Attributes of Serial Killers: Myth versus Reality

We are fed stereotypes of what constitutes a serial killer from the media that we absorb every day. Popular movies, television police dramas , and bestselling novels have developed an accepted character sketch of such criminals. In most instances, these fictional killers are white men with genius-level IQs who are weird loners driven by a twisted sexual desire. Does this match with reality?

The website " All about Forensic Psychology " used one of its posts to take on the top seven myths regarding serial killers.

First, there is the notion that serial killers were the reclusive valedictorians of their graduating classes and could earn perfect scores on both calculus exams and critical examinations of Emily Dickinson. The author of this article shares that serial killers have been proven to display the same range of aptitude as the general population.

While acts of sexual conquest and power make for effective television, the blog post points out that many serial killers engage in violence without any sexual behavior at all. Instead, their horrific acts are motivated by anger, the need for attention, or simply the thrill of causing pain.
The post also points out men, such as the Green River Killer and the BTK Killer , who were married and active members in their churches and communities. The idea that they were murdering dozens of people remained under the radar for years. There was nothing obvious about their outward personalities that pointed to homicidal tendencies.

I encourage you to read the entire article and see if any of your conceptions about serial killers are refuted by the author. Or, do you think that the myths she dispels were already widely regarded as false?