It is still uncertain whether Belle Gunness committed the murders for money and property, or whether she was affected by the circumstances of her life. It wasn’t for nothing that Belle was known as the Black Widow after the species of spider that eats it own mate. She would give out matrimonial ads for partners, marry these men, adopt their children (if any) and ask them to shift to her house in La Porte. Once they were there, she would drug them and slaughter them in the same fashion as she would her pigs. She would them bury them in the land around her farm. This continued for several years before, in 1908, her farm was reduced to ashes by a fire. It is believed that Bell Gunness died in this fire. It was in the aftermath of the fire, that many of the severely butchered bodies were discovered which led to her being included in this list of famous serial killers in history.

Belle Gunness came to this country from a small fishing village in Norway in 1881. Like any other nineteenth-century immigrants, the enterprising young woman found America to be the land of plenty, where she could put her God-given talents to the most profitable use. As it happened, Belle’s particular talent was serial murder. After a fire destroyed her Indiana farm in 1908, searchers found the decomposed remains of at least a dozen people on her property, some interred in the basement of the gutted house, others buried in the muck on the hog pen or planted in her garden. Most of her victims were either prospective husbands or hired hands who doubled as lovers. Their deaths allowed Gunness to cash in on their insurance policies an loot their bank accounts. Like the sow that devours it’s farrows, she also murdered two of her own infant children after insuring their lives. Gunness has gained legendary status not only because of the enormity of her crimes but also because she disappeared without a trace, slipping (like Jack the Ripper) into the realm of folklore and myth.

Belle Gunness came to this country from a small fishing village in Norway in 1881. Like any other nineteenth-century immigrants, the enterprising young woman found America to be the land of plenty, where she could put her God-given talents to the most profitable use. As it happened, Belle’s particular talent was serial murder. After a fire destroyed her Indiana farm in 1908, searchers found the decomposed remains of at least a dozen people on her property, some interred in the basement of the gutted house, others buried in the muck on the hog pen or planted in her garden. Most of her victims were either prospective husbands or hired hands who doubled as lovers. Their deaths allowed Gunness to cash in on their insurance policies an loot their bank accounts. Like the sow that devours it’s farrows, she also murdered two of her own infant children after insuring their lives. Gunness has gained legendary status not only because of the enormity of her crimes but also because she disappeared without a trace, slipping (like Jack the Ripper) into the realm of folklore and myth.

It is still uncertain whether Belle Gunness committed the murders for money and property, or whether she was affected by the circumstances of her life. It wasn’t for nothing that Belle was known as the Black Widow after the species of spider that eats it own mate. She would give out matrimonial ads for partners, marry these men, adopt their children (if any) and ask them to shift to her house in La Porte. Once they were there, she would drug them and slaughter them in the same fashion as she would her pigs. She would them bury them in the land around her farm. This continued for several years before, in 1908, her farm was reduced to ashes by a fire. It is believed that Bell Gunness died in this fire. It was in the aftermath of the fire, that many of the severely butchered bodies were discovered which led to her being included in this list of famous serial killers in history.

It is still uncertain whether Belle Gunness committed the murders for money and property, or whether she was affected by the circumstances of her life. It wasn’t for nothing that Belle was known as the Black Widow after the species of spider that eats it own mate. She would give out matrimonial ads for partners, marry these men, adopt their children (if any) and ask them to shift to her house in La Porte. Once they were there, she would drug them and slaughter them in the same fashion as she would her pigs. She would them bury them in the land around her farm. This continued for several years before, in 1908, her farm was reduced to ashes by a fire. It is believed that Bell Gunness died in this fire. It was in the aftermath of the fire, that many of the severely butchered bodies were discovered which led to her being included in this list of famous serial killers in history.

The body of Andrew Helgelein was the first to be uncovered in a shallow grave in the garden of serial killer Belle Gunness.

Belle Gunness came to this country from a small fishing village in Norway in 1881. Like any other nineteenth-century immigrants, the enterprising young woman found America to be the land of plenty, where she could put her God-given talents to the most profitable use. As it happened, Belle’s particular talent was serial murder. After a fire destroyed her Indiana farm in 1908, searchers found the decomposed remains of at least a dozen people on her property, some interred in the basement of the gutted house, others buried in the muck on the hog pen or planted in her garden. Most of her victims were either prospective husbands or hired hands who doubled as lovers. Their deaths allowed Gunness to cash in on their insurance policies an loot their bank accounts. Like the sow that devours it’s farrows, she also murdered two of her own infant children after insuring their lives. Gunness has gained legendary status not only because of the enormity of her crimes but also because she disappeared without a trace, slipping (like Jack the Ripper) into the realm of folklore and myth.

