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 just as deadly

You’ve heard of Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. But have you heard of Amy
Archer-Gilligan? Or Belle Gunness? Or Nannie Doss?
Women have committed some of the most disturbing serial killings ever seen
in the United States. Yet scientific inquiry, criminal profiling, and public interest
have focused more on their better-known male counterparts. As a result, female
serial killers have been misunderstood, overlooked, and underestimated. In this
riveting account, Dr. Marissa A. Harrison draws on original scientific research,
various psychological perspectives, and richly detailed case studies to illumi-
nate the stark differences between female and male serial killers’ backgrounds,
motives, and crimes. She also emphasizes the countless victims of this grisly phe-
nomenon to capture the complexity and tragedy of serial murder. Meticulously
weaving data-based evidence and insight with intimate storytelling, Just as Deadly
reveals how and why these women murder – and why they often get away with it.

Dr. Marissa A. Harrison is a research psychologist, author, and associate profes-

sor at Penn State Harrisburg. Her studies on serial murder and human sexuality
have been covered in popular media such as The Washington Post, The New Yorker,
and Time.
 ADVANCE PRAISE
“Dr. Harrison has clearly demonstrated her expertise on female serial killers.
Her seminal work will stand the test of time, scrutiny, and reliability. Her scholar-
ship, insightful analysis, and penchant for detail make this book the best on the
market. Excellent reading for those interested in why and how women become
serial killers.”
Dr. Eric W. Hickey, author of Serial Murderers
and their Victims, 7th Edition

“Dr. Harrison’s masterfully crafted book is a comprehensive, engaging, and

thought-provoking insight into female serial homicide. Through the interesting
case studies provided, the reader gets an in-depth understanding of the factors
that can contribute to serial homicide in females.”
Dr. Clare S. Allely, author of
The Psychology of Extreme Violence

“Fascinating, ground-breaking, and long overdue. Harrison fills the inexcusable

gap in the serial murder literature with her own original research on female
killers, in what is sure to become a seminal work in criminology. A must-read.”
Patricia Pearson, author of When She Was Bad: How and Why Women
Get Away with Murder and Wish You Were Here: A Murdered Girl,
a Brother’s Grief and the Hunt for a Serial Killer

“There are countless books on male serial killers but very little on female serial
killers. Using a range of perspectives, Dr. Harrison’s book corrects this deficiency
and documents the similarities and differences between male and female killers.
Highly accessible, extensively researched, and valuable to professional and lay
reader alike.”
Professor Frederick Toates and Dr. Olga Coschug-Toates,
authors of Understanding Sexual Serial Killing

“Just as Deadly firmly establishes Dr. Marissa Harrison as the preeminent author-
ity on the female serial killer. This is a welcome and necessary addition to the
small but growing body of literature that scrutinizes age-old preconceptions
about serial murder.”
Enzo Yaksic, author of Killer Data: Modern Perspectives on Serial Murder
 JUST AS DEADLY

The Psychology of Female Serial Killers

Marissa A. Harrison
Pennsylvania State University
 University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom
One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre,
New Delhi – 110025, India
103 Penang Road, #05–06/07, Visioncrest Commercial, Singapore 238467

Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.

It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781009158206
DOI: 10.1017/9781009158183
© Marissa A. Harrison 2023
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2023
Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ Books Limited, Padstow Cornwall
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-009-15820-6 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of
URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
 This book is dedicated to Kenneth Cutting, Dora Beebe, June
Roberts, Chelsea McClellan, Bert Montoya, Tami Lynne
Tinning, Linda Slawson, Josephine Otero, Dolores Davis, and
George Shaw, and all the victims and their loved ones.
 Contents

Preface page ix
Case Study: Amy Archer-Gilligan

1 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Case Study: Kristen Gilbert
Case Study: Martha Patty Cannon
Case Study: Sharon Kinne
2 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Case Study: Dana Sue Gray
Case Study: Belle Gunness
3 The Lives of Female Serial Killers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Case Study: Dorothea Puente
Case Study: Jane Toppan
Case Study: Aileen Wuornos
4 Mental Health and Substance Use Among FSKs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Case Study: Martha Woods
Case Study: Marybeth Tinning
Case Study: Margie Barfield
5 FSK Crimes and Outcomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Case Study: Tammy Corbett
Case Study: Genene Jones
Case Study: Nannie Doss
Case Study: Kimberly Clark Saenz

vii
 Contents

6 FSK Motives and Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Case Study Revisited: Kristen Gilbert
Case Study: Judias Buenoano
Case Study: Rhonda Belle Martin
Case Study: Lydia Sherman
7 Comparing FSKs and MSKs: Backgrounds and Mental Illness . . . 108
Case Study: Ed Gein
Case Study: John Wayne Gacy
8 Comparing FSKs and MSKs: Crimes and Victims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Case Study: Robert Yates
Case Study: Jerome Brudos
9 The Behavioral Neuroscience of Serial Murder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Case Study: Joseph DeAngelo
10 Psychosocial Factors that Make a Serial Murderer. . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Case Study Revisited: Aileen Wuornos
Case Study: Ronald Dominique
Case Study: Dennis Rader
11 Evolutionary and Converging Perspectives of Serial Murder . . . . 200
12 Our Understanding of Serial Killers Evolves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Case Study: Reta Mays

Acknowledgments 215
Notes 216
References 264
Index 288

viii
 Preface

Late one night in 2015, I received an email from Sarah Kaplan, a reporter
writing for The Washington Post. She had written around 11:00 p.m. ask-
ing if we could connect before 4:00 a.m. the next morning. She had read
an academic paper about female serial killers in the United States that I
had recently published in The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology,
and she wanted to talk about my findings.
As a professor just doing her job, I was surprised, but grateful some-
one had actually read my research. And I was still awake, so I emailed her
back around 2:00 a.m., ready to talk even at that late hour. My phone rang
instantly. When I answered, I believe I said something to the effect of,
“Wow, it really is you . . .” Reading the impactful journalism that resulted
from our conversation was one of the first times I realized just how much
interest there is in the topic of serial murder.1 Then, a few months later,
I did an interview with journalist Emily Anthes that appeared in her New
Yorker piece, “Lady Killers.”2 That’s when I really knew how eager people
are to learn about the who, what, why, where, and how of serial murder.
I did not set out in my career to study murder or serial murder, per
se. Academic psychologists and psychology students are interested in
exploring the many facets of human behavior and mental processes,
and I am an evolutionary psychologist with a degree in biopsychology
(now frequently called “behavioral neuroscience”). My research has typ-
ically focused on male-female differences in sexual psychology that stem
from the vast differences in reproductive biology. My research interests
have included attraction, kissing, and declaring love. When I started in
this field, I did not foresee a path of research geared at understand-
ing women who perpetrate cruel and barbaric murders of innocent

