The Killers Among USarknotes

A serial killer’s violent rage may reflect the abuse and neglect endured in childhood. Their intense hatred cultivated in the early stages of childhood now will be directed at their unsuspecting victims. In The Killers Among Us, Stephen Egger claims that many case studies of mass and serial murderers discovered a reoccurring background of ”neglect and early years spent in extreme social and psychological deprivation” (Egger 29). Continually, Egger states that the most common aspect of the serial killer’s histories was the physical abuse and violent punishments inflicted on them as a child. As a result, their subconscious stores these traumatic memories and emotions, which later has a powerful result on their behaviors and emotional life

Also, as a young child, she made him wear her underwear in an attempt to embarrass him. When his father found out, he beat Gacy with a leather belt. His father was also an alcoholic who beat his wife and had a “Jekyll and Hyde” temperament. Similarly, authorities describe Henry Lee Lucas’ mother as “a bootlegger who drank heavily” (Egger 135). Like Gacy’s father, she beat Lucas and forced him to cut wood, steal, carry heavy objects, and take care of their hog as a child. Lucas claims the scar on the back of his head was due to his mother striking him with a two by four. He often referred to his childhood as one of abuse and neglect

They often develop the feeling that they have to create their own center of stability. Gacy rationalized everything he did. To maintain an appearance of innocence, he would twist the truth so he could be viewed as doing no wrong doing. In addition, Gacy always wanted to be in control of social situations. His friends later characterized him as a person who manipulated situations and people to his advantage, and tried to control them (Egger 129). When he discovered that violence against others empowered him, he used violence as a means to feel in control