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Richard Ramirez -

This serial killer and admitted Satan worshipper became known as the "Night Stalker" for breaking into the homes of his victims. After severe torture and mutilation, Ramirez created pentagrams on the surrounding walls. He was caught after his year-long rampage in 1985.

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Jeffrey Dahmer - Between 1978 and 1991, the infamous Milwaukee cannibal and serial killer murdered, dismembered, and ate 17 boys. Dahmer was caught when he was attempting to kill again, and the boy escaped and told authorities. Only two years into his sentence he was beaten to death by a fellow inmate.

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Ted Bundy -

Known for meeting his victims in a public space and leading them to seclusion, Bundy is an incredibly infamous serial killer and rapist. Though he was captured, he repeatedly escaped, and went on to commit more murders. In 1989, Bundy was sentenced to execution by electric chair.

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Donald Henry Gaskins - Mutilating hitchhikers along the Southern coast, Gaskins claims to have killed 80 to 90 people. He was caught in 1975 when a fellow criminal told authorities he witnessed Gaskins murder two young men. While on death row in a high-security penitentiary, Gaskins was able to kill a fellow inmate, the only case of this kind in history.

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Edmund Kemper -

The Santa Cruz necrophile and murderer came to be known as the "Co-ed Killer." He viciously slew and defiled six female hitchhikers in the area, as well as his own mother and grandparents. His twisted story was recently depicted in the Netflix series, 'Mindhunter.'

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Charles Ng and Leonard Lake -

The pair tortured and murdered victims in Calaveras County, CA. In 1985, Lake (pictured) took his own life following his arrest. Ng was initially caught while shoplifting but attempted to escape to Canada. After the lengthy process of extradition, he was finally convicted in 1999.

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David Berkowitz -

The New York City killer, who carried out a series of shootings in the summer of 1976, came to be known as "Son of Sam" or the ".44 Caliber Killer."

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Anthony Allen Shore -

Shore became known as the "Tourniquet Killer" and was the lead suspect in a series of killings that took place in a field in Texas, about a mile from Interstate Highway 45.

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Amy Archer-Gilligan -

This killer poisoned her elderly victims at the nursing home where she worked, allegedly for financial gain.

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Larry Bittaker and Roy Norris -

The pair became known as the "Tool Box Killers" and would lure women into their van to torture and horrifically kill them. They were charged in 1981. Bittaker (pictured) was sentenced to death but died while on death row. Norris escaped execution for his testimony against Bittaker and was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

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Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono -

These cousins became known as the "Hillside Stranglers" for their acts of extreme terror in 1977-88. They strangled their young female victims in the hills above Los Angeles.

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Peter Manuel -

An American killer terrorized Southern Scotland between 1956 and 1958. Authorities were finally able to prove his guilt when Manuel was caught using his victims' banknotes in local pubs. He killed 18 people and was eventually hanged in Barlinnie Prison, one of the last hangings before capital punishment was outlawed in Scotland.

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John Wayne Gacy -

By luring victims into his home on the promise of work, Gacy murdered 33 men and boys by strangulation. In Chicago, IL he kept the remains of his victims in his home before eventually disposing of them in the Des Plaines River. Gacy was executed by lethal injection in 1994.

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Tommy Lynn Sells - This Texas serial killer claims to have killed over 70 people between 1985 and 1999. Sells was eventually arrested after stabbing a 10-year-old girl in her bedroom and leaving her for dead. Despite multiple injuries, the girl managed to alert her neighbors.

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The Bender Family -

A family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, KS. They became known as "The Bloody Benders."

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Gary Ridgway -

Arrested in Washington State, Ridgeway confessed to killing at least 70 women throughout the '80s and '90s. He came to be known as “The Green River Killer,” for dumping the remains of his victims in the Green River.

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Dennis Raider -

This Kansas serial killer came to be known as "BTK," short for bind, torture, and kill. He would send taunting letters to the local police before stalking and murdering his victims. After seemingly disappearing in 1988, Raider resurfaced and sent a floppy disk with his signature threats to police; it was then that authorities were able to arrest and charge him.

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Dean Corll, David Brooks, and Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. -

These three were responsible for a series of killings in Houston, TX from 1970 to 1973 that became known as the "Houston Mass Murders." The truth of the group's 28 horrific killings only came to light when Henley fatally shot and killed Corll.

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Herbert Mullin -

Claiming that the voices in his head were making him kill to prevent an earthquake, Mullin killed 13 people throughout California, including an old high school friend.

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Donald Harvey - Working in a hospital, this serial killer pronounced himself "The Angel of Death." Using painful poisons to allegedly end his victim's suffering, Harvey claims he murdered over 80 people.

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Patrick Kearney -

Kearney became known as "The Trash Bag Killer." He wreaked havoc from 1965 until he was caught in 1977.

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Raymond Martinez Fernandez and Martha Beck -

Finding victims in lonely hearts newspaper ads, Fernandez and Beck allegedly killed over 20 people between 1947 and 1949, though were only charged for one case.

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Joel Rifkin -

Rifkin likely killed 17 drug addicts and sex workers between 1989 and 1993 in New Jersey.

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Paul John Knowles - During a year-long murder spree in 1974, Knowles claims to have killed 35 people. After being caught, he was shot and killed in the backseat of a police car while attempting to escape.

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Robert Lee Yates - Currently on death row, Yates allegedly murdered 13 female sex workers in Washington, though was only convicted of killing two.

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Earle Nelson - This serial killer solely victimized single landladies. He would reportedly rent a room before strangling the owner. He became known as the "The Dark Strangler," and was caught and hanged in 1927.

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Jane Toppan -

From 1885-1901 this nurse murdered over 30 victims. After capture, Toppan claimed it was her greatest wish to be the most prolific killer in history. While not quite reaching her goal, she did poison her patients, her landlords, and even her foster sister.

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Robert Hansen -

Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen was responsible for horrifically killing at least 17 women in Alaska. Pictured here is John Cusack playing Robert Hansen in the 2013 movie 'The Frozen Ground.'

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Ronald Dominique - Between 1997 and 2006, Dominique went on a spree of assaulting and killing gay men he thought would have accepted money for sex. He is currently serving eight back-to-back life sentences.

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William Bonin -

Also known as "The Freeway Killer," Bonin slew at least 21 young men along the highways of Southern California.

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Wayne Williams -

Responsible for the deaths of at least 23 children, Williams was the lead suspect in the Atlanta Child Murders, though he was arrested on the charge of killing two adult men. Williams is attempting to clear his name to this day.

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Juan Corona -

Working on a fruit ranch in Sutter County, CA, this vicious serial killer murdered 25 of his migrant co-workers.

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Maury Travis -

Starting in 2000, Travis slew 17 Missouri women over two years. When a local news station reported on his victims, he sent a letter and map detailing directions to the burial site.

See also: These are the men who claimed the most lives

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