ix
 Preface

people – killers whom researchers have called “sadistic human beings

devoid of empathy, morality or conscience.”3
So, how did I end up pursuing this line of study? Years ago, my friend,
colleague, and licensed psychologist Tom Bowers of Penn State Harris-
burg was studying mass murder with his clinical research team. Since all
behaviors and mental processes can be viewed through an evolutionary
psychological lens, I partnered with him (i.e., invited myself into the pro-
ject because it was so interesting) to collect data and analyze reported
triggers for mass murder. We found that almost all mass murders in
our sample were perpetrated by men triggered by a status threat.4 Men
went on a murderous rampage because of job loss, economic loss, and
being bullied. Read from an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense.
A threat to – or loss of – status would have had profound reproductive
consequences for males in our ancestral environment (i.e., over millions
of years of human evolution). We are not, of course, saying that people
evolved to kill large numbers of helpless victims. Rather, we attempted
to explain the evolved psychological forces that may have played a part
in creating such unbridled rage with such tragic results.
At the time, I had a student named Erin Murphy taking several psy-
chology courses with me. She was, as I recall, both a criminal justice and
a psychology major. Since she knew I was on a team studying murder, she
approached me and asked if I would do an independent study with her
on serial murder. I said “okay!” with no hesitation.
The topic was immediately interesting, and Erin, a top student who
demonstrated diligence and commitment, was the first to tell me about
the paucity of research on female serial killers. When I investigated the
topic myself, I corroborated her conclusion. With Tom and Erin’s help,
I designed a project to collect data about female serial killers who com-
mitted their crimes in the United States. Because of the marked lack
of empirical (original) research on the topic, we attempted to fill in
knowledge gaps by collecting broad data on demographics, background
experiences, crimes, motives, and victims. Moreover, we attempted to
examine mental health issues, which had been largely ignored in pre-
vious female serial murder literature. Because I am not a clinical psy-
chologist, I brought two additional people on board to help interpret
and present the mental health issues we found reported in female serial

x
 Preface

killers: a fantastic M.A. clinical psychology student, Lavina Ho (now a

Ph.D. student who will likely graduate by the time of press), and Claire
Flaherty, a clinician and licensed psychologist from the Penn State Her-
shey College of Medicine.
A testament to people’s interest in serial killers, it was striking how
detailed Erin’s fellow psychology students wanted her reports to be when
updating our undergraduate research class about her findings. Because
this was a general, nomothetic endeavor, we were aiming to document
aggregate data and present averages and frequencies. Still, my bright,
dedicated, and very curious students wanted to hear all the details, as
horrific and disturbing as they were. I recall Erin vividly presenting mur-
der cases with methods ranging from poisoning to fire, and about vic-
tims ranging from infants to the elderly. The listeners hung on every
word and asked for more, at times even prompting Erin to ask, “Are you
sure?” In one instance, when the students pressed for more informa-
tion, Erin described burning bodies. The students recoiled and literally
yelped in horror. One said, “I can’t unhear that!” And yet they always
asked for more.
Why is this topic so interesting? It occurred to me that, viewing inter-
est in murder through an evolutionary lens, it is perhaps adaptive – con-
ducive to survival and thus reproduction – to attend to, learn about, and
understand damaging and deadly behavior so you yourself can avoid it.
What is interesting to us outright (in evolutionary terms, our proximate
motivation) might be serving an unconscious, evolved survival mecha-
nism (our ultimate motivation). Psychologists have studied this phenom-
enon, called morbid curiosity,5 noting humans’ strong tendency to attune
to negative and even disastrous events. Subsequent to my work with Erin,
I worked with M.A. clinical psychology student Erika Frederick (who has
since graduated), studying morbid curiosity in relation to interest in
serial murder so that we could better understand this phenomenon.6
As a result, in addition to talking about serial murderer psychology, this
book talks about the psychology of interest in serial murder.
It remains puzzling why there is a decided lack of research, particu-
larly empirical endeavors, regarding female serial killers – a point I stress
throughout this book. Perhaps this trend reflects the fact that serial mur-
der itself is rare. Although a challenging task, Garry Rodgers, a retired

xi
 Preface

forensic coroner and homicide investigator, estimated the probability of

being murdered by a serial killer in North America as .0004%.7 Rodgers
emphasized that you would have a better chance of winning the lottery
than encountering someone like Ted Bundy. Moreover, among serial
murderers, only about one in six are female, mirroring overall homicide
trends.8 Going from this, we can estimate you have about a .000067%
chance of being the victim of a female serial killer.
Yet, as of this writing, fewer than one in six legitimate research papers
and books on serial murder are about female serial killers. Almost all
research investigates male serial killing. While there are far more male
serial killers documented, the scientific examination of female serial kill-
ers is still disproportionately less frequent. I cannot with certainty explain
why this is, although I discuss several reasons why it might be, including a
societal perception that women ought to be nurturing and are therefore
incapable of such heinous crimes. Indeed, I will bet that you have heard
of Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez, and that you can even recount at
least some of the nature and circumstances of their crimes.
But have you heard of Amy Archer-Gilligan?

