# Serial Killers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622 "2003-06-04T15:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/1 "2003-06-04T15:58:20Z")
Who is the worlds most prolific serial killer, with the most confirmed kills? I need to settle a pub bet. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/2 "2003-06-04T16:35:41Z")
[Herman Mudgett](http://home.cfl.rr.com/hagar/Mudgett.htm) springs readily to mind. He admitted to only 28 or so killings, but [some sources](http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/7268/mudgett1.html) claim that his total was actually much higher. [Dr. Harold Shipman](http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/shipman/dead_1.html) is also in the running, as is [Pedro Lopez](http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/pedro_lopez/1.html). [Henry Lee Lucas](http://www.houseofhorrors.com/lucas.htm) helped to close the books of hundreds of unsolved murders by claiming he did them, but a reexamination shows that he may have been doing that simply to extend his time on death row in Texas. You’ll never guess who issued the only reprieve of his career to save him from execution. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/3 "2003-06-04T16:36:25Z")
Aren’t most of these guys braggarts with no actual body count? ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/4 "2003-06-04T16:50:00Z")
[Some Serial Killers & confirmed body counts](http://www.flash.net/~greasure/page4.htm) John Wayne Gacy is right up there, with 36 confirmed bodies. [Green River Killer](http://www.maximonline.com/grit/articles/article_4665.html) This cite is from _Maxim_ so take it for what it is, but if their info is correct, GRK is the most prolific _American_ serial killer, with 49 confirmed deaths. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/5 "2003-06-04T16:52:39Z")
Well, he was helped by his family, but [Sawney Bean](http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst1131.htm) is right up there—and he “worked” for more than 25 years! ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/6 "2003-06-04T17:31:58Z")
When it comes to killing, it’s hard to beat a Thug, as in the Thugge cult of India. The worst serial killer in recorded history was Thug Behram, who killed 931 victims in Uttar Pradesh between 1790 and 1840. Most were strangled, the favorite method of the Thuggee. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/7 "2003-06-04T18:05:13Z")
Eve, I can’t get your link to work. When and where did he kill? ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/8 "2003-06-04T18:20:16Z")
You could take a look at [Andrei Chikatilo](http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial4/andrei/). He had somewhere between 53 and 70 victims. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/9 "2003-06-04T18:37:01Z")
Oops, sorry . . . Try [this](http://www.blackmask.com/books82c/sawnbean.htm) one. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serial-killers/179622/10 "2003-06-04T22:40:29Z")
> [@](#): > > When it comes to killing, it’s hard to beat a Thug, as in the Thugge cult of India. Ah, but were the Thugs properly serial killers? It’s not just a question of how many were killed, but of motive (or lack thereof).