If you’re a true crime buff, you might know who some of these infamous, bloodthirsty serial killers are, but chances are this will be all new information for you.
Read on to learn the nicknames of these historical serial killers. Creepy!
1. Belle Gunness
Photo Credit: Public Domain
Gunness earned the nickname “Lady Bluebeard” after killing scores of people in Indiana and Illinois. The murderous woman would place advertisements seeking companionship from men and would rob and murder them when they visited her farm. She’s suspected of between 25 and 40 murders.
2. H.H. Holmes
Photo Credit: Public Domain
Holmes was known as “The Beast of Chicago” after he set up a hotel where he murdered guests during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Holmes’ deeds were eventually discovered, and he was hanged in prison in 1896.
3. Peter Stumpp
Photo Credit: Public Domain
The man called the “Werewolf of Bedburg” terrified Germany in the 16th century and was accused of cannibalism, witchcraft…and of being an actual werewolf. Stumpp was brutally executed on Halloween 1589 by being broken on a wheel.
4. Thomas Neill Cream
Photo Credit: Public Domain
Cream earned the moniker the “Lambeth Poisoner” after killing people in the U.S., England, and possibly in Canada and Scotland. As his nickname suggests, Cream poisoned his victims. He was hanged in prison in England for his crimes in 1892.
5. Jane Toppan
Photo Credit: Public Domain
“Jolly Jane” confessed to 31 murders in 1901. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity, but Toppan was quoted as saying she wanted to “to have killed more people—helpless people—than any other man or woman who ever lived”. She died in 1938 at the age of 84.
6. John Lynch
Photo Credit: Public Domain
Lynch, an Irishman by birth, was sent to Australia during his teens because he got into trouble with the law. He became known as the “Berrima Axe Murderer” due to his murders – though he did commit other crimes, mot notably castle theft. Let me repeat: castle theft. Lynch is believed to have killed 10 people. He was executed in 1842.
7. Lydia Sherman
Photo Credit: Public Domain
“The Derby Poisoner” killed 3 of her husbands and 6 of her own children. She escaped from prison once, but was eventually recaptured, ultimately dying in a Connecticut prison in 1878.