Amy Archer-Gilligan was a serial killer. She was lauded for opening and
running what can be considered one of the first nursing homes in the
United States. Most patients who chose to live in her facility in Connecti­
cut were elderly men who, in exchange for lifetime care, paid a lump
sum of money or a weekly fee. On May 8, 1916, Archer-Gilligan was
arrested. The following day, the Hartford Courant, a renowned Connecti­
cut newspaper, ran the front-page story: “Police Believe Archer Home
for Aged a Murder Factory.”9
It was the keen investigative work of Hartford Courant journalist Aubrey
Maddock that brought Archer-Gilligan’s crimes to light. Maddock was
the first to uncover the statistical improbability of so many deaths occur-
ring under Archer-Gilligan’s care – 64 since the home had opened, and
48 occurring between 1907 amd 1916. These were exceedingly high
numbers considering the home’s limited capacity.10 Knowing that ar­senic
had been found in the exhumed bodies of victims, Maddock traced
Archer-Gilligan’s purchases. Arsenic poisoning creates widespread organ

xii
 Preface

failure and is a painful, gruesome way to die, and Maddock discovered

that Archer-Gilligan had bought a large amount of arsenic from Mason’s
Drug Store in Windsor, Connecticut, just before each death.11 She had
also bought a lot of morphine, which I will talk about later. Maddock
brought his findings to the police, resulting in her arrest.12
It was estimated Amy Archer-Gilligan killed at least 20 elderly and
infirm people. Moreover, she had somehow gotten named as the benefi-
ciary of their life insurance and other resources. Investigators also found
that she had obtained loans from victims right before they died, and that
she had suspiciously withdrawn money from their bank accounts. Her
victims included some who had died shortly after paying a substantial
boarding fee for long-term care in her home.
Due to legal entanglements involved with presenting all the evidence,
the prosecution decided to try Archer-Gilligan for the murder of Frank-
lin Andrews only. In court, she defended herself, saying, “Of course a
large number of the inmates died. Most of them were old and feeble
when they came under my care.”13 But her logic did not hold, consider-
ing the evidence: the statistical improbability of so many people dying in
such a short time in her care; her purchase of a large amount of arsenic;
the fact that arsenic was found in the victims’ remains; and the fact that
she benefited from their deaths. On July 14, 1917, she was convicted on
one count of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.14 Wearing a
black dress and a mourning veil, she sunk into her chair and wept as she
heard the sentence. As she was led out of the courthouse, she reportedly
clung to her daughter, moaning “Oh, Mary, my darling child!” over and
over between convulsive sobs.15
On appeal, Archer-Gilligan was awarded a new trial due to errors
made in the first. This time, in July 1919, she pleaded guilty and the sen-
tence was changed to life in prison.16 In 1924, she was declared insane
and was committed to the State Hospital at Middletown, Connecticut,
where she remained for the rest of her life.17 Archer-Gilligan died of old
age at Connecticut Valley Hospital on April 23, 1962, at about age 91,
but her murderous deeds were memorialized forever in the popular play
Arsenic and Old Lace.18
In a story about Amy Archer-Gilligan, in 1919, The Daily Arkansas
Gazette asked, “Do women commit cold-blooded murder? Do women kill,

xiii
 Preface

as countless men in every age and clime have killed . . . with calm pre-
meditation?” The Gazette added, “It can be demonstrated by mere adduc-
tion of fact that women kill just as men kill, or as other animals, male
and female, kill.”19 This statement from more than 100 years ago speaks
precisely to the purpose of this book.

Throughout the following chapters, I infuse case studies of female serial

killers to illustrate themes such as background factors, victim character-
istics, and mental health. I also include a few case studies of male serial
killers to illustrate discussion points. For the cases I highlight, I have
assembled the facts myself from publicly available, original sources. For
some, I report directly what clinicians or criminologists have stated, with
appropriate attribution. From my interactions with students, colleagues,
and general audiences, I understand they expect these details when read-
ing or hearing about serial killings. Hearing a name, the details of the
crime, who the victims were and how they died, and conjecturing on an
individual’s murderous motives all hammer home the terrifying reality.
Yet I would be remiss if I did not emphasize that, in psychological
research, we who engage in nomothetic research (i.e., studying large
samples of people to create generalized understanding) have an ethical
imperative, and make great efforts, to protect the identity of participants.20
In my research papers, for example, even though we have analyzed infor-
mation available to the public, I do not provide the names of serial killers
whose data we used to create our reports. However, we do our best in
every project to describe our exact methodology so the results can be
replicated if desired. Stated another way, if you replicate our methods you
are going to find the same cases we did to include in your own research.
Furthermore, giving the name of a killer might reinforce the notori­
ety they may have sought through their crimes. As information-age
scholar David Brin said in his appeal to the media, “Killers want notori-
ety. Let’s not give it to them.”21 Nonetheless, I validate that, for plausible
psychological reasons I describe later, many readers genuinely wish to
hear real-world case studies of serial murderers and their victims, not
just statistics. Accordingly, I offer the disclaimer that the cases presented
in this book may or may not have been included in our collective data.

xiv
 Preface

This book is a science-based endeavor reporting on female serial

killer psychology and crimes. For case studies, I always consulted pri-
mary sources and have provided links to them in notes. I gathered the
information presented herein from various valid, reputable sources
accessible via the internet, such as the Associated Press, newspaper
archives, national and local news websites, historical societies, court doc-
uments, censuses, and marriage and death records. Where I describe
previous research derived from academic sources or data-based or
­reference-based books in the field, I provide abbreviated notes; there is
a References section at the back of the book, complete with academic
source information.
At no point in the research or writing of this book did I draw from
other college’s databases, internet blogs, student projects, or opinion or
nonprofessional posts. Unfortunately, in my many years of serial murder
research, I have encountered too many books and blogs that provide no
sources for their information. Similarly, some pieces appearing in popu­
lar blogs have taken data from my own work and presented it as their own
or misattributed my findings to others. The information in this book is
derived from empirical data, and the findings have been published in
reputable, peer-reviewed scientific journals. To use someone else’s data
without citing them is not good science or form. To present cases with-
out citations is just storytelling and may perpetuate myths. This book is
based on science. We psychological scientists are empirical and practical,
and we take critical care to attribute findings accurately to others.
The information provided in this book, unless otherwise specified,
is about female serial killers who committed their crimes in the United
States. It is possible that these descriptions do not apply to women who
committed serial murder outside the USA, but, in a contemporary sam-
ple, I believe that one would find similar demographics, means, motives,
and victims outside this country. This is an empirical question. To
understand the topic more fully and accurately, future endeavors should
explore female-perpetrated serial murder in other Westernized and
non-WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic)
cultures.22
As you will find in the pages to come, I do not interview, otherwise
interact with, or diagnose those with psychological conditions or those

