Like politicians, serial killers tend to have an unjustifiable amount of self-esteem. They see what they’re doing as art or God’s work or whatever screwed-up nonsense they’re broken brains invent. This is especially true for the fictional ones. Their taste in music can be and is equally pretentious to their motivation(s). Below are thirty fictional serial killers ranked by how pretentious their tastes (probably) are. Let’s dig in.
Honorable Mention: Mickey and Mallory Knox (“Natural Born Killers”)
Technically, Mickey and Mallory aren’t serial killers, They are murderers, however, and the edgelord nihilism of this spree-killing couple practically screams a love for nu-metal. Their need for (media) attention, granted to them by journalist Wayne Gale, mirrors the petulant temper tantrums of, like, every nu-metal vocalist ever. Fred Durst is probably the pair’s spirit animal, and “Break Stuff” is probably the song they fuck to.
30. Tom Ripley (the “Ripley” series)
Tom Ripley is a shape-shifting con artist who will act or fake his way through the lives of his victims to achieve his goals. Thus, his fondness for Johann Sebastian Bach may not even be honest. He may claim to prefer Bach, but it’d only be because Bach is the premier composer and not because Ripley enjoys his music. He’ll switch to something else if and/or when it suits him. As such, Ripley’s taste in music shares a trait with Republicans’ belief in democracy: arbitrariness.
29. Hans Beckert (“M”)
Hans Beckert is a child murderer who insists on whistling the melody of Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Assuming that’s his favorite song, or at least one he relates to, it’s also safe to assume he likes classical music that’s popular to the point of being known via osmosis—e.g., Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” or Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” (but only the finale, natch). If that’s all true, Beckert’s taste in music is more generic than an MCU villain.
28. Peter Foley (“Copycat”)
Peter Foley is a (pretend) serial killer who recreates the murders of other serial killers. In other words, he’s an uninspired knock-off artist who desperately wants to be (in)famous without the requirement of being creative or original. He’s probably into tribute acts, or Greta Van Fleet.
27. Charles Lee “Chucky” Ray (“Child’s Play” franchise)
Charles Lee Ray got an early start, killing his mother with a knife before he was 10. While known as the Lakeshore Strangler, he clearly prefers a blade. He’s also known for dabbling in voodoo. It’s a safe bet that Ray’s into Kidz Bop—it’s malignantly hypnotic, and if you’re a parent it cuts you to your fucking core.
26. Arthur Mitchell a.k.a. The Trinity Killer (“Dexter” S4)
Arthur Mitchell kills four people every thirty years, and every quartet of murders goes like this: child encased in concrete while alive, woman bled to death in a bathtub, woman forced to jump off of a ledge, man is bludgeoned. This suggests a varied taste in music. Four songs he might enjoy are Cannibal Corpse’s “Encased in Concrete,” No Doubt’s “Bathwater,” Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper,” and D12’s “Fight Music.” Mitchell’s probably one of those assholes who makes whiplash-inducing Spotify playlists for road trips.
25. Patrick Bateman (“American Psycho”)
Bret Easton Ellis’ stand-in for the unbridled greed of ’80s capitalism, Patrick Bateman adores the most commercial and most disposable pop music imaginable from that decade: Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Huey Lewis & the News, etc. It’s fitting, then, that his love for recorded music is matched only by his hatred for live performances (read the book). The only thing more artificial than Bateman’s taste in music is Elon Musk’s belief in free speech.
24. Cletus Kasady (Marvel Comics)
Essentially a nihilist, the cannibalistic serial killer named Cletus Kasady would probably find solace in a famous line from Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan” (look it up). You’d think he’d be into, like, NIN’s “The Downward Spiral” or something akin. Surprisingly, his favorite song is “Free Bird,” meaning his taste in music is blander than English cuisine.
23. Francis Dolarhyde a.k.a. The Tooth Fairy (“Red Dragon”)
Francis Dolarhyde kills entire families with the goal of becoming his alter ego, The Great Red Dragon. His nickname comes from him breaking into homes and killing at night. Did I mention he’s got a giant red dragon tattoo across his back? It’s the level of gaudy that makes Ben Affleck’s Phoenix back tat seem subtle. Speaking of gaudy, that’s probably his taste in music, too—the turn-of-the-century maximalist schlock like, say, Los Del Rio’s “Macarena” or Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out.”
22. Brian Moser a.k.a. the Ice Truck Killer (“Darkly Dreaming Dexter” and “Dexter” S1)
Brian Moser is into dismembering, but his calling card is freezing his victims’ appendages and leaving them on public display. That level of attention-seeking behavior would make Alex Jones cringe. Moser probably soundtracks his life with music that’s equally soulless and desperate for attention: dubstep. The obnoxious squonks and squelches scream “LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME” just as loudly as leaving a frozen severed hand on a beach for your brother to find.
21. Rhoda Penmark (“The Bad Seed”)
Rhoda Penmark’s first kill was her classmate so she could have his award for penmanship, which she felt entitled to. C’mon, Rhoda—even in the ’50s it was silly to be proud of your handwriting. Anyway, she’s an egotistical shithead who covets meaningless trophies, so it’s a reasonable conclusion that her favorite artist is Kanye West.
20. Sweeney Todd (“The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”)
A barber who kills his customers? He’s into hair metal for sure. The bigger the hair, the better. Sweeney Todd’s favorite is likely the band that had the biggest (and best) hair of that era: Mötley Crüe. Indeed, Nikki Sixx’s hair for the alternate cover of “Shout at the Devil” might be the zenith of the ’80s.
19. Dexter Morgan (“Dexter” book and TV series)
Dexter Morgan is an anti-hero who kills other serial killers in plastic-coated rooms. This mirrors his fake likable personality that used car salesmen would find off-putting. Thus, he likely enjoys stuff that’s tidy and sterile—in other words: music that approximates happiness. Let’s go with ’80s synth-pop like early Depeche Mode or NIN’s “Pretty Hate Machine.” Also, anything by Kraftwerk.
18. Nicholas Ruskin a.k.a. Casanova (“Kiss the Girls”)
Nicholas Ruskin holds beautiful women captive, and if they break his rules—talking to each other, trying to escape, etc.—he kills them by, say, leaving them tied to a tree in a forest. He thinks he’s a lover—hence the name—and that his victims are meant for him. Which is to say: Ruskin is Andrew Tate’s platonic ideal of a man. Ruskin’s likely drawn to (gorgeous?) pop songs about possession because he finds them romantic. His theme song might be Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” or The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.”
17. Ghostface (“Scream” franchise)
Ghostface—whomever is wearing the mask—loves running. Like, more than Tom Cruise. Safe to say, then, that any iteration of the killer probably hopes their victims sprint away so they can throw earbuds in and rock out to something catchy that involves running, figuratively or literally: “Running Down a Dream” or “I Ran (So Far Away)” or “Born to Run.” Maybe even “Run Like Hell” or “Run for Your Life.”
16. Frank Zito (“Maniac”)
As a child, Frank Zito watched his abusive mother have sex with strange men. Following serial killer logic, he targets women. After he kills them, he scalps them and uses their hair for his mannequin collection. He poses, talks with, and sleeps with his mannequins, pretending to marry them and/or that they’re his mom. Dude’s got a major Oedipus complex, is the point. He probably prefers classics like Pink Floyd’s “Mother” or Danzig’s “Mother” or John Lennon’s “Mother” because he sees them as some twisted secret message(s) just for him.
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