From what I’ve read and heard, serial killers are very likeable, normal-seeming people.
So how does a person know??? Are there any signs?
Thank you very much in advance for replying.
The only sure way to know is when they start killing. There are some warning signs, but that’s the only sure way.
As you said, they can live as a normal person until caught.
>> The only sure way to know is when they start killing.
Lets not prejudge people so fast. I think you have to wait a bit and when they get up to about 8 or 10 murders then you can be reasonably sure.
You always hear neighbors say, “He was quiet, caused no trouble, & kept to himself.” Theses are 3 clues to get you started.
I’ve always heard seriel killer experts say the potential warning signs of a future killer are 'the triad"
- Wets their bed when young
- Pyromania
- Tortures animals
Well, I wet my bed when I was a kid, loved playing with fireworks my whole life, and even made some of my own in high school, plus as a little kid, used to love lighting my little army men on fire, and yes, a few bugs and lizards lost their lives to me as well. So far I haven’t killed anyone…though I certainly feel like there are some deserving candidates here at work 
You don’t work at the post office, do you?
If you want to be able to tell if your new neighbor/boyfriend/boss/stepfather is a serial killer, listen carefully to the background music when he smiles at you. If you hear a violin glissando… get out quick.
There are some clinical characteristics for a sociopathic personality, but not all sociopaths are serial killers. Many serial killers are glib and superficially charming. (Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy). They are also completely narcissistic. They are often pathological liars who will use flattery and tell people what they want to hear in order to get what they want.
I don’t know if there’s really any definitive “tell” for this kind of personality, but narcissism combined with any tendency towards violent sexual fantasies would be someone to watch out for.
Diog-is it possible to be partly, as opposed to completely, narcissistic?
Wrong, those are spree killers, the type who suddenly go off and start picking off strangers from a clock tower or something. Completely different pathology.
heh
i always thought that the huge mystery was what is pathological ? freud seems to have his thought about it and the rest seem to be well confused?
OMG! That’s me! And I didn’t even know I was a serial killer! 
This looks like it knows what it’s talking about. Anyone else get double question marks interspersed in the text or is it just me?
The trail of dead animal corpses is always a good start.
A book I once read said that serial killers had a tendency to be “police buffs” – very interested in police stuff; they often try to get on the force but get rejected and end up taking jobs like security guard.
I would also be on the lookout for folks who have set up their lives so that they have a lot of privacy. For example, owning a van; living alone in a house with a basement; etc.
The reality is that serial killers are so rare that even if you meet someone that displays all the signs of a serial killer, chances are he isn’t one. (IMHO)
Do you think you know a serial killer? Did you meet one on the internet? Are you a serial killer and trying to figure out how to hide it?
Sociopaths are hard to discern; they have a lot of practice hiding their true nature, and typically have an excuse for everything that you might find suspicious. Since most people give the benefit of the doubt, the sociopath has the advantage; you think “hmmm, that’s a little weird,” but have no concrete facts to back you up. Every lie they tell is plausible, so you believe it.
Above a certain latitude, all houses with concrete or masonry foundations have basements; the foundations have to be below the frost line.
A vast majority of serial killers are white males, so there’s a good point to look for.
Hehehe, no no no, I’m not a secret serial killer. But I am very dumb and trusting when it comes to judging character and I don’t want my life to end with a lot of hacking in the woods.