xv
 Preface

who have committed crimes. Serial murder is rare, and gaining access to
interview serial murderers is exceedingly difficult. So I am quite happy to
have been a data wrangler for well over 20 years. Moreover, I am a science
writer, and more than 20 years ago I had to scrap any ambitions of craft-
ing artful articulations in my writing endeavors. I do not purport to write
in an eloquent style like the gifted Stephen King or Nancy Gibbs (a shout-
out to two of my favorite writers). You will not get details about a dark
and stormy night where the merciless butcher (insert dramaturgy here).
I report just the facts. The reader’s imagination can take it from there.
In all my years of exploring this disturbing topic, however, I have never
become desensitized to the sheer awfulness of planned murder. Rather, I
have become more sensitized. Reading about and studying these crimes
is jarring. The murder of anyone is horrible; these crimes usually involve
the deaths of people who are very young, very old, or helpless. These
victims suffered horribly and unnecessarily. Documenting these crimes
can take a toll on any author. After I wrote the description of violent
serial killer Dana Sue Gray’s crimes and elderly victims for this book,
I had to take the remainder of the day off. The same thing happened
when I wrote about baby Chelsea McClellan, who was killed by serial
killer Genene Jones and whose mother Petti McClellan-Wiese became a
fierce advocate for murder victims. The murdering women whose stories
appear in this book often brutally killed people who trusted them, with
many victims incapable of fighting back.
The most common motive of female serial killers is monetary gain.
What is the price of a life? According to Amy Archer-Gilligan in the early
1900s, the price of a life was a few thousand dollars in boarding fees or
insurance money. Apparently, she deemed that it was worth poisoning
older, often lonely people with arsenic.23 Arsenic poisoning is cruel. It
causes pernicious vomiting, severe diarrhea, kidney failure, encephalop-
athy (disease of the brain), multisystem failure, and death.24 Her victims
suffered before they died. That is not something one can get used to
reading or writing about.
In the pages that follow, I stress that female serial killers are among
us and can murder as many victims and just as cruelly as any male serial
killer. I extend the caveat that the information herein is disturbing,
but I endeavor to guess the reader is well aware of that fact. I present

xvi
 Preface

descriptive information on female serial killers, a comparison of the

crimes of female and male serial killers, and my take, from an evo-
lutionary point of view, on why people might find this phenomenon
so fascinating. I also cover traumagenic and other psychological per-
spectives where I derived them from evidence-based literature. If we
document incidents, patterns, antecedents, and consequences of serial
murder and view the phenomenon through various psychological
lenses, we increase the chance of prevention, or at least early detection.
We do not yet understand serial murder fully. But we do understand
for a fact that women can be just as deadly as men.

xvii
You’re the monster no one sees coming.
– US District Judge Thomas Kleeh to
Reta Mays, convicted serial killer and former
nursing assistant, at her sentencing for
murdering seven elderly veterans in her care.1

xix
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

Kristen H. Gilbert is a serial killer. She was convicted of the first-degree

murder of three disabled patients at the US Department of Veterans
Affairs hospital in Massachusetts, where she worked as a nurse in the
1990s. She was also convicted of second-degree murder, having killed a
fourth patient, and the attempted murder of two other patients. Gilbert
is further suspected of killing, or trying to kill, other vulnerable people
who were under her skilled care. In fact, so many patients died while
Gilbert was on duty that her colleagues called her an “Angel of Death.”1
Death was apparently not Gilbert’s sole endgame. As The Boston Globe
pointedly noted, “She liked to play the star.” She “liked the thrill of med-
ical emergencies” and “reveled in the excitement of emergency calls.”2
Gilbert also wanted to impress VA police officer Jim Perrault, with whom
she had a relationship and said she was in love, by showing off her skilled
medical heroics.3
Sources say Gilbert thrived on the excitement and medical challenge
of treating a patient coding in a cardiopulmonary emergency. This
explains her murder weapon of choice: epinephrine. Epinephrine is
synthetic adrenaline that causes extreme tachycardia (accelerated heart-
beat). To induce cardiac arrest, Gilbert, by all accounts a very skilled
nurse, injected patients’ intravenous lines with the drug epinephrine.
According to Assistant US Attorney William Welch, “She caused patients
to die because of the adulation she would get from coworkers . . . and
her own personal thrill and gratification from saving individuals she put
in distress.”4

1
 JUST AS DEADLY

1.1 Kristen Gilbert in an undated photo. (Photo from Getty Images)

But, according to investigators, these were not her only motivations.

One night in 1996, Gilbert reportedly asked her supervisor if she could
leave early if her patient died. She was meeting up with boyfriend Jim.
This patient was 41-year-old Kenneth Cutting, a blind, disabled veteran
with multiple sclerosis who had no known heart issues. She proceeded
to kill Cutting, a husband and a father, so she could leave early. This
victim died of a heart attack – his tragic, early departure from this world
occurring less than an hour after Gilbert requested an early departure
from work for her romantic interlude.5
Gilbert’s colleagues became increasingly suspicious and finally
alerted authorities after a patient receiving a simple antibiotic treatment
reported feeling nauseous and that he had a burning sensation after Gil-
bert flushed his IV line.6 An investigation ensued, in which all 37 deaths
that took place from 1995 to 1996 during Gilbert’s shifts in Ward C were
examined. When Gilbert was interviewed in March 1996, healthcare
inspectors asked her, frankly, “Why are you the first one finding patients
in distress?” She told them she had keen medical intuition.7

