The 10 Scariest Serial Killers You Haven’t Heard Of

Are you sick of watching and reading about the same killers and crimes? Do you feel like you’ve seen and heard about every true crime case on tv and in books?

Sure, you know all about Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, and The Golden State Killer. But what do you know about Tom Luther, Anthony Garcia, Roy Melanson, or Joshua Wade?

This list is for the most dedicated true crime fans, the ones who want to delve into the lesser known cases. Below you can read about our favorite bone-chilling serial killers you probably HAVEN’T heard of yet!

BOGEYMAN by Steve Jackson

For years he stalked elementary schools and playgrounds looking for young girls from low-income neighborhoods to abduct, rape and murder. They were “throwaway kids” to him, hardly missed, soon forgotten. He was every parent’s worst nightmare. The bogeyman they warned their children about, who lurked in the shadows outside of bedroom windows.

KILLING WOMEN by Rod Sadler

Don Miller was quiet and reserved. As a former youth pastor, no one would have ever suspected that he was a serial killer. Now, after forty years in prison, Miller is due to be released into an unsuspecting population. Author Rodney Sadler examines the crimes, the “justice” meted out, and the impending freedom of a dangerous man.

MONSTER by Steve Jackson

On a snowy winter evening in 1982, 21-year-old Mary Brown accepted a ride from a handsome stranger in the resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado. The trip ended with her brutally beaten and raped. Mary survived, but her predator’s violence had only just begun. After 10 years in prison, Tom Luther was released a far more vicious criminal. Soon, from the Rockies to West Virginia, like Ted Bundy, Luther enticed a chain of women into his murderous trap.

TANATAMOUNT by Blaine Pardoe and Victoria Hester

In 1971 and 1972, a killer stalked the streets of the nation’s capital. His targets, young girls who he kidnapped, raped, and left their remains along busy roadways in plain view. Then, as mysteriously as he started, the Freeway Phantom stopped. Now, after nearly five decades, Washington DC’s oldest unsolved serial killing spree is pried open.

PATHOLOGICAL by Henry Cordes and Todd Cooper

In PATHOLOGICAL: The Murderous Rage Of Dr. Anthony Garcia, authors Henry J. Cordes and Todd Cooper, who covered the story for the Omaha World-Herald, recount the dramatic tale of deep-seated revenge, determined detectives, and the sensational trial of the doctor-turned-serial killer.

HIS GARDEN by Anne K. Howard

The remains of seven people are found in a grisly burial ground behind a strip mall. Who is the monster that put them there? His Garden: Confessions of Serial Killer tells the spine-chilling story of the man who exclusively shared with the author the details of his heinous acts. An unlikely confessor, Howard explores the man within the monster.

THE SHAWCROSS LETTERS by John Paul Fay with Brian Whitney

What happens when one of the most evil men in the history of America meets a man he trusts to share his darkest secrets with? Partly told through the letters of Arthur Shawcross, The Shawcross Letters is the tale of one of America’s most notorious serial killers and his relationship with his would-be biographer, John Paul Fay.

A SPECIAL KIND OF EVIL by Blaine Pardoe and Victoria Hester

In the late 1980s, a predator stalked the Tidewater region of Virginia, savagely murdering his carefully selected his prey. He, or they, demonstrated a special kind of evil, and to this day have evaded justice. This is the first comprehensive look at the Colonial Parkway Murders and sheds new light on the victims, the crimes, and the investigation.

ICE AND BONE by Monte Francis

In the Fall of 2000, in Anchorage, Alaska, the murders of six women captured headlines and stoked fears a serial killer was on the loose. In ICE AND BONE, journalist Monte Francis tells the chilling, true account of how a notorious murderer initially evaded police and avoided conviction only to slip back into the shadows and kill again.

SMOOTH TALKER by Steve Jackson

Anita Andrews, the owner and bartender of her own bar was found raped, beaten, and stabbed to death in a bloody frenzy. She’d last been seen alive the night before talking to a drifter at the end of the bar, playing cards and flirting with her. The stranger disappeared, and two decades later a serial rapist was fingered for a different murder.

BONUS SUGGESTION:
ONLY FOR DEDICATED TRUE CRIME FANS!

If you really want to get into killers you haven’t heard of, you need to own THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SERIAL KILLERS. These four volumes contain details on EVERY known serial killer AROUND THE WORLD, plus details on the hottest cold cases, unsolved serial killings.

THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SERIAL KILLERS by Susan Hall

The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is the most comprehensive set of its kind in the history of true crime publishing. Written and compiled by Susan Hall, the four-volume set has more than 1600 entries of male and female serial killers from around the world.