Skin Lamps and Psychopaths

In order to be classified as a serial killer, you must have commit 3 separate killings in three or more separate locations with a cooling off period between homicides. This means that, Ed Gein is not a serial killer. Ed Gein only killed 2 people, but he was a grave robber. "For the past twelve years, ever since his mother's death, he had been a grave robber, turning to the dead for the companionship he could not find among the living. In strict definition of the term, Eddie Gein was not a serial killer. He was a ghoul" (Schechter 192). When Ed Gein died, he was buried next to his mother. I wonder why they gave him such treatment, unlike other killers who were bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate, executed, or just died in jail from sickness. This book makes me wonder how many serial killers are in Wisconsin, looking for their next victim. Albert Fish, for example, was a serial killer that no one expected. Albert Fish was a frail looking old man, not one someone would expect of cannibalism and murder. This scares me, knowing that someone that you may trust could be a killer, someone who seems so harmless could be haunted by murderous demons. Luckily, the beginning of this book has some traits of psychopaths you should look out for. Some traits include bed wetting through teenage years, pyromania (or firestarting), and animal torture. In my opinion, almost all of these traits should be checked out even if you don't believe that person has homicidal tendencies.

<-- Edward Gein, Wisconsin ghoul.