Serial killers aren't always creepy loners who live with their mothers -- sometimes they're seemingly average churchgoers with wives and kids. How much do you know about the history of serial killers -- and would you know if one were living next door?
A person has to murder five people to be considered a serial killer.
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almost fact: A serial killer has at least three victims.
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The FBI defines a serial killer as one who murders three or more victims, with "cooling-off" periods between each murder.
There have been about 400 serial killers in the United States in the past century.
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almost fact: The number is more like 300.
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According to a recent FBI study, there have been approximately 400 serial killers in the United States in the past century -- 80 percent of them have emerged since 1950.
The Green River Killer is considered to be the first serial killer in the United States.
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almost fact: It's actually John Wayne Gacy.
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H.H. Holmes is considered to be the United States' first serial killer. Holmes confessed to 27 murders in the 1890s and was convicted of nine. He began by killing guests at a hotel that he opened to host visitors to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.
Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was the inspiration for the Buffalo Bill character in "Silence of the Lambs."
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almost fact: It was Peter Woodcock.
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Buffalo Bill shared serial killer Ed Gein's habit of making keepsakes from the body parts of his victims. Gein also inspired the character of Norman Bates in "Psycho" and Leatherface in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
In childhood, serial killers often wet their beds, commit arson and exhibit cruelty to animals, behaviors known as the MacDonald triad.
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almost fact: The MacDonald triad is bed-wetting, running away from home and doll torture.
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The MacDonald triad is bed-wetting, arson and cruelty to animals. Serial killers are also likely to have come from broken homes and been abused or neglected.
