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The most famous serial killers of all time include some of the deadliest murderers in history. Theses serial killers shocked the world because of the scale of their violence and the large number of their victims. A serial killer is an individual who murders three or more people in separate incidents over a period of time. Serial killings involve a psychological motive and a cooling-off period between killings.

The world's worst serial killers, including Luis Garavito, Mariam Soulakotis, Pedro López, Javed Iqbal, and Mikhail Popkov, are collectively believed to have murdered hundreds of victims. Many cases involved even more suspected victims beyond those officially confirmed. Their crimes, methods, convictions, and sentences illustrate the staggering human toll of serial murder. Although the deadliest serial killers are found around the world, many of the most recognizable names are American. Murderers such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, Gary Ridgway, Dennis Rader, John Wayne Gacy, and the still-unidentified Zodiac Killer remain among the most infamous because of their brutality, media attention, and lasting impact on popular culture.

Worst Serial Killers in the World

The worst serial killers in the world include names such as Luis Garavito, Mariam Soulakotis, Pedro López, Javed Iqbal, and Mikhail Popkov. These notorious serial killers combined to kill a confirmed 663 victims and their list of possible victims exceeds 1286 people. The worst serial killers in the world and details of their killings are listed below.

• "La Bestia" Luis Garavito: a Columbian serial killer who confessed to 147 rapes and murders of young boys, and he is charged with 172 murders. Investigators believe the number of actual victims could be as high as 300. Despite being the worst serial killer in history, Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos was sentenced to 30 years in prison based on Columbian maximum sentencing, and his sentence was reduced to 22 years because of his confessions and his cooperation in helping police recover the bodies.
• Mariam Soulakotis: an abbess who is believed to have killed women and children who came to her abbey. She was known as "Mother Rasputin". The actual number of her victims is up for debate. She was eventually found guilty of 177 murders. Her method of killing was claiming to offer tuberculosis treatment, but in reality there was not treatment. 27 also died of starvation.
• Pedro López: known as "The Monster of the Andes", López's victims were mostly young girls between the age of eight and twelve years old. López was arresting 1980 for the killing of three young girls. He was convicted in 1983, but he claims to have killed hundreds more. He was released in the 1990s even though he is thought to be one of the most notorious serial killers ever.
• Javed Iqbal: known as "Kukri" Iqbal, this child murderer and rapist confessed to killing one hundred boys between the ages of six and sixteen years old. Iqbal was arrested in 1999 after he sent a letter to a newspaper. The judge who presided over his case set his punishment as being strangled to death in front of the parents of the boys he killed and then having his corpse cut into 100 pieces and dissolved in acid. This was the same way he disposed of bodies of his victims. He ended up dying in prison before he could be executed in what appeared to be a suicide.
• Mikhail Popkov: nicknamed "The Werewolf", Popkov was a serial rapist and murderer whose killings spanned more than two decades in Russia. Most of his murders took place in Angarsk, Vladivostok, and Irkutsk. He was convicted of 22 murders in 2015, after which he confessed to another 59 killings. Of the 59, he was eventually convicted of 56. Later he confessed to two more killings. In 2021 he was convicted of two more murders, and three more in 2023. He is sentenced to life imprisonment.

Which Serial Killer Has the Longest Sentence?

Luis "Le Bestia" Garavito received the longest prison sentence at 1,853 years and 9 days for killing and raping 172 young boys. Due to Colombia law, he could not serve the entire sentence. The longest prison sentence ever doesn't even belong to a serial killer. Charles Scott Robinson received a 30,000 year sentence in the state of Oklahoma for being found guilty of six felony counts including child rape by instrumentation, forcible oral sodomy, and lewd acts with a child under the age of 16.

Most Famous Serial Killers in the USA

The most famous American serial killers include Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, Henry Lee Lucas, Albert Fish, and Richard Trenton Chase. One of these notorious serial killers, Ed Gein, was even the inspiration for the movie Psycho. Serial killings peaked in the United States in the 1980's, but have since declined. The most famous serial killers in the U.S. are listed below.

• Jeffrey Dahmer: the serial killer committed acts of rape, necrophilia, cannibalism and dismemberment to his 17 victims.
• Ted Bundy: the charming Ted Bundy killed 30 young women, dismembered and raped their bodies, and kept their heads as souvenirs.
• Ed Gein: the inspiration for the movie Psycho killed two women who resembled his mother after she died. He also made skulls into bowls, human skin chairs, and a belt of human nipples.
• Henry Lee Lucas: Although he is only confirmed to have killed 11 people, he confessed to killing over 600.
• The Zodiac: The Zodiac killings were never solved. The Zodiac killer wrote cyphers to the police, allegedly holding his identity, but many could never be solved.
• Albert Fish: the boogeyman, was a child rapist, murderer and cannibal. He is known not only for his child murders, but also for his famous x-ray which showed 2 dozen needles stuffed into his hips and perineum.
• Richard Trenton Chase: The “Vampire of Sacremento” who committed six murders in a single month, Chase is known for his schizophrenia and paranoia that led to him drinking the blood of his victims.
• Dennis Rader: The "BTK Killer" (for "bind, torture, kill") killed 10 people near Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. Rader had sent taunting messages to police, but stopped in the early 90's. He began writing letters again in 2004, and those notes led to his 2005 arrest and conviction.
• Gary Ridgeway: The "Green River Killer" was convicted of murdering nearly 50 women, but investigators believe his death toll could be as high as 90.
• John Wayne Gacy: The killer clown sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys in the mid-to-late 70's. Gacy was given 12 death sentences and was executed in 1994 after spending 14 years on death row.
• Albert Desalvo: The "Boston Strangler" confessed to killing 13 women in the early 1960's; however, investigators believe more than one person may have been responsible for the killings, also called the "silk stocking murders."

While many of the above names--or at least their nicknames--are virtually household names in America, the number of their victims pales in comparison with the body count of the worst serial killers in the world.

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