The scene of the crime: inventing the serial killer

Warwick, A. 2006. The scene of the crime: inventing the serial killer. Social & Legal Studies. 15 (4), pp. 552-569. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663906069547

TitleThe scene of the crime: inventing the serial killer
AuthorsWarwick, A.
Abstract

This article examines the meanings of the crime scene in serial killings, and the tensions between the real and the imagined in the circulation of those meanings. Starting with the Whitechapel Murders of 1888 it argues that they, as well as forming an origin for the construction of the identity of 'the serial killer', initiate certain ideas about the relationship of subjects to spaces and the existence of the self in the modern urban landscape. It suggests that these ideas come to play an integral part in the contemporary discourse of serial killing, both in the popular imagination and in professional analysis. Examining the Whitechapel Murders, more recent cases and modern profiling techniques, it argues that popular and professional representations of crime scenes reveal more of social anxieties about the nature of the public and the private than they do about serial killers. It suggests that 'the serial killer' is not a coherent type, but an invention produced from the confusions of persons and places. Copyright 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.

KeywordsCrime scenes, myth, profiling, representation, serial killers, Whitechapel murders
JournalSocial & Legal Studies
Journal citation15 (4), pp. 552-569
ISSN0964-6639
YearDec 2006
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663906069547
Publication dates
PublishedDec 2006
File

Related outputs

Nineteenth-century gothic architectural aesthetics: A. W. N. Pugin, John Ruskin and William Morris
Warwick, A. 2020. Nineteenth-century gothic architectural aesthetics: A. W. N. Pugin, John Ruskin and William Morris . in: Townshend, D. and Wright, A. (ed.) The Cambridge History of the Gothic: Vol 2. Gothic in the Nineteenth Century Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press. pp. 118-139

Ghosts, monsters and spirits, 1840-1900
Warwick, A. 2019. Ghosts, monsters and spirits, 1840-1900. in: Townshend, D. and Byron, G. (ed.) The Gothic World London, UK Routledge.

Dracula and the Late Victorian Gothic Revival
Warwick, A. 2017. Dracula and the Late Victorian Gothic Revival. in: Luckhurst, R. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Dracula Cambridge, Uk Cambridge University Press. pp. 39-54

Ruined Paradise: Geology and the Emergence of Archaeology
Warwick, A. 2017. Ruined Paradise: Geology and the Emergence of Archaeology. Nineteenth-Century Contexts. 39 (1), pp. 49-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/08905495.2017.1252485

'Gothic 1820-1880'
Warwick, A. 2014. 'Gothic 1820-1880'. in: Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination British Library.

The ambassadors of nil: Notes on the zombie apocalypse
Cunningham, D.I. and Warwick, A. 2014. The ambassadors of nil: Notes on the zombie apocalypse. in: Germana, M. and Mousoutzanis, A. (ed.) Apocalyptic Discourse in Contemporary Culture: Post-Millennial Perspectives on the End of the World Routledge. pp. 175-190

Unnoticed apocalypse: the science fiction politics of urban crisis
Cunningham, D.I. and Warwick, A. 2013. Unnoticed apocalypse: the science fiction politics of urban crisis. City: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action. 17 (4), pp. 433-448. https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2013.812345

The dreams of archaeology
Warwick, A. 2012. The dreams of archaeology. Journal of Literature and Science. 5 (1), pp. 83-97.

Unnatural selection: variation, deviation and excess at the fin de siècle
Warwick, A. 2011. Unnatural selection: variation, deviation and excess at the fin de siècle. in: Salmela, M. and Toikkanan, J. (ed.) The grotesque and the unnatural Cambria Press.

Introduction and timeline
Warwick, A. and Willis, M. 2008. Introduction and timeline. in: Warwick, A. and Willis, M. (ed.) The Victorian literature handbook London Continuum. pp. 1-26

The historical context of Victorian literature
Warwick, A. 2008. The historical context of Victorian literature. in: Warwick, A. and Willis, M. (ed.) The Victorian literature handbook London Continuum. pp. 27-43

Victorian gothic
Warwick, A. 2007. Victorian gothic. in: Spooner, C. and McEvoy, E. (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Gothic London Routledge. pp. 29-38

Oscar Wilde
Warwick, A. 2007. Oscar Wilde. Tavistock, UK Northcote House.

Blood and ink: narrative and the Whitechapel murders
Warwick, A. 2007. Blood and ink: narrative and the Whitechapel murders. in: Warwick, A. and Willis, M. (ed.) Jack the Ripper: media, culture, history Manchester Manchester University Press. pp. 71-87

The city of resurrections: Arthur Machen and archaeological imagination
Warwick, A. 2006. The city of resurrections: Arthur Machen and archaeological imagination. in: Pearson, R. (ed.) The Victorians and the ancient world: archaeology and classicism in nineteenth-century culture Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 124-138

Margins and centres
Warwick, A. 2006. Margins and centres. in: Clifford, D., Wadge, E., Warwick, A. and Willis, M. (ed.) Repositioning Victorian sciences: shifting centres in nineteenth-century thinking Cambridge, UK Anthem Press. pp. 1-16

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/92133/the-scene-of-the-crime-inventing-the-serial-killer


Share this

Usage statistics

439 total views
2176 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.