Female Serial Killers Prefer Poison

It’s Hallowe’en, a magical day characterized by Trick or Treating and masked personas, a practice that hails from the medieval custom of souling, when poor people would go door to door for food in return for prayers for the dead.  We lavish in ghostly tales and watch gory movies about satanic clowns from the sixth dimension of hell while carving lanterns from pumpkins that glow grotesque faces, a tradition that originated as a way of remembering the souls trapped in purgatory.  Among the peculiar symbols and seemingly odd-ball traditions, Hallowe’en acts as a celebratory tribute to the after-life mythology surrounding the souls that have left this astral plane, their earthly shells swallowed by the ground’s soil; the one day of the year when our culture collectively celebrates the darkness that we usually try to illuminate. And, without a doubt, the perfect time to learn about female serial killers.

Our fascination with serial killers may be unfortunate, and even damaging, seeing as how notoriety is noted as a motivation for psychopaths to murder (think BTK’s courtroom speech when he responded as if he were accepting an award). But similar to how a spooky, urban legend can be foreplay for our imaginations, or how watching mind-boggling, horror scenarios from the comfort of our own couch may give us an adrenalin rush, our fascination with serial killers is another reflection of basic, human curiosity. The stories of serial killers are exceptionally jarring to our psyches because the victims and killers are real, and the events surrounding these dark tales are true.

Those with a taste for the macabre are probably familiar with the “super stars” of female serial killing, such as Aileen Wuornos, who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990 and was the inspiration behind the film, Monster (2003). Not only are female serial killers rare in comparison to their psychopathic male counterparts, but they also symbolize the “anti-woman,” the opposite of what we perceive femininity to be: violent rather than gentle; harmful vs nurturing;  aggressive over passive; sacrificing instead of self-sacrificing. Consequently, we tend to process the heinous acts of female serial killers with more difficulty than those of murderous males. Mothers who kill their young, such as Susan Smith, who drowned her two young sons (allegedly to pursue a relationship with a wealthy man who had no interest in a “ready-made” family),  give us the ultimate jolt to our minds (and hearts) as they desecrate our motherly ideal of the angelic, Madonna-like savior.

Female serial killers are unique in their methods and motivations, and are typically classified into six different profiles: Team Killer, Angel of Death, Sexual Predator, Revenge Killer, Profit Killer, and Black Widow. While male serial killers tend to be more savage in their methodology by stabbing, shooting, strangling, battering, and raping, female serial killers are more passive in their killings and use less detectable methods, like suffocation and poison. It is reported that 80 percent of female serial killers use poison as their weapon of preference, such as Nannie Doss, thus making Black Widows the most common profile of serial murdering women.  Female serial killers are also more likely to get away with murder due to their slower, methodical style, and have been known to fly under the radar for years, if not decades. Ironically, female serial killers usually know their victims, which consist mostly of relatives, friends, and dependents, where as male serial killers are known to stalk and kill random strangers. The popular profile of the male serial killer is characterized by the motivation for sexual power (it is reported that 50 percent of them kill for sexual pleasure), however serial murderesses differ in their motivations: 75 percent kill for profit; 13 percent kill for control, and 12 percent kill for revenge.

Even though female serial killers may slaughter our cultural notions of femininity, it seems that they still adhere to a unique feminine framework when committing their crimes. Despite the very unique differences between the male and female serial killer profiles, there does seem to be a parallel motivation that binds them, and that similarity is the attainment of power. While these psychopathic men seem to perceive sexual violence as the ultimate power, these murderous women seem to conceptualize power as financial gain, and possibly a sly, seemingly unrecognizable control over those close to them.

These gender-specific conceptions of power demonstrated by male and female serial killers are not strictly the perceptions of psychopaths, but are also shared by common, every day people. Considering the unique motivations of female serial killers, it is interesting to ponder how the details of the crimes committed by these women were influenced by inherent, biologically feminine characteristics, or cultural socialization and the female-specific social constraints that women experience, like disproportionate financial opportunities. Hopefully more research will be done about female serial killers, but fingers crossed that this research will be based on past case studies, and not new tragedies caused by murderous, poison wielding women.

Contact the author here: lojomanifesto@morningquickie.com