7 Serial Killer Phases: The Progression From Fantasy To Murder
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Have you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a serial killer?
Studying serial killers has found that they go through a cycle that starts when they are young and evolves until they finally get the release they so desperately crave.
Psychologist Joel Norris first identified the 7 serial killer phases based on over 500 interviews profiling violent crimes committed.
We'll explore the seven serial killer phases and help you understand what their mind might work like during each stage. Then we'll discuss how this can be used for criminal profiling, how many serial killers there are, and where most operate.
First I want to warn you that the following content may be disturbing.
Warning: The Following Content May Be Disturbing
I'd imagine inside the minds of serial killers are pretty dark places. I have spent a lot of time trying to put my mind in other people's shoes, going to therapy, and watching horrifying movies while intoxicated so my imagination is a little twisted.
I read research papers and blogs about criminal profiling and the process serial murderers go through, then tried to put myself in their shoes.
Hopefully you think I'm pretty good at it, but no animals or people have been killed leading to the creation of this blog. Of course, I'm sure serial killers would say that too.
What are the 7 psychological phases a serial killer goes through?
The seven psychological phases a serial killer goes through are:
Aura Phase
Trolling Phase
Wooing Phase
Capture Phase
Murder Phase
Totem Phase
Depression Phase
Let's look at how serial killers go through each of these phases in their own private world.
Phase 1. The Aura Phase
The aura phase is a time of fantasy. Serial killers may get intense joy thinking about sadistic behavior or sexual violence in a fantasy world. This phase of a serial killer's cycle can last between five and thirty years.
A serial killer begins their journey long before they ever meet their first victim or create a crime scene. It often starts in their childhood.
They might see their parents fight and the aggressor get their way. This leads to the belief that violence is an acceptable way to get what they want.
At some point they go from the impression that violence is acceptable, to fantasizing about violent crimes.
The fantasy world starts to take hold.
The person's mind starts going in a circular process.
It may cause them to isolate from their social environment, and they might start to change, acting more like the person in their violent fantasies.
It probably a good time to point out dreaming about a serial killer shouldn't be taken literally. Find out what serial killer dreams mean.
At that point the sick thoughts aren't enough. That's when they enter the next phase.
Phase 2. The Trolling Phase
They start planning how to commit their first crime during the trolling phase. This phase might also be called the hunting phase.
Murder might not be their first hunt, but animal abuse or sexual assault. They'll start scouting to find a victim, a crime scene, and potentially a dump site depending on the intelligence level and whether the soon-to-be murderer is an organized or disorganized killer.
That's a lot to figure out, which may be why serial killing doesn't normally start as a child. That's why you see things like cruelty to animals, killing animals, peeping toms, and sexual assault before some serial killers start killing people.
It doesn't take a genius to recognize that all that planning is hard if they have the intelligence to not want to get caught.
The victim is likely to be someone who reminds them of their fantasies, but there's a good chance it won't be the actual person. If you've ever fulfilled a fantasy, you know it feels almost immediately anticlimatic because you had built it up for so long.
The crime scene will need to be somewhere they won't get caught because that could become a real mess. An organized serial killer will want their first time to be fulfilling and let's be real nothing messes up a killers experience like having to stop killing before he gets the first murder.
Then the dump site has to be convenient, but not so close that they are the primary suspect. That's another reason most serial killers don't start until they are older. They need a car.
Imagine for a minute if 9-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer tried to ride down the street with a decapitated head and body parts in a bag. He probably wouldn't be the notorious killer he is today.
Next they have to get the victim to come with them.
Phase 3. The Wooing Phase
The third serial killer phase is called the wooing phase because much like dating the serial murderer has to gain their intended victim's trust. An organized killer knows most people aren't just going to come with them voluntarily unless they know and trust them.
The reason most people assume serial killers are psychopaths or sociopaths is because they are able to turn on the charm to get people to trust them. Think about how serial killer Ted Bundy would seduce his potential victims.
Ted Bundy would pretend to be either injured or a police officer which would lure his victims into a false sense of safety.
Most people don't expect to get killed by a person with crutches, nor in his time did most people think a police officer would do them harm (unless they had been with a cop or were a minority). They'd let down their defense and follow him to where their reality will take a turn for the worse.
Most serial killers don't have the charm and stunning good looks of Ted Bundy so it wouldn't always be so quick. For instance Rodney Alcala, would pretend to be a photographer and might photograph someone multiple ties before gaining the victim's trust and finally luring her to the crime scene.
