"Monster: The Ed Gein Story, an eight-part series, and the docudrama My Father, the BTK Killer, about serial killer Dennis Rader, are currently streaming on Netflix. The juxtaposition of these two Netflix offerings provides an opportunity to consider the psychiatric differences between these murderers. Note that there is far more creative license in the eight-part series than in the docudrama, which uses primary sources."
"The most significant difference between the two men is their primary, baseline psychiatric disorder. A personality disorder is a chronic, long-standing, stable, and inflexible pattern of thinking and behaving- personality disorders that feature narcissistic and antisocial features and which can lead to violence. A psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia, has intermittent disruptions causing hallucinations and delusions. The nonpsychotic periods vary depending on the impact of the hallucinations and delusions. Schizophrenia generally does not make people violent."
"Dennis Rader, a methodical serial killer and sexual sadist, murdered at least 10 females. Rader had a personality disorder with antisocial, narcissistic, and psychopathic traits. He led an undetected double life: father, husband, family man, and active, well-liked member of the community in Kansas, while simultaneously a well-organized murderer and rapist. Exhausted from the details of such meticulous kills and double life, he paused his crimes and taunted the police with letters, taking credit for his crimes, referring to himself as "BTK," Bind, Torture, Kill."
Two Netflix productions present contrasting psychiatric profiles of serial killers. One portrayal involves an eight-part dramatization about Ed Gein while the other is a docudrama about Dennis Rader. The central clinical distinction is baseline diagnosis: personality disorder versus psychotic disorder. Personality disorders are chronic, inflexible patterns that can include narcissistic and antisocial features and can predispose to violence; psychotic disorders involve intermittent hallucinations and delusions with variable nonpsychotic periods, and schizophrenia alone generally does not cause violence. Dennis Rader displayed antisocial, narcissistic, and psychopathic traits, maintained a concealed double life, and taunted authorities. Ed Gein killed two women and grave-robbed nine; he was described as a necrophiliac psychotic.
Read at Psychology Today
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