Looking into the mind of a killer
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 3:36PM 
What’s it like to look into the mind of a killer?
What would you do if a killer were hunting you? What if you’re child was the target? What if the killer was someone you knew?
What’s it like to look into the mind of a killer?
Ask any author who writes dark, romantic suspense and they’ll tell you, it ain’t no walk in the park at times.
I think even for writers who create fictitious killers it’s still a little disturbing to consider that there are really such depraved people living in the world amongst us. To make a believable killer you have to do your homework.
To quote Friedrich Nietzsche:
He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
For me, I love to watch Forensic Files and 48 Hours Mystery on TV. You can gain a great deal of knowledge into the mind of a killer simply by studying old case files. I know it’s certainly been insightful for me.
So why do people kill? Well, most psychologists will tell you there are two fundamental reasons someone will take another life.
Love and money.
Both truly are the root of all things evil.
But there is another type of killer that is far more evil and cunning than all the others. He’s extremely intelligent. He can blend into society well enough to be your co-worker, your high school English teacher. Your neighbor next door. He lacks anything resembling a conscience. He’s a sociopath known as the serial killer.
The FBI estimates that today there are some 50 active serial killers working among us in the US alone. That’s a frightening statistic to consider.
For me, writing about the dark side of romance is both rewarding and challenging. The characters I create leave their mark on you and make it hard to move on to the next story.
And if they’re really chilling, they make it hard to sleep with the lights off at night.
All the best…
Mary Eason