2
 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

During the time of the investigation, Kristen Gilbert left work with
a shoulder injury and began collecting workers’ compensation. In her
absence, the death rate on the evening shift markedly decreased. As the
investigation progressed, she apparently grew desperate, making harass-
ing phone calls to the VA hospital and fighting with her boyfriend, Jim
Perrault. She even accused Perrault of being complicit in the investiga-
tion and kicked him in the testicles. Then, in October 1996, seemingly
to derail the investigation, Gilbert called in bomb threats to the Veter-
ans Affairs Medical Center. She was arrested for the threats and, two
years later, sentenced to 15 months in prison for making them.8 Yet her
demeanor was not consistent. Even when she was identified as a murder
suspect, Gilbert was not distressed by the seriousness of the allegations,
according to her neighbor. Rather, she hoped that all pictures of her
in the press were flattering and that Bridget Fonda would play her in a
movie about her life.
Meanwhile, investigators exhumed the bodies of victims and found
evidence of epinephrine. Furthermore, they found 85 doses of epi-
nephrine unaccounted for in the VA Medical Center.9 Overall, they
determined that there was a one in 100 million probability of so many
deaths occurring with Gilbert present.10 In May 1999, she was arrested
for ­murder.11
At trial, Gilbert pleaded not guilty, but the evidence was over-
whelming. Fellow nurses testified that she was the first on the scene
to the deaths and that they often found broken, empty bottles of epi-
nephrine at the scene. The jury heard one survivor’s account that
­Gilbert “put something in my arm” before his heart rate increased to
300 BPM and he passed out. Patient Angelo Vella died before trial, so
his daughter testified that he had said he thought his heart was “going
to explode.”12 As the US Attorney said, “The depth and cruelty of her
evil had no natural boundary.” Gilbert was, he added, “a cold-blooded
serial killer.”13
On March 14, 2001, Kristen Gilbert was convicted of murder and sev-
eral other charges.14 Since she committed crimes on federal property,
prosecutors sought the death penalty as punishment, but in consider-
ation of Gilbert’s own children, jurors decided she should spend life
in prison instead.15 Gilbert received four life sentences for her crimes.

3
 JUST AS DEADLY

Ironically, however, had Gilbert received a death sentence, she would

have been executed the same way she executed helpless, disabled vet-
erans – by lethal injection.16 Reflecting on the case just a few days after
Gilbert’s conviction, law professor David Rossman captured the horror
of her crimes: “These good men . . . vulnerable men, there to be healed,
all dead. What could be more frightening? More evil?”17

What is a serial killer? If you read five sources, you might get five dif-
ferent answers to this question. Although US Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation (FBI) agent Robert Ressler’s18 use of the term “serial killer”
decades ago made it more mainstream, there is, to my knowledge, no
absolute definition available for “serial killer” or “serial murder.” The
FBI considers serial murder to be “the unlawful killing of two or more
victims by the same offender(s), in separate events.”19 However, noted
academics such as Eric Hickey, Stephen Holmes et al., and Amanda
Farrell et al.20 defined a serial killer as someone who has murdered
three or more victims. In research conducted with my team in 2015,
we adopted the definition of three deceased victims and added the
distinction of them being intentional killings. Furthermore, to distin-
guish serial killing from mass murders or spree killing, we stressed
that there must be a cooling-off period of at least one week between
murders.
Indeed, the FBI website’s information on serial murder is incom-
plete. It describes the modus operandi of the typical male serial killer. It
ignores the fact that women can be just as deadly as men. All case exam-
ples presented are those of male perpetrators. In fact, almost all the
experts who compiled the report were also men. In fairness, the group
that assembled the FBI’s information was a highly reputable and experi-
enced team – likely some of the best experts in the world – working with
the information they had at the time. However, newer research such as
that published by my team in 2019 has elucidated drastic and statistically
significant difference between the backgrounds, crimes, motives, and
methods of male and female serial killers.21
At one time, authorities actually claimed that there were no
female serial killers, and that serial murders were limited to sex-based

4
 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

crimes.22 Even research23 in the last 20 years has used the terms “serial
sexual homicide” and “serial killer” interchangeably. And while the
FBI report debunks the myth that all serial killers are motivated by
sex, the ­examples provided in its report are largely sexual in nature.
However, we know that the most common motive for female serial
murderers is financial gain,24 which is not mentioned in the report at
all. The FBI report does underscore that “more research is needed to
identify specific pathways of development that produce serial killers,”
but more research has since become available. It is time for the FBI
and other law enforcement agencies to update their information, as
other agencies look to this reference material when assessing murder
cases in front of them.
The undeniable facts are these: women have been, and can be,
serial murderers; their motives, crimes, and victims are almost always
different to those of male serial murderers; and they have committed
arguably some of the most disturbing clusters of murders the USA has
ever seen.

Martha Patty Cannon was a serial killer. She committed among the
most heinous crimes I have ever heard of in my many years of murder
­psychology research. People often ask me, “Which female serial killer’s
crimes do you consider the worst?” My usual answer is “all of them.”
But when pressed to name names, Cannon is typically at the top of the
depraved list.
Also going by Lucretia P. Cannon, or simply “Patty,” she was called
“the wickedest woman in America” and “the most abandoned wretch that
breathes.”25 Believed to have been born in about 1760, 16 years before
the Declaration of Independence sparked the Revolutionary War, she
was one of the first serial killers documented in the United States.
Cannon and her son-in-law, Joe Johnson, resided on the
­Delaware-Maryland state line, where they murdered and robbed people
who patronized her tavern.26 She was a prolific and equal-opportunity
­murderer throughout the early 1800s, reportedly killing men, women,
and children of many ethnicities. She and her gang of thugs also
­kidnapped approximately 3,000 free Black people and sold them into

5
 JUST AS DEADLY

s­ lavery, ­separating them from their children, often shackling victims in

her attic to await a buyer.27 Scholars such as Richard Bell have referred
to her crimes as a “reverse underground railroad.”28 Reports say that she
strangled a three-day-old baby, burned other babies alive, and poisoned
her own husband. Cannon also threw a child into a fireplace to stop the
child from crying.29 Patty Cannon was Black, and scholars contend that
her ethnicity and gender prevented suspicion that she was engaging in
these crimes.30
In 1829, a three-foot-long blue chest containing a man’s bones
was found buried on her property. The bones of others, including a
child, were found in oak boxes. These discoveries led to her arrest for
murder.31 After she was in custody, one of Cannon’s gang members,
Cyrus James, told investigators that the buried remains were those of
a ­well-known slave trader from Georgia whom she had shot and killed,
keeping the $15,000 he had in his possession. James also said that he had
seen ­Cannon kill a child by hitting them in the head with a wooden log.32
Cannon confessed to killing more than two dozen people, including her
own husband and child, but witnesses indicated she had murdered far
more victims. At the age of approximately 70, Cannon died by suicide
while in jail to avoid being put to death by hanging.33
Although one might question the accuracy of reports from 200
years ago, Mike Morgan, who wrote a biography about Patty Cannon,34
stressed his confidence in the historical documentation he uncovered in
his research. “Whatever you have had heard about her is probably true,”
he stated, “and even more so.” He added, “Patty’s heinous crimes equal,
if not surpass the legend.”35
Although we cannot explain what exactly drove Cannon to a life of
horrible crimes, an obvious motive is the vast amount of money she
earned from her kidnapping and slave-trading ring.36 One can extrapo­
late that if someone is willing to kidnap, shackle, and sell another
human being for profit, killing anyone who gets in the way does not
seem ­far-fetched.
Digging into history, not much is available on Patty Cannon’s past. The
Morning News wrote a retrospective piece on Cannon in 1960. Accord-
ing to the report, she was victimized by her father, who was ultimately
executed by hanging. Patty was said to have been tall, ­good-looking,