Te serial kill moves on to the next stage once the offender believe the victim is ready.
Phase 4. The Capture Phase
During the capture phase the killer takes absolute control of the victim, normally incapacitating them. This is when their true intentions are revealed.
Ted Bundy would hit them over the head and restrain them, while Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy would use drugs and alcohol to help subdue their victims and incapacitate them.
And now the moment all the serial killers minds have been waiting for...
Phase 5. The Murder Phase
The murder phase is when the real criminal behavior begins. Disorganized killers are normally going to kill their victims quickly and then leave.
This is an instance like Jack the Ripper. Someone walks down the alley way, secluded and alone, Jack is waiting in the shadows to cut their throats, remove their stomachs, and stab his victim i the genitals. It takes minutes for a horrific crime scene to be created and the serial killer takes refuge in the night.
Meanwhile, an organized serial killer begins much more methodically. The victim is incapacitated and restrained so they might take their time, situate the victim like a ritual to match the serial killer's fantasy, then torture them. Depending on the serial killers fantasy word this could go on for minutes hours, or days, but at some point they finish killing.
They might have sexual activity before or after killing them, but only 26% of serial killers are actually sexual partners with their victims. They've gotten the release that they so desperately craved.
It's time to move on to the next phase.
Phase 6. The Totem Phase
The totem phase is similar to the experience after a wonderful day at Disney or going to see your favorite band. You want to get something to remember that day forever. The mind of a serial killer isn't that much different from you or I.
They love souvenirs too.
Granted turning a person into a lamp shade is way different than buying a t-shirt, but despite all the antisocial behavior, sick sexual impulses, and violent behavior, they still share the desire to remember the "good times"
After the serial killer gets their totem, they'll do whatever they need to do to dispose of the body and clean up the crime scene.
Many serial killers will also try to extend this phase for as long as they can too. For instance, Jeffrey Dahmer would fuck the skulls of his victims and eat their flesh to help feel connected to the victims for as long as possible.
Some serial killers will actually watch the police as they engage in the criminal investigation. They might even taunt the criminal justice system sending letters to the police and the media. Did you know the Zodiac Killer sent a letter with his name in it?
This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you? My name is . . . ”
To this day, no one has figured out who it was.
Ultimately, serial killers will do anything they can do to keep the high going just like any other type of addiction.
Phase 7. The Depression Phase
After a while the high from the last committed murder wears off. A deep depression falls in the mind of a serial killer. They miss the thrill they get from identifying a potential victim, seducing them, capturing them, commiting murder, saving their body parts or other souvenirs, and so the cycle starts again.
How does understanding the phases help with criminal profiling?
The FBI has been trying to figure out how serials killers behave since the 70s in hopes that they'll be able to prevent them from committing murder. Understanding the phases and the psychology of serial killers can help you predict when someone is more likely to become one.
Understanding this cycle can be used as an investigative tool to measure the frequency at which the murderer moves through the various stages between one murder and the next murder. For instance if serial murders followed a pattern of 144 days, 89 days, 55 days, 34 days, hopefully investigators would realize that the killer experiences the desire to kill in the reverse order of the Fibonacci sequence.
The challenges of creating profiles have changed over the years. In the early years, they had to rely on information from convicted killers, friends and relatives of the serial killers, and other people. Now they can track GPS and internet research.
How common is serial murder?
According to Criminal Behavior by Sevgi Güney, there are approximately 35 currently identified serial murder cases in the U.S. with between 360 and 500 victims, but there are 3500 to 5000 unsolved murders each year.
Most serial killers killers operate in what country?
Most serial killers operate in the United States. Despite the U.S. accounting for 4.22% of the world's population, nearly 75% percent of serial killers operate in the United States. I guess you really can be anything you want to be in the U.S.
Conclusion
At this point you understand the psychological phases that killers cycle through when they commit serial murder. From the fantasy phase, to the planning stage, gaining their victims' trust, and capturing the victim before murdering them, collecting their trophy, and then the depressive phase that leads them to start fantasizing about murder again.
We've also discussed how forensic psychiatry can use this information to profile murders and help predict future crimes, plus we've discussed some other commonly asked questions about serial murder.
Other Resources:
These resources were reviewed before writing.
https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=74772
https://cyberstruggle.org/2018/10/08/serial-killers-7-psychological-phases-and-cyber-world
https://stephenzimmerman.com/psychological-phases-of-a-serial-killer
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