General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWarning: Mass Killings are not new. H.H. Holmes in Chicago. 1880s & 1890s. Mostly Unknown
So, you didn't know? Now you know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Holmes
NickB79
(19,112 posts)There's a difference. I've seen documentaries about his "Murder House" where he disposed of the bodies. Truly horrific.
Stuart G
(38,359 posts)NickB79
(19,112 posts)They're stealthy, and good ones don't get caught for years, or decades. They rack up kills slowly.
Whereas mass murderers as we currently define them do it all at once, in one gruesome burst of destruction.
You're right that both end up killing substantial numbers of people, but the mass killings tend to shock society more.
"...A serial killer is conventionally defined as a person who murders three or more people in a period of over a month, with cooling down time between murders. For a serial killer, the murders must be separate events, which are most often driven by a psychological thrill or pleasure. Serial killers often lack empathy and guilt, and most often become egocentric individuals; these characteristics classify certain serial killers as psychopaths. Serial killers often employ a mask of sanity to hide their true psychopathic tendencies and appear normal, even charming. The most notable example of a charming serial killer is Ted Bundy, who would fake an injury to appear harmless to his victims. Ted Bundy is classified as an organized serial killer; he methodically planned out his murder and generally stalked his victim for several weeks before committing the crime. He committed an estimated thirty murders from 1974-1978 before his eventual capture. Serial killers such as Ted Bundy are known to be organized and psychologically motivated to commit murder, which separates them from mass murderers who appear to kill randomly at one time.
SERIAL KILLERS VS. MASS MURDERERS
Mass murderers kill many people, typically at the same time in a single location. With some exceptions, many mass murders end with the death of the perpetrators, either by self-infliction or by law enforcement. According to Dr. Michael Stone, professor of psychiatry at Columbia, mass murderers are generally dissatisfied people, and have poor social skills and few friends. Generally, the motives of mass murderers are less obvious than those of serial killers. According to Stone, 96.5% of mass murderers are male, and most of them are not clinically psychotic. Rather than being a psychopath like most serial killers, mass murderers tend to be paranoid individuals with acute behavioral or social disorders. Like serial killers, mass murderers also display psychopathic tendencies, such as being cruel, manipulative, and uncompassionate. However, most mass murderers are social misfits or loners who triggered by some uncontrollable event.
Serial killers and mass murderers often display the same characteristics of manipulation and lack of empathy. What differentiates the two is the timing and numbers of the murders. Serial killers commit murder over a long period of time, and often in different places, while mass murderers kill within a single location and time-frame."
LeftInTX
(24,549 posts)Stuart G
(38,359 posts)LeftInTX
(24,549 posts)Mass shooters shoot into crowds
canetoad
(17,088 posts)Serial killers murder one person after another - in a series.
Mass killers kill a whole heap at one event.
Mariana
(14,849 posts)Very few serial killers use guns, for example, so even a total gun ban wouldn't prevent serial killings.
Deminpenn
(15,246 posts)is the story of Holmes juxtaposed with the Chicago World's Fair.
NutmegYankee
(16,177 posts)Stuart G
(38,359 posts)Tanuki
(14,893 posts)which also recounts the planning and presentation of the Chicago Worlds Fair, which was going on at the same time of his serial murders.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_in_the_White_City
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Liberal In Texas
(13,453 posts)Mostly because I was interested in the Fair. Very disturbing, almost didn't finish it.
And he was serial - meaning one after another. Mass is all at one time.
Yes, they both mean they killed a lot of people. But that's where the similarities end.
Tanuki
(14,893 posts)WarGamer
(12,103 posts)Stuart G
(38,359 posts)WarGamer
(12,103 posts)Mass killers would find a way.
We're such vile animals.
SoonerPride
(12,286 posts)Stuart G
(38,359 posts)Scrivener7
(50,773 posts)actions and secretly kills one or few people at a time over a span of time.
The other wants his statement to be seen by many, so he massacres many people at once in a flashy public way.
Beaverhausen
(24,466 posts)Serial killers and mass murderers are not synonymous.
And you know it.
tenderfoot
(8,424 posts)Who knows how many massacres of Native Americans/slaves that you're conveniently omitting.
kabelad
(38 posts)Wasnt guns but Id imagine clubbing and scalping the kids is pretty horrible. So school attacks go back to the 1700s in America. Rich tradition we have.