5 Serial Killers Who Predate the Term ‘Serial Killer’

There are plenty of theories as to why there seem to be so many serial killers these days. Some say it’s a product of our increasingly disconnected society; others say it’s because we’ve become largely numb to violence. Finally, there’s the camp that says it’s not that there are more serial killers around these days, it’s just that we’re more connected and these crimes are easier to identify.

The phrase serial killer was officially coined in the 1970s by FBI Investigator Robert Ressler. The same phrase (but in German — Serienmörder) was used as early as 1930 by Berlin investigator Ernst Gennat. Before that, there is no written record of the term used, although that doesn’t mean serial killers weren’t functioning within society.

Reports of serial killers predating 1970 can be hard to come by and those predating 1930 even more-so; but that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist.

1. The Harpe Brothers

Active from 1794 until 1799, the Harpe Brothers are widely considered America’s first-recorded serial killers, which would leave them high in the running for one of the earliest recorded serial killer teams worldwide.

Micajah and Wiley Harpe were born between 1768 and 1770 respectively in what is now Orange County, North Carolina to a Scottish family…