Killer Fiction

G.J. Schaefer, described as "a textbook case of the classic serial killer", gives clues to his personality in this chilling selection of writings, which are from before and during his prison term. They include stories, fantasies, "plans", and poetry. Perverted, horrifying, filled with hatred and violence, they clearly reveal both Schaefer's own pathology and that of various prison inmates with whom he was on intimate terms. Not for the faint of heart, Killer Fiction will appeal to fans of true crime and those interested in criminal psychology. Photos and illustration s.

Writing is all about creating an experience for the reader. Whether you're giving them a brain-teasing puzzle or an adrenaline-soaked emotional roller coaster-ride, this book helps you shape your fiction to create maximum enjoyment for your readers. Now you can learn the craft directly from one of the most respected contemporary writers in the field, Carolyn What, winner of multitudinous awards and nominations. What knows what editors want, and shows you how to achieve your writing an publishing goals. How To Write Killer Fiction is a handbook that no writer of mystery or suspense can afford to be without.

THE DEFINITIVE DOSSIER ON HISTORY’S MOST HEINOUS! Hollywood’s make-believe maniacs like Jason, Freddy, and Hannibal Lecter can’t hold a candle to real life monsters like John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and scores of others who have terrorized, tortured, and terminated their way across civilization throughout the ages. Now, from the much-acclaimed author of Deviant, Deranged, and Depraved, comes the ultimate resource on the serial killer phenomenon. Rigorously researched and packed with the most terrifying, up-to-date information, this innovative and highly compelling compendium covers every aspect of multiple murderers—from psychology to cinema, fetishism to fan clubs, “trophies” to trading cards. Discover: WHO THEY ARE: Those featured include Ed Gein, the homicidal mama’s boy who inspired fiction’s most famous Psycho, Norman Bates; Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, sex-crazed killer cousins better known as the Hillside Stranglers; and the Beanes, a fifteenth-century cave-dwelling clan with an insatiable appetite for human flesh HOW THEY KILL: They shoot, stab, and strangle. Butcher, bludgeon, and burn. Drown, dismember, and devour . . . and other methods of massacre too many and monstrous to mention here. WHY THEY DO IT: For pleasure and for profit. For celebrity and for “companionship.” For the devil and for dinner. For the thrill of it, for the hell of it, and because “such men are monsters, who live . . . beyond the frontiers of madness.” PLUS: in-depth case studies, classic killers’ nicknames, definitions of every kind of deviance and derangement, and much, much more. For more than one hundred profiles of lethal loners and killer couples, Bluebeards and black widows, cannibals and copycats— this is an indispensable, spine-tingling, eye-popping investigation into the dark hearts and mad minds of that twisted breed of human whose crimes are the most frightening . . . and fascinating.

Provides a lively introduction to what is both a wide-ranging and hugely popular literary genre. Accessible and clear, this comprehensive overview is the essential guide for all those studying crime fiction.

This book examines the recent expansion of Ireland's literary tradition to include home-grown crime fiction. It surveys the wave of books that use genre structures to explore specifically Irish issues such as the Troubles and the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger, as well as Irish experiences of human trafficking, the supernatural, abortion, and civic corruption. These novels are as likely to address the national regulation of sexuality through institutions like the Magdalen Laundries as they are to follow serial killers through the American South or to trace international corporate conspiracies. This study includes chapters on Northern Irish crime fiction, novels set in the Republic, women protagonists, and transnational themes, and discusses Irish authors’ adaptations of a well-loved genre and their effect on assumptions about the nature of Irish literature. It is a book for readers of crime fiction and Irish literature alike, illuminating the fertile intersections of the two.

In this book, Gregoriou explores the portrayal of the serial killer identity and its related ideology across a range of contemporary crime narratives, including detective fiction, the true crime genre and media journalism. How exactly is the serial killer consciousness portrayed, how is the killing linguistically justified, and how distinguishing is the language revolving around criminal ideology and identity across these narrative genres? By employing linguistic and content-related methods of analysis, her study aims to work toward the development of a stylistic framework on the representation of serial killer ideology across factual (i.e. media texts), factional (i.e. true crime books) and fictional (i.e. novels) murder narratives. ‘Schema’ is a term commonly used to refer to organised bundles of knowledge in our brains, which are activated once we come across situations we have previously experienced, a ‘group schema’ being one such inventory shared by many. By analysing serial murder narratives across various genres, Gregoriou uncovers a widely shared ‘group schema’ for these murderers, and questions the extent to which real criminal minds are in fact linguistically fictionalised. Gregoriou’s study of the mental functioning and representation of criminal personas can help illuminate our schematic understanding of actual criminal minds.

The man convicted of the vicious murders of five college students in Gainesville, Florida, discusses his motivations and actions in commiting the crimes, reflects on what made him into a killer, and his struggle to come to terms with what he did. Original. IP.

Leonard March walks free from jail after fourteen years' hard time, served after turning state's witness against his Mafia boss Salvatore Lombard. It's only after Leonard is sentenced that the public learned that he was a Mob hitman with eighteen deaths to answer for. Leonard is released to public outrage and media furore. He spends his time working as a janitor while looking over his shoulder, fearful of a vigilante attack or a revenge hit from his former colleagues. At 62 and with plenty of time on his hands, he is at an age when most men grow reflective and attempt to understand their mark on the world. But for Leonard, while the threats to his safety are not imagined, his self-reflection may pose the greatest threat of all.

How well do you know your neighbors? Maybe you should get to know them better! Growing up, we are taught that monsters are easy to identify, but the truth is very different. Too often, the serial murderer does not stand out. Otherwise, he, or she, would get caught. The contrast between the ordinary-seeming lives that provided cover for their cruel secrets is exposed in The Serial Killer Next Door: The Double Lives of Notorious Murderers. To their coworkers, neighbors, and others who knew them, they led unremarkable lives. They had careers as military pilots, police officers, landscapers, small business owners, farmers, realtors, reporters, authors, veterinary technicians, nurses, doctors, handymen, painters, and chefs, while they simultaneously stalked city suburbs, college campuses, trailer parks, and red-light districts. This chilling book looks at the horrifying stories of nearly 30 malevolent killers (and hundreds of innocent victims) who were mistakenly trusted, including … Genene Jones, a nurse responsible for the murder of 60 infants and children in her care. She’s said to be the inspiration for Stephen King’s iconic character of Annie Wilkes, in Misery – and her nephew broke into King’s home, threatening to blow up the writer and his family because of it! Robert Lee Yates, a helicopter pilot in the Army National Guard who, when caught, buried one body outside his bedroom window as his wife slept. Gary Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer, went undetected for 20 years, working for 30 years as a painter for a truck company and married for 17 years. Kathleen Folbigg, whose three children were at first thought to have died from natural causes. She only got caught when her husband found her personal diary. Joseph James DeAngelo, who worked various jobs, including as a police officer and a truck mechanic. He went on a decades-long crime spree and was finally caught with the help of DNA evidence. His case was instrumental in the establishment of California's DNA database. And dozens of other serial killers! It’s chilling to realize that many serial killers have created second lives that are completely divorced from the brutality and evils they commit. It’s incomprehensible to think that they are able to flip a switch, transforming them from apparently loving, ordinary men and women into torturous, homicidal slaughterers. With more than 120 photos and graphics, The Serial Killer Next Door is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. We trust our neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances. Of course, we do. It's ominous to think that we can't!