Serial Killers: John Wayne Gacy

Serial Killers: John Wayne Gacy

Serial killers. What is it about these bloodthirsty monsters that get the people going? They're the origin of virtually all horror movie stars, including werewolves and monsters, as well as our nightmares and haunted houses. They're viewed as lustful by some and horrific by many. Their stories beckon the question-what causes people to have these urges that so defy human nature?

There's been much speculation in the field of criminal psychology that has discussed where the desire to kill can come from. It's largely concluded in the fields of psychology and philosophy that evil can be born or bred, and in its most optimal capacity, stems from a combination of them both. In this article, I'll be focusing on the life of one of the most well-known and horrendous serial killers to have terrorized America-John Wayne Gacy-to further validate that perfect recipe.

First, to clarify, what is a serial killer? The Federal Bureau of Investigation classifies a serial killer as someone who has killed 3 or more people, with breaks in between. The breaks in this definition are vital, as they are the distinguishing feature that separates a serial killer from what's referred to as a spree killer. Both serial killers and spree killers commit numerous homicides, but serial killers resume their normal life between killings for weeks, months, and sometimes even years at a time. What's known as a killing spree is typically at most 7 days.

John Wayne Gacy was born in 1942 and has garnered the nickname the “killer clown” in the media. Over the 10 years from her first to his last known murders, he played into and popularized coulrophobia-the fear of clowns-as he used to dress up for charitable events, children’s parties, and children’s hospitals as Pogo or Patches the Clown, doing the same while wreaking havoc over the Chicago land area.

Today, as many as 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 100 children suffer from coulrophobia. Its growing numbers have popularized the addition of it, and it can be found today in many examples in the horror genre. It's believed John Wayne Gacy was the inspiration for Stephen King’s “It,” which came out in 1986, "Poltergeist," which was released in 1982, and even Batman's most troublesome counterpart-the Joker-in DC Comics.

Gacy was born on March 17, 1942, to Danish and Polish parents in Chicago. His father was an auto repair machinist and raging alcoholic. His mother was a homemaker that raised Gacy and his two sisters. He was only 4 years old when his father began beating him regularly. The reason that was cited for these punishments lied in his close relationship to his mother. The angry alcoholic called him a "momma's boy" and "so gay" for this.

When John Wayne Gacy was 7 years old, he was abused further, this time sexually, by a family friend. He kept this to himself, fearing retaliation in the form of increased beatings if he were to choose otherwise. In an interview, his sister, Karen, explained that the siblings learned to toughen up against the beatings and not cry.

This didn’t stop the beatings, however, as they continued and even intensified after John Wayne Gacy turned 11 and was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease that plagued him with frequent black-outs. This served to further prevent him from interacting with other boys and engaging in their typical rough style play.

It wasn't long after this, in his early teens, when Gacy came to terms with his own homosexuality. He struggled with this immensely, given his father’s clear disapproval and attempts at beating it out of him.

When Gacy was old enough to enter the professional world, he did so in getting a job at a mortuary. There, John Wayne Gacy began to obsess over the dead people in his care. He would even lay in the caskets next to them. Although it was never recorded, it's believed that it was at this time that Gacy began to act on necrophiliac urges. Necrophilia is a sexual paraphilia where a person is sexually attracted to dead people. This may be more common than most would expect. In 1989, research was done on necrophilia whose results found that 57 percent of the people studied that worked regularly with corpses, were necrophiliacs.

At 18 years old, and in an ill-fated attempt to impress his father, John Wayne Gacy used his charismatic personality to also enter politics, working as the precinct captain to the Democratic Party. This led to more criticism from his father, who began to call him a "patsy." This didn't sway him; however, he continued to work in politics for much of his adult life. He's even pictured with First Lady Rosalynn Carter from his later years working with the Democratic Party in Chicago.

When Gacy decided to leave home, he headed to Las Vegas, where he found a job at a mortuary. There, he began to obsess over the dead people in his care. He would even lay in the caskets next to them. Although it was never recorded, it's believed that it was at this time that Gacy began to act on necrophiliac urges. Necrophilia is a sexual paraphilia where a person is sexually attracted to dead people. This may be more common than most would expect. In 1989, research was done on necrophilia whose results found that 57 percent of the people studied that worked regularly with corpses, were necrophiliacs, begging the question of what came first-the motive or the occupation?

After coming to terms with his unique paraphilia, Gacy begged his mother to come home. He returned to Chicago soon after. There, he attended Northwestern Business School, and, after earning his degree, found work as a shoe salesman. He became engaged to a coworker, his first wife, Marlyn Myers not long after.

Largely depriving himself of his true sexuality, John Wayne Gacy was married to two women during his adult life. His relationship with Marlyn Meyers lasted for 5 years, and together they had a son and daughter. Next, he married Carole Hoff, and with that, he inherited 2 step-children. At the beginning of his family, John Wayne Gacy was finally able to gain his father’s approval.

His deviancy, however, shown through in his marriage. He and his wives were swingers-people that exchange sexual partners and engage in group sex-so he was still acting on his homosexual urges, despite a seemingly traditional family life. Gacy attributes learning that he was able to keep a separate life a secret to this lifestyle choice that they engaged in and paved the way for more secrecy to come.

6 months after their wedding, Marlyn Myer's father purchased several KFCs in Waterloo, Iowa. The couple moved there, and Gacy began work as manager of all three. This would be the beginning of his secret life. He took advantage of this position of authority at the KFC to coerce his young male employees to come home with him, often using the promise of alcohol and resulting in sexual assault among the underage boys.

This expanded from his young, male employees to young, male strangers. With his confidence growing each time he was successful in this habit, Gacy, expanded his reach and began impersonating a police officer on the street to lure more boys to his house. This too elevated, and it was 1972 when John Wayne Gacy committed his first murder.

He went on to rape and kill 32 more boys-all found underneath his home in Chicago’s Norwood Park-before he was finally caught and arrested in 1978. Because of the sexual element of his crimes, John Wayne Gacy is classified as a lust murderer-which is someone that kills to receive sexual gratification.

A favorite quote from John Wayne Gacy, that really encapsulates the extent of his narcissistic madness, is something he said to the police during their initial investigation of him. “A clown can get away with murder.” Perhaps, John Wayne Gacy, but not this time.

Despite his attempt at a plea for insanity-claiming to have dissociative identity disorder, a mental health condition in which the patient affected has multiple numerous personalities with little autonomy over them-Gacy was sentenced to death for these murders. After receiving as many as 12 death sentences during his time in prison, he finally succumbed to lethal injection in 1994.