It is still uncertain whether Belle Gunness committed the murders for money and property, or whether she was affected by the circumstances of her life. It wasn’t for nothing that Belle was known as the Black Widow after the species of spider that eats it own mate. She would give out matrimonial ads for partners, marry these men, adopt their children (if any) and ask them to shift to her house in La Porte. Once they were there, she would drug them and slaughter them in the same fashion as she would her pigs. She would them bury them in the land around her farm. This continued for several years before, in 1908, her farm was reduced to ashes by a fire. It is believed that Bell Gunness died in this fire. It was in the aftermath of the fire, that many of the severely butchered bodies were discovered which led to her being included in this list of famous serial killers in history.

Belle Gunness was born in 1859, her whereabouts still unknown, she was responsible for the killings of more than 20 suitors and all of her children. Belle was also famous for burning down houses and collecting insurance money for the property and for her dead husbands. Later on, she progressed to placing an advertisement for a husband in a newspaper and luring prospective suitors to her home and killing them. She would bury the bodies in her farm and hog pen.

Black Widows kill family members or partners, most often for financial gain. They typically start killing after age 25, and claim 6 to 8 victims in a 10-year period.

Famous Black Widows:

• Blanche Taylor Moore of North Carolina killed her pastor, father, mother-in-law, husbands and lovers. She died by lethal injection in 1989.
• Margie Velma Barfield, also of North Carolina, killed 7 husbands, several fiancés, and her mother. Her final victim was a boyfriend, who was found with traces of arsenic in his system. Barfield also died by lethal injection, in 1978.
• Waneta Hoyt of New York suffocated 5 of her 6 children. She was sentenced to life in prison.
• Belle Gunness of Illinois was also known as Lady Bluebeard. She was the first known Black Widow in the 20th Century. She killed 49 people, but was never prosecuted.

Angels of Death typically start killing in their early 20s, and can kill as many as 8 people in one or two years. They are more likely to brag about their murders, which often leads to their arrest.

Famous Angels of Death

• Genene Jones of Texas was a nurse who murdered 11 children with heart medication. She was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1984.
• Madame Popova of Russia killed over 300 victims, and ran a contract murder service which freed women from abusive husbands. Popova was executed in 1909.

Female Serial Killers

Most women who become serial killers tend to become murders either to fulfill some material need or because of emotions of passion and vindictiveness. Many female serial killers tend to be suffering from a syndrome known as the Münchausen syndrome but this is not a given. It is much more difficult to pin down the psychological motivation of female serial killers compared to men. Given below is a list of those women who are some of the most famous serial killers in history.

Aileen Wuornos

If you have watched the blood chilling movie Monster, then you probably know the story of Aileen Wuornos. She had a tough childhood and at the age of 14 she was the victim of sexual assault by a stranger which left her pregnant. All these circumstances had a huge effect on her psyche and led her to choose a life as a commercial sex worker. It was in this phase of her life that her violent streak started displaying itself. She killed seven men, all of whom were people she had solicited. She would shoot them and rob them. On being apprehended in 1991 she claimed to have killed these men in self defense. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection and was executed in the year 2002. She was probably one of the most famous serial killers in America.

Amelia Dyer

For over twenty years, Amelia Dyer terrorized the city of London killing innocent babies and gaining the moniker of Baby Butcher in the process and becoming one of the most famous serial killers in history. Her modus operandi was simple. She would advertise in the paper and offer adoption services to unmarried women charging them a certain amount in return. She would take the babies and promise the mothers of giving them an life they would have dreamed of. Once she adopted these babies she would completely neglect them, which caused their death in several cases. Later she started strangulating them and using opium injections to kill them. Caught in 1896, and sentenced to death, she was one of the most prolific female serial killers killing almost 247 babies.

Belle Sorenson Gunness

It is still uncertain whether Belle Gunness committed the murders for money and property, or whether she was affected by the circumstances of her life. It wasn’t for nothing that Belle was known as the Black Widow after the species of spider that eats it own mate. She would give out matrimonial ads for partners, marry these men, adopt their children (if any) and ask them to shift to her house in La Porte. Once they were there, she would drug them and slaughter them in the same fashion as she would her pigs. She would them bury them in the land around her farm. This continued for several years before, in 1908, her farm was reduced to ashes by a fire. It is believed that Bell Gunness died in this fire. It was in the aftermath of the fire, that many of the severely butchered bodies were discovered which led to her being included in this list of famous serial killers in history.

Countess Elizabeth Bathory

This Hungarian Countess has been held responsible for almost 650 murders. All of her victims were young girls. Tales abound that the Countess used the blood of these young girls to have baths to retain her beauty and youth. As many as 300 witness accounts were collected against accomplices. She was never tried or even convicted but she was kept under house arrest at her castle where she died four years later. It is believed that the character of Count Dracula is partially based on her. This and other such stories make her one of the most famous serial killers in history. Countess Elizabeth Bathory has always been an interesting case study for experts studying serial killers psychology.