Posted on 04/08/2016 11:48:57 AM PDT by Bratch
Between December 1884 and December 1885, six women and a twelve year old girl were found murdered in the small city of Austin, Texas, their bodies mutilated by axes, knives, bricks and even iron rods that had been driven into their ears. At the time, the concept of a serial killer was unknown. Clueless police officers and bumbling private detectives initially made arrests of uneducated young black men. But as the murders continued, panic-stricken citizens began to speculate that a diabolical but brilliant "Midnight Assassin" was on the loose: a man driven to destroy one woman after another in almost ritualistic fashion. A correspondent for the New York World, Joseph Pulitzer's famous newspaper, went so far as to declare that the Midnight Assassin's attacks "may well give to history a new story of crime—the first instance of a man who killed in order to gratify his passion."
Before the violent spree ended, at least a dozen men, among them husbands and boyfriends of the victims, would be arrested in connection with the murders. One of the killings would set off a torrid sex scandal involving several of the city's most prominent leaders, including a candidate for governor. And three years later, after no progress had been made in the Austin investigation, detectives in London would speculate that the Midnight Assassin had traveled to England and become Jack the Ripper. Who was the Midnight Assassin and why did he go on such a rampage? Esquire is proud to present the first two chapters of Skip Hollandsworth's book The Midnight Assassin, out today. The story begins in the early morning hours of December 31, 1884—New Year's Eve.
(Excerpt) Read more at esquire.com ...
I’ve read up on our current crime trends in this century, and although the number of murders fluctuates from slight to nearly steady throughout the years, the number of serial murders has gone through the roof.
the number of serial murders has gone through the roof.
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Maybe the other meals of the day have become jealous of the importance heaped upon breakfast.
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Interesting. I thought that the first serial killer was in Chicago during the World’s Fair, as detailed in “Devil in the White City”.
Murders used to be committed in the heat of anger or due to "honor," against someone familiar.
Serial murders are indicative of increased sexual fetishes allowed to metastasize out of control, a symptom of a sick culture.
Me too.
That’s why this article caught my attention.
Thanks for the heads up. Just bought it on kindle.
Serial killings are skyrocketing?
That there is a sign of a fundamentally ill society and culture.
HHH wasn’t the first but he was certainly prolific.
L
Disturbing.
Connection to Little House on the Prairie
The Ingalls family, made famous in the books and television series Little House on the Prairie, lived near Independence, and Laura Ingalls Wilder mentioned the Bender family in her writing and speeches. In 1937 she gave a speech at a book fair, which was later transcribed and printed in the September 1978 Saturday Evening Post, and in the 1988 bookA Little House Sampler. She mentioned stopping at the Inn, as well as recounting the rumors of the murders spreading through their community. She alleged that her father "Pa Ingalls" joined in a vigilante hunt for the killers, and when he spoke of later searches for them she recalled, "At such times Pa always said in a strange tone of finality, 'They will never be found.' They were never found and later I formed my own conclusions why."[18][19] Some have cast doubt on the story saying that Laura would have been only 4 when her family moved away from the area, and that the Benders were exposed in 1873, two years after the Ingallses left.[20]
The 60s were when due to “activism” and court rulings it became much harder to involuntarily hospitalize people for mental health reasons, and most state mental hospitals were shut down. After the 60s is when the numbers spike.
Causation, or just incidental correlation?
The term “serial killer” was not used until 1974.
Before 1974 these monsters were called mass murderers.
No, but the concept is the same. The statistics point that out.
Now when people disappear they go into a large data base and even if the disappearances are in different states they can be connected.
This was not the case even ten years ago.
They types of people mostly known as serial killers were NOT the same types of people involuntarily committed before the 60’s for mental health reason. Efficient, covert serial killers, those wily enough to avoid capture for extended periods of time, are highly functioning individuals, many of whom can blend in with society sufficiently enough to avoid detection. These would not have been deemed mental institution material by pre-60’s standards.
Consider Dennis Rader, Kansas’ BTK killer, who was a productive family man, church elder, boy scout leader, and supervisory city worker.
"Cereal Killer" used to be punned on crop circle makers back in the day:
Fair enough.
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