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As readers of this periodical might appreciate, no two clinicians or researchers will offer quite the same hypothesis as to the aetiology of murder. Whilst some neuropsychologists have championed an overtly biopathological model, claiming that serial killers suffer from significant brain abnormalities (e.g. Raine et al., 1997), other medically trained investigators, including the esteemed American neurologist Professor Jonathan Pincus (2001), have embraced a more traumatological, psychoanalytically orientated lens, and have argued that early experiences of abuse will have contributed significantly to the development of such outrageous criminality.
Our so-called experts have, regrettably, never arrived at a clear or unified conclusion as to the origins of murder. And, moreover, members of the general public will probably never read the many clinical or scholarly essays about this ugly topic, most of which will have appeared in obscure journals. Thus, owing to the lack of clarity among professionals as to the cause of murder and to the inaccessibility of these collegial controversies, the vast majority of people will learn about the psychology of multiple murderers simply by watching television!
So, what can Netflix teach us about the nature of the serial killer?
On 21 September 2022, subscribers to this increasingly influential television platform will have gained access to a newly released series entitled Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, created by the multiple Emmy Award-winning producer Ryan Murphy, in collaboration with screenwriter, Ian Brennan. Ryan Murphy will be particularly familiar to television fans for having created the hugely successful Nip/Tuck, as well as Pose and Ratched, and, perhaps most famously, Glee.
I must confess that I was quite surprised when I discovered that the creator of Glee—a heart-warming and jovial entertainment series about young students keen to develop their musical and performative skills in high school—had now turned his at