The Making of a Charismatic Killer

Dualistic personality traits amongst certain individuals captivate and perplex global audiences, from psychologists, to legal professionals, to everyday citizens. This dramatic juxtaposition of character has infiltrated into the criminal world, allowing for a new deviant to emerge: the charismatic killer. Though theories of deviance attempt to identify reasons for vile acts, there has been a failure in evaluating the role that charisma plays in violent crimes. This paper constructs a model of charismatic appeal to examine commonalities between four serial killers in terms of charisma and crime. After evaluating each subject, results include the possession of immense social power and “charismatic authority” among all killers.