6
 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

and well-liked in her youth. She married Jesse Cannon, a captain in

the ­Delaware militia, in 1791. At some point in their marriage, Jesse
was found guilty of kidnapping free Black people. He was sentenced to
the pillory, a wooden framework that the prisoner sticks their head and
hands through for public display and shaming. Although the sentence
was supposed to involve nailing his ears to the wood, it was reported that
the governor of Delaware removed this part of the punishment because
of Jesse’s distinguished military service.37 While it is unknown why Patty
Cannon may have decided to kill her husband and child, it is clear that
she was in charge of her gang by the early 1800.
A macabre liner note to Cannon’s story is her bizarre postmortem
journey. In 1902, her remains were unearthed from her grave outside
the Sussex County Courthouse in Delaware in order to be relocated.
Apparently, Attorney James Marsh had a “fascination” with her remains.38
The Morning News ran a front-page story, “Found Patty ­Cannon’s Skull,”
reporting that “the skull and bones are on exhibition at James A.
­Marshall’s law office and scores of people are attracted there to see
them.”39 After public display, Marshall took her skull home with him,
and when he died, his son-in-law Charles Joseph reportedly hung the
skull on a nail in his barn.
After Joseph’s death, the new owners of the house, the Burtons, found
the skull in a hat box in their attic. Mary Burton announced that she
“didn’t want any part of it.”40 They gave the skull to relatives of the Joseph
family, who donated it to the Dover Public Library, where it was used as
a display at Halloween. Cannon’s skull now appears to be in the care of
the US government at the Smithsonian Institution in ­Washington, DC.
Or, a skull from another woman buried in Delaware at around the same
time as Cannon, who was also about the age of 70 when she died, whose
skull was once displayed, hung in a barn, and stored in a hat box, is at
the Smithsonian.41
And this was the end of the first documented case of a serial killer in
the United States that I have encountered. Imagine someone considered
so depraved that Delaware State erected a commemorative road plaque
warning, “Nearby stood Patty Cannon’s House.” Nonetheless, with
crimes committed so long ago, we must concede that it may be impos­
sible to determine what is fact and what is fiction.

7
 JUST AS DEADLY

Despite crimes of horror and magnitude, the names of female serial

killers (FSKs) are virtually unknown to the public. When I give aca-
demic or public talks, I challenge audiences to name serial killers aloud.
The names of male serial killers (MSKs) like John Wayne Gacy and Ed
­Kemper are invariably mentioned. But no one seems to have heard of
Kristen Gilbert, Patty Cannon, or most other FSKs. Indeed, when asked
to name a female serial killer, many people can only think of Aileen
Wuornos, whose story earned notoriety when depicted in the 2003 movie
Monster starring award-winning actor Charlize Theron.
Wuornos has been called “America’s first female serial killer,”42 but
by all available definitions, she was not. Not only does this misnomer
overlook the crimes of Patty Cannon more than 200 years earlier but also
Wuornos does not quite fit the mold. Between 1989 and 1990, she shot
men in the head and torso – killings she claimed were in ­self-defense as
a hitchhiking sex worker. Active violence such as targeting and shooting
strangers are not acts that fit the profile of a typical FSK. In fact, Wuor-
nos’ behaviors and crimes were largely of the kind considered typical of
male serial murderers. That said, Wuornos robbed her victims after she
shot them. Thus, at least one aspect of her crime was typical of FSKs –
her motive for murder being money. I will return to her case later in this
book.
While MSK crimes and profiles are the subject of countless academic
volumes, murder by FSKs has been misunderstood, overlooked, and
underestimated. One reason for this may be society’s unwillingness to
accept that women are capable of such heinous and gruesome crimes.
Typical gender schemas categorize women as gentle, nurturing care-
takers. Perhaps there is a type of morbid glass ceiling when it comes
to women being recognized and remembered as callous murderers of
multiple victims, and the only way it can be broken is when the murders
are particularly violent or gory. To wit, Aileen Wuornos shot men in the
head and dumped at least one body in a junkyard. Not only is she readily
identified as a serial killer, but her story also became the subject of a
major motion picture. Yet Amy Archer-Gilligan, whose covert, insidious
methods turned one of the country’s first nursing homes into a “murder

