# Scary/Physically Intimidating Serial Killers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 5, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442 "2009-11-05T17:14:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/21 "2009-11-05T21:14:10Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > There was some serial killer some years ago who looked like Chucky. (Don’t recall his name, and don’t feel like lookin’ fer it.) Brian Peppers, not a serial killer, but a registered sex offender, may be who you are thinking of: > **[Brian Peppers](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brian-peppers/)** > > This photograph of a man named Brian Peppers, who was a registered sex offender in Ohio, is indeed real. Definitely creepy! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/22 "2009-11-05T21:21:03Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I can’t really consider The Iceman to be a serial killer as most people understand that term. He was a Mafia hitman. He killed people because it was his job. > > [David Edward Maust,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Edward_Maust) a serial rapist and murderer of young boys, was definitely scary looking. > > I also always thought that [Dennis Rader](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rader) was scary as hell. Whenever I’d read reports of people who knew him who thought he was just a nice normal guy, I’d think, “really? Looking like that?” > > Also - [Keith Jesperson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Jesperson). 6’6", 240 lbs, and looked like a total psycho. Also signed all of his notes with a happy face. Mr Maust looks eerily like [Jeff Daniels](http://www.vh1.com/sitewide/flipbooks/img/movies/people/d/daniels_jeff/51306382_10.jpg), who has his own crimes to answer for. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/23 "2009-11-05T21:21:38Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Brian Peppers, not a serial killer, but a registered sex offender, may be who you are thinking of: > [Brian Peppers | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/peppers.asp) > Definitely creepy! The worst part is I read somewhere that some relative of his (supposedly, anyway) talked about how he was in a nursing home and he tugged on a nurse’s skirt to get her attention and she freaked out and that’s how he got on the sex offenders list. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/24 "2009-11-05T21:22:52Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Brian Peppers, not a serial killer, but a registered sex offender, may be who you are thinking of: Dass him. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/25 "2009-11-05T21:25:20Z")
Thanks for the replies! Of all the killers referenced so far, I think Kemper and Jesperson are the ones that really stand out as being “physically intimidating”. A number of the others are creepy looking, though. … Who was the guy that killed mostly college girls, and was described as having “Hollywood leading man” good looks? I can’t think of his name right now, but he evidently would use fake casts on his arm to generate sympathy. I think that he has already been executed. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/26 "2009-11-05T21:30:01Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Who was the guy that killed mostly college girls, and was described as having “Hollywood leading man” good looks? I can’t think of his name right now, but he evidently would use fake casts on his arm to generate sympathy. I think that he has already been executed. Ted Bundy. ---
**Author:** ![bri1600bv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@bri1600bv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bri1600bv)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/27 "2009-11-05T21:40:35Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Thanks for the replies! Of all the killers referenced so far, I think Kemper and Jesperson are the ones that really stand out as being “physically intimidating”. A number of the others are creepy looking, though. > > … > > Who was the guy that killed mostly college girls, and was described as having “Hollywood leading man” good looks? I can’t think of his name right now, but he evidently would use fake casts on his arm to generate sympathy. I think that he has already been executed. ted bundy ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/28 "2009-11-05T21:45:12Z")
You’re thinking of [Ted Bundy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy), who was executed 20 years ago. He was handsome, and charming, and a complete psychopath. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/29 "2009-11-05T22:04:43Z")
[Here](http://www.mansonfamilypicnic.com/keith4.htm) is a page with some pictures drawn by Keith Jesperson. NOT safe for work! ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/30 "2009-11-05T22:05:20Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > IIRC, I read a book written by an FBI agent who managed to get locked in an interrogation room with him. > The guard left his post for a substantial period of time, and Kemper noted he could probably kill the agent (true, and the agent admits it in the book) without anyone stopping him (probable) and not wind up serving any additional time for it (also true, he was never getting out). > The FBI agent spent 30 minutes bluffing back and forth with Kemper that the FBI provided non-gun tools to their agents to use in such situations. > I’m not sure if Kemper bought it, or was just screwing with his FBI friend… > I’ll try to dig up the book tonight so I can post the title. I seem to remember reading that in a book by John Douglas, maybe _Mindhunter_? I might be wrong, though - all my Douglas books are at home and I’m at work. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/31 "2009-11-05T22:40:35Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > IIRC, I read a book written by an FBI agent who managed to get locked in an interrogation room with him. > The guard left his post for a substantial period of time, and Kemper noted he could probably kill the agent (true, and the agent admits it in the book) without anyone stopping him (probable) and not wind up serving any additional time for it (also true, he was never getting out). > The FBI agent spent 30 minutes bluffing back and forth with Kemper that the FBI provided non-gun tools to their agents to use in such situations. > I’m not sure if Kemper bought it, or was just screwing with his FBI friend… > I’ll try to dig up the book tonight so I can post the title. It was FBI profiler Robert Ressler in his book _Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI_. Ressler pressed the button to have the guards come get him, but nobody came: “Relax. They’re changing the shift, feeding the guys in the secure areas.” He smiled and got up from his chair, making more apparent his huge size. “Might be fifteen, twenty minutes before they come and get you.” Though I felt I was maintaining a cool and collected posture, I’m sure I reacted to this infomation with somewhat more overt indications of panic, and Kemper responded to these. “If I went in apeshit in here, you’d be in a lot of trouble, wouldn’t you? I could screw your head off and place it on the table to greet the guard.” [Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI](http://books.google.com/books?id=6UbgUrh3StAC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=ressler+%22screw+your+head+off%22&source=bl&ots=9hYNYkSXGx&sig=bvOh847_Om3bymg2_AccxsTobTM&hl=en&ei=d1PzSq-MBNCZlAeBmMWtAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/32 "2009-11-05T22:44:50Z")
Bingo. I got thank for my brother-in-law, then I read it later when I was bored and sitting around his place. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/33 "2009-11-05T23:07:34Z")
I think it’s hard to judge because people only get to see the mugshots or photos like that and very few people have a nice mugshot. There are also different types of killers, for instance “Son of Sam” shot people at a distance, so it hardly matters what he looks like. Others like to “get” victims close and choke them etc. So you have to look “nice” in order to get people to go along with you. Charles Manson, never killed anyone directly but he must’ve had some “attraction” powers. Hitler for instance, looks scary now but I’m sure back in his day people found him a nice attractive man. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/34 "2009-11-05T23:12:27Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > It was FBI profiler Robert Ressler in his book _Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI_. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/35 "2009-11-05T23:46:15Z")
[Carl Panzram](http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1878923145.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg). If looks could kill…but then again, that wouldn’t be as fun as the normal way of killing. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/36 "2009-11-06T00:59:15Z")
Dick Hickock, of _In Cold Blood_ fame, just [didn’t look right.](http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico181385-116243.html) Although I understand that was largely a result of a serious, disfiguring car crash he had been in as a teenager. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/37 "2009-11-06T01:00:19Z")
Oh, and also, moved to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/38 "2009-11-06T01:12:09Z")
I forgot to link a picture of [McDuff](http://www.fairamendment.us/mcduff.gif). I wish I could find a photo that shows his body in relation to other people. There is an episode of **American Justice** that shows his courtroom brawl. According to witnesses he picked up one of his victims with one hand and carried her under one arm back to his car (and then did truly unspeakable things). ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442/39 "2009-11-06T02:41:49Z")
Richard Speck scared me a lot when I was a child: [Richard Speck - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Speck) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-physically-intimidating-serial-killers/516442.md?page=1)