Serial Murderers – their sacred killing fields and rituals. Part I.

Killing fields as Sacred Grounds.

 

Kathleen Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology and prolific writer, claims that many serial murderers stake out killing fields, which often become burying fields as well. They reveal their pathological need for control when they feel violated upon discovering that one of their victim’s remains has been found and removed by authorities.

Ramsland describes a case that fascinated people around Manchester, England, where I spent sabbaticals in 2000 and 2007. For their murders, social misfit Ian Brady and his not-too-bright girlfriend, Myra Hindley, preferred the remote areas in the Moors outside Manchester. “[They] lured four children here, sexually assaulted them, and buried them. The lovers would have picnics on their graves, because Brady liked to feel his ownership of the bodies. The ‘Moors Murderers’ were arrested in 1965. Three bodies were recovered, but not that of Keith Bennett, just 12 when they abducted him.”

 

 

Professor Ramsland describes the “favorite spots” of two other serial killers from the Seattle, Washington area, Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway:

• “Bundy called his killing field sacred ground. Although he’s known for his cross-country mobility, he did have dump areas near Seattle. Three of his victims in the Pacific Northwest were discovered in September 1974 in a wilderness area near Issaquah. In March 1975, 11 miles east, the skulls of four more turned up on Taylor Mountain.

Bundy considered the victims, once dead, to belong to him. “They are part of you,” he stated, “and you are forever one… You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body… You then possess them and they shall forever be a part of you. And the grounds where you kill them or leave them become sacred to you.” (It’s where he wanted his ashes scattered after his death.)

•  From 1982-1984, Ridgeway, the “Green River Killer,” strangled and stabbed numerous women and discarded their bodies in the Green River area.

  In 1983 alone, 27 women had disappeared and nine were found dead. Many were sex workers or runaways. They were generally left in one of four dumpsites, and sometimes more than one was found in a single day.

  Since the killer had sexual contact with victims after they were dead, investigators knew he was returning to the scenes. In 2001, Ridgway was linked via DNA. He pled guilty, showing authorities more graves until his toll reached 48.

  Ridgway said he’d viewed them as his possessions; he didn’t like it when victims were found, because he then ‘lost’ them.”

 

 

 

Into control, like the takers of sex slaves.

Psychologist Ramsland thinks these kinds serial murderers have traits similar to those of criminals who kidnap people to be their sex slaves. (A Cleveland musician did just that with Michele Knight and three others over a long period of time.) Ramsland touches on the psychopathic traits that some depraved killers have:

“The need to possess other people signals weak or inadequate personalities. Some believe they’re entitled to do whatever they want to another person. To them, others are merely objects for their gratification. They have no appreciation for the terror and pain another person might experience, except to be narcissistically pleased by it.”

Your thoughts about Sacred Killing Fields?

I welcome your feedback since I’m in the process of writing a book* about a serial killer and a variety of other psychopathic people.

Always interested in what my blog readers think.

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* It’s called Privileged Killers and Psychopaths among us.. If you’re into serial killers or psychopaths, use the drop secondary down menu or the search box – both at the top my website — to find other relevant blogs. My most recent serial killing blog is here.

My latest book, PRIVILEGED KILLERS, is a true story about a half-dozen Dark Triad people in my everyday life - narcissists, manipulators, and psychopaths. Three of 'em murdered people, and one came after my wife and me. Print and e-book versions of this (and CLEFT HEART) available at Amazon and elsewhere online. Also at your local bookstore.