Fantasy and the role it plays in serial murder has been an interest of mine
for some time. This fascination began while attempting to understand
the motives of serial murderers and reading Sexual Homicide: Patterns and
Motives (Ressler et al., 1988). In my opinion, fantasy is at the core
of serial murder, and is one of the driving forces behind these crimes. I am
not the first to recognize this concept; in fact, nearly all authors include
fantasy within any discussion of serial murder. However, I became
intrigued while reading case studies of several serial murderers that seem
to indicate and support exceptions to this theory.
Serial murder is often referred to as a random or motiveless crime because
there does not seem to be a connection between the offender and victim.
Geberth (1996) states, "No one acts without motivation." (p.412) while de
Becker (1997) contends, "The human violence we abhor and fear the most, that
which we call 'random' and 'senseless,' is neither. It always has purpose
and meaning, to the perpetrator, at least" (p. 15). From these two
statements, it seems clear that although there may not be an apparent motive
to the crime, people act for a reason. In the case of serial murder, this
apparent lack of motive may represent a fantasy only known by the offender.
Serial murderers have often spoken about their fantasies. Crime scene
behaviors or choices of victims often reflect these fantasies, but this is
apparently not always the case. Offenders may deny having fantasies, and
some crime scenes do not reflect a fantasy component. Does this mean that
some serial murderers do not fantasize about their crimes in advance? Is it
possible that there are individuals who do not fantasize at all? The answer
to these questions, in my opinion, is no.
Here is a brief look at a few definitions of fantasy found in the literature
during my research of the topic.
Prentky et al. (1989):
"…an elaborated set of cognitions (or thoughts) characterized by
preoccupation (or rehearsal), anchored in emotion, and originating in
daydreams. A fantasy is generally experienced as a collection of
thoughts, although the individual may be aware of images, feelings, and
internal dialogue. For present purposes a crime fantasy (involving
rape, murder, or both) was positively coded if the interview or archival
data indicated that the daydreaming content included intentional infliction
of harm in a sadistic or sexually violent way." (p. 889)
Geberth (1996):
"An imaginative sequence in which one's desires are fulfilled" (p. 844).
Hazelwood & Michaud (2001):
"…a mental rehearsal of a desired event" (p. 18).
Abrahamsen (1985):
"Fantasy is defined as thinking which is not followed by action. We
distinguish between two types of fantasy: creative fantasies, which prepare
for some later action; and daydreaming fantasies, which are the repository
for wishes that cannot be fulfilled" (p. 168).
Not unlike the term serial murder, there are several definitions of fantasy,
which creates confusion when attempting to perform research. What exactly is
a serial murder? Is there a definitive criterion? Not that I have found.
Fantasy is included in my personal definition of serial murder, and the
topic has been debated several times on the message board. I agree with the
thoughts of Holmes and Holmes (1994) who wrote:
"In all cases of serial killing there is a fantasy, whether sexual,
acquisitive, or demonic. This is an integral part of the killing
process. In other words, there must be some idea, thought pattern, or even a
sexual fantasy that propels the killer into the murderous process.
This fantasy is in some cases a very simple and in others quite complex-but
there is always a fantasy" (pp. 106-107).
Hazelwood & Michaud (2001) wrote about the simple and complex fantasies of
Impulsive and Ritualistic sexual predators, based upon earlier research by
Groth (1979). Are serial murderers sexual predators? Again, it really
depends upon what source one is reading. Some believe serial murder is a
sexualized crime based upon the work of Ressler et al. (1988).
However, like fantasy, the crimes of serial murderers do not always reflect
a sexual component, yet this does not necessarily indicate that the crime
was not sexually motivated in some way. Crime scenes that seem to lack
sexual components may simply mean the researcher (or investigator) does not
understand the fantasy of the offender.
The research I have completed thus far leads me to believe that the fantasy
element of serial murder should be viewed on a series of continuums, where
it is always present to a degree. This theory recognizes that
fantasies may be overtly expressed, highly ritualistic, and readily
understood by the researcher/investigator. Other fantasies may not be
understood by anyone other than the offender, because it seems bizarre and
motiveless. Among these several continuums, there are fantasies with
endless possibilities of significance to each individual. I have been
organizing these continuums into something I call a Fantasy Wheel (for
working purposes) and will present the concept in future articles.
References
Abrahamsen, D. (1985). Confession of son of sam. New York, NY: Columbia
University Press.
de Becker, G. (1997). The gift of fear: Survival signals that protects
us from violence. Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co.
Prentky, R.A., Burgess, A.W., Rokous, F., Lee, A., Hartman, C., Ressler, R.,
& Douglas, J. (1989). The presumptive role of fantasy in serial sexual
homicide. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146(7), 887-891.
Ressler, R.K., Burgess, A.W. & Douglas, J.E. (1988). Sexual homicide:
Patterns and motives. New York, NY: The Free Press.
E-mail your questions or suggestions to
Bryan Nelson