8
 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

factory,”43 is largely unknown by name, despite the fact that her murders
inspired the play and Hollywood movie Arsenic and Old Lace.
Journalist Patricia Pearson44 posited that contemporary culture
denies women’s ability to be aggressive and violent. The sheer notion of
a woman committing a planned string of murders is incomprehensible.
This likely plays a factor when women get away with murder. In her work
on FSKs, Deborah Schurman-Kauflin posited that “no one believes that
a woman could kill multiple victims.”45 US District Judge Thomas Kleeh
captured this ideology perfectly when sentencing serial killer nursing
assistant Reta Mays for the murder of seven elderly veterans hospitalized
in her care. He described Mays as the “monster no one sees coming.”
Similarly, when reporting on Amy Archer-Gilligan’s arraignment in June
1917, one newspaper observed that “the spectators wondered how on
Earth [the] State Attorney could ascribe such gruesome deeds to so pale
and gentle a dove.”46
Notably, while world-renowned forensic psychologist Eric Hickey47
was one of the first authors on record to research and document the
motives and crimes of female serial murderers, many of the solo or
lead author researchers often cited for their work on FSKs are women:
­Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, a criminal profiler; Amanda Farrell,48 whose
work underscored how FSKs do not neatly fit into typical male serial
murder classifications; Patricia Pearson, who authored an award-winning
book on women who kill; and myself. This fact is open to interpretation,
but perhaps it takes women to validate, underscore, and push society to
accept the fact that women can be just as deadly as men.
Indeed, highly influential psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley’s seminal writ-
ings about psychopathy49 initially ignored women, as well. This is a sub-
stantial omission, as the perpetrators of many cases of serial murder have
met the criteria for having, or are suspected to have had, psychopathy.
As scholars have pointed out, Cleckley’s 1941 book The Mask of Sanity: An
Attempt to Clarify Some of the Issues about the So-called Psychopathic Personality
did not discuss women psychopaths at all until the fifth edition of the
book was released in 1976. Cleckley’s omission may have been influenced
by social stereotypes of women as warm and nurturing caregivers.50
Physical appearance can moderate perceptions of guilt just as pow-
erfully as social stereotypes. Psychologists have understood for half a

9
 JUST AS DEADLY

c­ entury that people experience the “halo effect” – meaning that they
believe “what is beautiful is good.”51 Facially attractive people are judged
to be more trustworthy, intelligent, socially competent, poised, and
exciting.52 In movies, for example, the good characters are likely to be
physically attractive, and much more so than the bad characters.53 And
in the criminal justice system, it has long been common knowledge
that a defendant who is good-looking has better chance of being found
not guilty or of getting a less harsh sentence.54 A halo effect around an
attractive defendant can decrease the jury’s and the public’s percep-
tions of guilt. T
­ ellingly, in 2015, my research team found that female
serial murderers have typically been reported to be of at least average
­attractiveness.55 When it comes to recognizing the guilt of FSKs, maybe
people just do not think a good-looking woman is capable of committing
gruesome murders with multiple victims.

Sharon Kinne is a serial killer. Guilty of heinous crimes, Kinne benefit-

ted from her physical attractiveness several times in court before a guilty
charge was finally brought. One newspaper story about Kinne exclaimed
that she was “probably the prettiest defendant ever tried for murder” in
Kansas City.56 Louis Lombardo, the chief of operations for the prosecu-
tor’s office in Jackson County, Missouri, told a Kansas City Star journalist
that at first he found her rather attractive – but added that his opinion
changed as they worked the case.57 “Ladies just weren’t supposed to do
what she did,” said Jim Hays, a former local government official.58
The first time Kinne saw a jury, the year was 1961 and she was on trial
for the murder of Patricia Jones, her ex-lover’s wife. Despite ­physical and
circumstantial evidence tying her to crime, Kinne was acquitted by an
­all-male jury in under two hours. After the not guilty verdict, the courtroom
applauded.59 In an eyebrow-raising epilogue, newspapers p ­ hotographed
Kinne giving autographs to, and taking photos with, the jury.60
The second time Kinne came to trial, it was for a murder that had
actually taken place before the death of Patricia Jones. This time, Kinne
was on trial for allegedly killing her husband, James Kinne, with a fatal
gunshot to the head. At trial, Kinne blamed the gunshot on her daugh-
ter Danna, less than three years old, who she claimed was playing with

10
 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

the gun while Kinne got ready for a church event. She was found guilty
of killing her husband, but the verdict was overturned by the Missouri
Supreme Court because of jury selection issues.61 She subsequently went
through two more trials, resulting in a hung jury. As a prosecutor who
worked on Kinne’s case explained to a journalist, “Convictions are dif-
ficult to get . . . any time you are talking about non-motivated crimes
committed by psychopaths.”62
While I have not encountered any reports that Kinne had a for-
mal psychiatric evaluation or any diagnosis, the prosecutor was not
alone in his belief that Kinne was psychopathic. James Browning, one
of the lead detectives on her case, said, “Guys really went for her,
but I tell you what – I think she could kill you, then sit down to the
table and enjoy a nice breakfast.”63 Indeed, Kinne had a long history
of antisocial behavior, callous disregard for others (e.g., shooting
her husband and blaming her toddler daughter), superficial charm,
impulsivity, and lack of remorse. Moreover, while many of Kinne’s
relatives said they were afraid of her when she was angry, jurors found
Kinne charming. People believed she was “the prettiest defendant
ever,” and people thought her “cool and expressionless” demeanor
at trial meant that she was unruffled by false accusations.64 Kinne
showed signs and symptoms consistent with psychopathy – and she
was not done killing.
While awaiting yet another trial, Kinne ran away with a new boyfriend
to Mexico City, Mexico, where she killed once again. Kinne claimed
that she met Francisco Paredes Ordonez at a bar. When he made sexual
advances to her, she pulled a gun out of her purse and shot him – it was
the same gun she had used to kill Patricia Jones.65 The murder in Mexico
earned her the nickname “La Pistolera” and a prison sentence. Reports
were inconsistent as to the prison term she received, however, noting
sentences of anywhere between 10 and 23 years.66
Law enforcement thought she had shot men before and gotten away
with it. And, as it turned out, this time was no different. After serving
only five years of her sentence, she escaped from prison on December
7, 1969. Some speculate that she used her good looks, once again, as
an escape tool. She remains at large and would be in her 80s as of this
writing.

