#psycho killer usa famous American killers you never heard of

[we-are-all-of-legend-now]

Summary: AMERICA’S MOST COLD-BLOODED!

 

In the horrifying annals of American crime, the infamous names of brutal killers such as Bundy, Dahmer, Gacy, and Berkowitz are writ large in the imaginations of a public both horrified and hypnotized by their monstrous, murderous acts. But for every celebrity psychopath who’s gotten ink for spilling blood, there’s a bevy of all-but-forgotten homicidal fiends studding the bloody margins of U.S. history. The law gave them their just desserts, but now the hugely acclaimed author of The Serial Killer Files and The Whole Death Catalog gives them their dark due in this absolutely riveting true-crime treasury. Among America’s most cold-blooded you’ll meet

 

• Robert Irwin, “The Mad Sculptor”: He longed to use his carving skills on the woman he loved—but had to settle for making short work of her mother and sister instead.

 

• Peter Robinson, “The Tell-Tale Heart Killer”: It took two days and four tries for him to finish off his victim, but no time at all for keen-eyed cops to spot the fatal flaw in his floor plan.

 

• Anton Probst, “The Monster in the Shape of a Man”: The ax-murdering immigrant’s systematic slaughter of all eight members of a Pennsylvania farm family matched the savagery of the Manson murders a century later.

 

• Edward H. Ruloff, “The Man of Two Lives”: A genuine Jekyll and Hyde, his brilliant scholarship disguised his bloodthirsty brutality, and his oversized brain gave new meaning to “mastermind.”

 

Spurred by profit, passion, paranoia, or perverse pleasure, these killers—the Witch of Staten Island, the Smutty Nose Butcher, the Bluebeard of Quiet Dell, and many others—span three centuries and a host of harrowing murder methods. Dramatized in the pages of penny dreadfuls, sensationalized in tabloid headlines, and immortalized in “murder ballads” and classic fiction by Edgar Allan Poe and Theodore Dreiser, the demonic denizens of Psycho USA may be long gone to the gallows—but this insidiously irresistible slice of gothic Americana will ensure that they’ll no longer be forgotten.

[rosecorcoranwrites]

November Reading Roundup

Psycho USA: Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of by Harold Schechter

Genre: Historical True Crime

Why I read it: The genre is my jam.

What I thought of it: The author examines crimes, as well as how each case was reported on or remembered in folk ballads (murder ballads were apparently a huge thing!) from colonial days to the mid 20th century. Fascinating!

Would I recommend it: Yes! People have this notion that mass murder, serial killing, psychopathy, or a public interest in true crime are modern phenomena, and that just isn't true. People should educate themselves about the past, and I've found that true crime is a good way to do it.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Sixties by Jonathan Leaf (DNF)

Genre: History

Why I read it: Research

What I thought of it: Though the information itself was fascinating, there was too much editorializing on the part of the author. I grew annoyed part way through and gave up.

Would I recommend it: Maybe? I would say get a copy and only read those chapters of interest to you, but skip the rest.

The Real History of Witches and Witch Hunts by Thomas Fudge (DNF)

Genre: History

Why I read it: Research

What I thought of it: It was good, but I ran out of time to finish it (it was a library book). Fudge largely focused on European witchcraft trials, and I do know later sections were going to focus on non-European witchcraft, which I was more interested in. Oddly, he seemed to ignore witchcraft in the ancient world entirely.

Would I recommend it: Yes. Witchcraft as a concept and how the witch hunts swept across Europe, in both Catholic and protestant countries, religious and secular courts, is something that is still relevant today, given things like cancel culture, the notion of guilt through identity or association, and so on.

The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Genre: True Crime

Why I read it: John E. Douglas is my favorite true crime writer

What I thought of it: One thing I love about Douglas is that he often spends time talking about the victims and their families, rather than only focusing on the killers. He also considers when early legal intervention might have prevented a serial killer from developing, vs when it it, essentially, too late. He discusses the insanity defense, parole hearings, and rehabilitation for violent offenders, which I think is important.

Would I recommend it: Yes, despite the awful details of the crimes. People should know about criminals like those discussed in this book when they form opinions on parole, the death penalty, length of prison sentences, and so on.

Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents Book by Rod Dreher

Genre: History, Religion, and Politics

Why I read it: The cover intrigued me, the premise, even more so.

What I thought of it: It's a little long toward the end, but it was still a good read. Dreher interviewed those who had lived under Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe in order to get their opinion on the "soft totalitarianism" present in the modern West. He asked how they had resisted and kept hope, and the book is essentially a treatise on how to do the same today.

Would I recommend it: Yes. One of the best parts of this book is that it is bi-partisan, pointing out how both liberal identity politics and conservative capitalism are invading every corner of the average person's life, and how it's incredibly dangerous not to notice what's happening.