an older movie, that originally had a very low budget. Therefor, it does not have the best effects. However, if you can look past this, then this movie could easily become anyone's favorite film, or it could even becomes a family tradition.

As I said before Halloween had a low budget. The mask used by Michael Myers is even just a basic William Shatner mask. During the time of production they needed a cheap but effective way of producing a recognizable, yet unique character. They took a William Shatner mask derived from his role in Star Trek, painted it white, added a few details, and made the eye holes larger. Who would have guessed that such a simple change would have created perhaps the most recognizable character in horror?

Growing up with horror I have become accustomed to all types of it. Including low budget, or "boot-leg." I see these movies as more than just the visual qualities, but I see the time and effort that is put into making them. They're works of art, that hold the creators dreams. This is one reason why I find so much greatness within this movie. Even though it was created with a low budget, it has managed to becomes extremely popular, and it even worked its way to having a cult following.

With this in mind, consider watching this spectacular movie. For what they had to work with, they managed to achieve a lot. It is an annual staple for my Halloween season.

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