9781422284131

persuaded a number of elderly patients to make wills in their favor, and then conveniently registered their death.

But the most horrifying serial murderers are those who apparently kill with no motive but the pleasure of doing so. They are psychopaths who—for whatever reason—have a violent hatred of a particular section of society, or even of society in general. A later chapter will look into modern theories of what causes this hatred and how psychiatrists and forensic experts have analyzed it. It is a growing contemporary problem, but it has its roots in history. The story of Bluebeard and his roomful of murdered wives is a fairy tale. However, it was adapted from a real-life case, that of Gilles de Rais in the 15th century. Gilles de Laval, Baron de Rais, was a Marshal of France, one of those who had fought alongside Joan of Arc against the English. He was extremely wealthy, and he spent his money living like an emperor. Eventually, in a search for more wealth, he took up alchemy, hoping that he could discover the “philosopher’s stone,” which would turn lowly metals into gold. And, in the course of his experiments, he began to sacrifice young boys and girls, hoping that this might further his efforts. He might have continued in this way if he had not imprisoned a priest. The priest was a brother of Geoffroi de Ferron, the powerful treasurer of Brittany, and in September 1440, Gilles was brought before the Bishop of Nantes and the Inquisitor General of France and charged with heresy . Rumors of his activities had been rife for years, and this was an ideal opportunity to investigate them. He was charged with abuse of clerical privilege, conjuration of demons, and sexual perversions against children. Jack the Ripper Few other cases in history provoked such a public outcry until the mid-19th century. Even Hélène Jegado, a maid in Brittany, who poisoned more than 30 people with arsenic over a period of nearly 20 years, caused no more than a ripple of interest. It was in London, in the second half of 1888, that the savage murders by the man who came to be known as “Jack the Ripper” caused a wave of fear to sweep through the eastern parts of the city. Between August and November of that year, five women—all prostitutes—had their throats viciously slashed through, and the bodies of four of them were brutally mutilated.

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SERIAL MURDERS