© Getty Images

Edmund Kemper -

The American serial killer and necrophile was accused of 10 murders, including that of his own mother, Clarnell Strandberg-Kemper. His killing spree began when he murdered his grandparents at the age of 15.

© Getty Images

Albert DeSalvo - The 'Boston Strangler' was active at the beginning of the 1960s and was responsible for the murders of 13 women. He assaulted the majority of his victims in their own homes.

© Getty Images

Jeffrey Dahmer - The 'Milwaukee Cannibal' assaulted, killed, and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He also practiced necrophilia and cannibalism.

© Reuters

Arthur Shawcross -

Arthur Shawcross assaulted and suffocated his first victim, who was 10 years old, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was released after 12 years and killed a further 12 women before being captured again.

© Getty Images

Countess Elizabeth Báthory - Countess Elizabeth Báthory was accused by the Hungarian Royal court of torturing and murdering 80 young girls. It is estimated that 650 were killed on her orders. She never underwent trial, but was sentenced to house arrest.

© Getty Images

Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono -

Cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono worked in tandem pretending to be Los Angeles police officers. They made young girls get into their 'police car', before taking them home to torture and kill them. They were known as the 'Hillside Stranglers.'

© Getty Images

John George Haigh - The British murderer beat and shot his victims in the head before dissolving their bodies in a bath of acid to cover up his crimes. Nevertheless, he was discovered and condemned.

© Getty Images

Gary Ridgway - Gary Ridgway was imprisoned in 2001 for the murder of 48 women between 1980 and 1990, although he confessed to the judge that the correct figure was 71 people. He was condemned to 48 life sentences.

© Public Domain

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley -

The Scot and his English girlfriend became known as the 'Moors Murderers' in the 1960s. They targeted children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17 years old.

© Getty Images

Dr. Henry Howard Holmes -

Said to be the first documented American serial killer, he murdered victims in his large home, known as his 'castle'. At least 27 deaths are confirmed to have taken place here, although there are speculations that he killed over 200 people.

© Getty Images

Robert Black -

Scottish killer Robert Black kidnapped, assaulted, and killed three girls in the 1980s. Police suspect that he may have had more victims, as there are a series of child murders from the 1970s which remain unresolved to this day.

© Getty Images

Luis Garavito - The Colombian 'La Bestia' (The Beast) admitted to having assaulted and killed 130 young boys in the 1980s. He was imprisoned on the 22nd April 1999 for 139 horrific crimes.

© Reuters

Pedro Rodrigues Filho - The Brazilian 'Pedrinho Matador' (killer Petey) acted as a type of avenger, killing mostly criminals in Minas Gerais. Imprisoned in 1973, he killed 47 of his fellow inmates while behind bars.

© Shutterstock

Peter Sutcliffe - The British serial killer was called 'The Yorkshire Ripper'. In 1981, he was accused of the murder of 13 women and for the attempted murder of a further 7 people. 

© Getty Images

Dennis Rader -

Dennis Rader killed 10 people in Sedgwick County, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991, and was finally caught in 2005. He was known as the 'BTK Killer' due to his MO: bind, torture, and kill. 

© Getty Images

Andrei Chikatilo -

The Ukrainian was known as the butcher of Rostov and committed crimes between 1978 and 1990. He lured children, adolescents, and women whom he met at bus stops and train stations to remote locations where he assaulted them.

© Getty Images

Colin Ireland -

The British serial killer, who was said to be gay, murdered victims. He carried a kit containing rope and cuffs which he used to commit his crimes.

© Getty Images

Fred and Rose West - The English couple assaulted and murdered 12 girls over a period of 20 years, burying the bodies in their garden. Fred killed himself in prison in 1995. Rose carried out a life sentence.

© Reuters

Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris -

In 1979, the 'Tool Box Killers' pursued teenage girls who they assaulted, tortured, and strangled. They were caught by the police and imprisoned after a five-month killing spree. 

© Getty Images

Peter Manuel - Peter Manuel was convicted of having murdered nine people between 1956 and 1958. The police believe that the total could be 18, however, there was not enough evidence to prove this.

© Getty Images

Dennis Nilsen - The "Kindly Killer" was active between 1978 and 1983. He was confused about his orientation and killed men by strangling, drowning, or administering electric shocks to them.

© Getty Images

David Berkowitz - The infamous 'Son of Sam' or '.44 Calibre Killer' terrorized New York between 1976 and 1977, after which he was imprisoned. He confessed to having killed 6 people.

© Reuters

Harold Shipman -

The English doctor killed his victims by injecting them with lethal doses of heroin. In 2000, he was given a life sentence for the death of 15 people, but his name was linked to a further 250 cases.

© Getty Images

Richard Ramirez -

Called the "Night Stalker' by the American press, he was convicted of homicides, assaults, and robberies. He died on death row after being convicted of 13 murders and 11 assaults. 

© Getty Images 

Kenneth Erskine -

'The Stockwell Strangler' was given a life sentence in 1988 for murdering seven people.

© Getty Images

John Wayne Gacy -

John Wayne Gacy, also known as the 'Killer Clown,' killed at least 33 young boys in Chicago between 1972 and 1978. He performed as a clown at events and children's hospitals which helped him lure his victims into his home. 

© Getty Images

Ted Bundy -

Ted Bundy was a famously charismatic serial killer who used his charm and good looks to gain the trust of his many victims. He's confirmed to have killed at least 35 young women and girls between 1974 and 1978. 

© Getty Images

Alexander Pichushkin -

Alexander Pichushkin is a convicted Russian murderer known as the 'Chessboard Killer' who killed at least 48 people in Moscow in the 1990s and early 2000s. His victims were mostly elderly homeless men whom he lured with the offer of vodka.

Sources: (Britannica) (History) (All That's Interesting)

See also: History's most celebrated crime fighters

© Reuters