About This Quiz
Are you an expert on serial killers? Prove it.
Anyone who watches "Criminal Minds" knows that the episodes are often based on real-life serial killers. And, since the show has run for nearly 300 episodes, it is clear that the minds of these criminals have given the show plenty of fodder to choose from. Certainly we know that serial killers have existed since the beginning of time, yet the term "serial killer" is relatively new. In general, a serial killer is one who kills more than three people over a period of time. This distinction is different from a spree killer, who may kill several people, but who does so over a short period of time, and the mass killer, who kills several people (or more) at the same time. Serial killers were once called mass killers, until this new definition was put into place.
Serial killers kill for many reasons, including anger, thrills and money, but their reasons nearly always involve some sort of psychological component. Serial killers also tend to have a specific signature, or way of doing things, that remains relatively constant across each of their crimes.
Thinks you know all there is to know about serial killers? See if you can identify each of these.
Ted Bundy killed 30 women from 1974-1979. He was executed in 1989.
John Wayne Gacy was known as the Killer Clown. He was executed in 1994.
Jeffrey Dahmer was known to eat his victims. He died in prison in 1994.
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The Zodiac Killer's territory was Northern California. He was never caught.
Dr. H.H. Holmes selected his victims from the World's Fair in Chicago. He was executed in 1896.
Gary Ridgway was The Green River Killer. He is currently serving time in Washington.
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Richard Ramirez was the Night Stalker. He died in 2013 while awaiting execution.
Edmund Kemper was the co-ed killer. He is currently serving time in California.
Dennis Rader was the BTK Killer. He is serving time in Kansas.
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Ed Gein was the Mad Butcher. He died in 1984.
David Berkowitz was the Son of Sam. He was arrested in 1977.
Aileen Wuornos was a prostitute who killed seven johns. She was executed in 2002.
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David Parker Ray was the Toy Box Killer. His crimes earned him a 224-year sentence.
Albert DeSalvo was The Boston Strangler. He confessed to the murders of 13 women.
Kenneth Bianchi was one of the Hillside Stranglers. He worked with his cousin, Angelo Buono.
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Arthur Shawcross was the Genesee River Killer. His crimes earned him a 255-year sentence.
Rodney Alcala was The Dating Game Killer. He has been sentenced to death.
Joseph Naso committed the Double Initial Murders. He may also be responsible for the Alphabet Murders in New York.
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Hunter Jesperson was the Happy Face Killer. He is currently serving a life sentence.
Henry Lee Lucas was the The Confession Killer. He died in 2001.
Joel Rifkin was known as Joel the Ripper. His crimes earned him a sentence of 203 years.
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Robert Lee Yates was the Spokane Serial Killer. He was arrested in 2000.
Richard Chase was The Vampire of Sacramento. He was once diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Robert Hansen was The Butcher Baker. His crimes earned him a sentence of 461 years.
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Donald Henry Gaskins was The Meanest Man in America. He was executed in 1991.
Nannie Doss was the The Lonely Hearts Killer. She died in prison serving a life sentence.
Glen Edward Rogers was the The Cross Country Killer. He was arrested in 1995.
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Paul John Knowles was the The Casanova Killer. He was arrested in 1974.
William Bonin was The Freeway Killer. He was executed in 1996.
Danny Rolling was The Gainesville Ripper. He was executed in 2006.
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Joe Ball was the Butcher of Elmendorf. He killed between 1936 and 1938.
Joseph Paul Franklin was the The Racist Killer. He was executed in 2013.
Dorothea Puente was The Death House Landlady. She died in prison in 2011.
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Kristen Gilbert was The Angel of Death. She is currently serving a life sentence.