11
 JUST AS DEADLY

1.2 Sharon Kinne with her attorney Martha Sperry Hickman and an unidentified man.
(Photo from Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

PSYCHOPATHY PRIMER

As a research psychologist, I am ethically compelled to stress that I am not

a clinician licensed to make client diagnoses. I cannot go beyond my exper-
tise. Yet even clinical psychologists must properly interview clients to make
a legitimate assessment. Moreover, clinicians should not make assessments
of public figures they have never properly interviewed, per the Goldwater
Rule67 and the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles of
Psychologists and Code of Conduct.68 Thus, I make no diagnoses in this book or
elsewhere. Nevertheless, as Greg Hartley, an author and intelligence inter-
rogator for the US military noted, you do not have to be a botanist to rec-
ognize poison ivy; a psychopath has readily identifiable traits and patterns.
Psychopaths pose great harm to society and can eventuate to being
versatile and violent criminal offenders.69 Many serial murderers like
Sharon Kinne tend to exhibit behaviors and mental processes consist-
ent with psychopathy, and their cases underscore the need for improved

12
 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

mental health issue recognition, understanding, and treatment. Thus, a

brief primer of the concept is warranted.
While psychopathy is not an official mental health diagnosis, it
includes both personality traits and antisocial behaviors.70 Psychopathic
traits include lying, manipulation, exploitation, callous disregard for the
welfare of others, lack of remorse, and empathy deficits.71 Hilda Morana
and her colleagues72 put it plainly: a psychopath is someone who knows
facts but does not care. Furthermore, those with psychopathy tend to be
fearless and impulsive risk-takers, with a documented lower perception
of risk and a lack of fear for consequences.73
In The Mask of Sanity, Hervey Cleckley74 describes how someone with
psychopathy could appear to lead an ordinary life, pretending to have
a normal, everyday existence. From their outer appearance, they seem
highly functioning. They could appear very sincere, charming, and truth-
ful, displaying typical emotionality. Yet this outward appearance masks
a psychological milieu of callous disregard, impulsivity, irresponsibility,
exploitation, and lack of remorse.75 As Cleckley notes, they show “a gross
lack of sincerity.”76 These deficits in remorse, empathy, and morality
judgments may involve neural abnormalities.77
Psychopathy expert Robert Hare78 suggested that, as a personality
style, psychopathy evolved to promote social predation. As Hare sug-
gested, “Psychopaths naturally slip into the role of criminal. Their readi­
ness to take advantage of any situation that arises, combined with their
lack of internal controls we know as conscience, creates a potent formula
for crime.”79
Some experts also believe that psychopathy may be an evolved, adap-
tive strategy.80 A cheating adaptation requires the ability to conceal it in
order to be successful.81 The “mask of sanity” is an exercise of “affective
mimicry” – it can help psychopaths appear to be normally functioning
and to avoid detection while being socially exploitative.82
Many serial killers exhibit behaviors and cognitions consistent with
psychopathy. Indeed, with the definition of serial murder encompassing
three or more victims with a cooling-off period in between, it stands to
reason that many serial murderers have mastered a “mask of sanity” to
avoid getting caught after their first and second murders. ­Nonetheless, I
do not think psychologists can say that all serial killers are psychopaths.

13
 JUST AS DEADLY

We do not have enough diagnoses or other information about older

cases. But even from information we can derive from past reports, it
is possible that serial killers like Patty Cannon and Ed Gein (discussed
later) did not even try to portray a socially acceptable exterior – or could
not have done so had they tried. Further, not everyone with psychopathy
is a serial killer.
The most widely accepted and used measure of psychopathy is the
­Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), which measures interpersonal,
lifestyle, affective, and antisocial behaviors and traits.83 The PCL-R has
been used to assess psychopathy in a few of the serial murderers men-
tioned in this book. Scores on the PCL-R produce two factors that work
together to predict other psychopathology and maladaptive outcomes,
including violent offences and recidivism.84 Factor 1 of the PCL-R encom-
passes interpersonal and emotional characteristics considered to be
pathognomonic (i.e., specifically characteristic) of psychopathy. These
include superficial charm, feelings of grandiosity, deceitfulness, and a
remorseless exploitation of other people, as well as a lack of emotional
depth, empathy, or remorse for wrongdoing. Factor 2 encompasses anti-
social behavior, including chronic irresponsibility, an impulsive lifestyle,
and early-life behavioral issues.85
It is important to remember that having a psychopathic personality,
or being diagnosed with mental illness, is different from being “insane”
by the legal definition.86 Hervey Cleckley87 said that psychopaths have no
reasoning deficits and have a typical awareness of the consequences of
their actions. For example, when Cleckley was brought in as an expert
witness at the trial of MSK Ted Bundy, he testified that Bundy – a psycho-
path who was skilled at presenting normalcy – was competent to stand
trial.88 Indeed, scholars have argued that most serial killers know the
difference between right and wrong when they kill.89
When discussing psychopathy, it is important to note how the con-
dition is depicted in relation to serial killers in pop culture. The por-
trayal of serial killers in films and television, for example, typically
involves mixing psychopathy with psychosis, the latter of which includes
delusions and hallucinations. But those who have worked on serial
killer cases argue that these are not realistic portrayals, and clinicians
and criminologists contend that such a mixture of high intelligence,

14
 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?

­ sychopathy, and disabling psychosis (i.e., losing touch with reality) is

p
very unlikely. Similarly, using words like “wacko” or “psycho” to describe
serial killers is not accurate, as these words are often used as shorthand
for “insane.” Many serial killers such as Ken Bianchi, Jeffrey Dahmer,
and John Wayne Gacy did not plead insanity or had their insanity plea
denied.90
From a clinical perspective, psychopathic and psychotic have some
opposite features. Someone who is psychopathic has a distorted emotional
and moral compass, but they do understand how they ought to look to the
social world. They work very carefully to present the mask of what society
expects as normal.91 In contrast, someone who is psychotic has lost their
grip on reality and experiences a disrupted core experience of self.92 They
also have behavioral and cognitive deficits and can have a very difficult
time managing their internal self in the outside world. It stands to reason
that someone experiencing psychosis would not be able to perceive what
is socially appropriate and effectively project a mask of sanity.
Some authors use the term sociopathy more than they do psychop­
athy, although the difference between psychopathy and sociopathy is not
always clear and consistent across sources. Robert Hare, for example,
explains that the term sociopathy may be preferred by some because
psychopathy may be confused with psychotic, which suggests insanity.93
Again, those with psychopathy are not insane by legal standards. Hare
also suggests that some clinicians, sociologists, and criminologists may
use the term sociopath because they believe the condition arises purely
form environmental (social) circumstances. In contrast, those who feel
that the condition is best viewed through a biopsychosocial framework
may use the term psychopath. Moreover, some notable researchers con-
tend that psychopathy and sociopathy fall on a spectrum. Eric Hickey94
and colleagues argue that most MSKs are sociopaths who can express
emotions but a small proportion of the group are psychopaths. (This
has yet to be examined in FSKs.) It seems that experts do not necessarily
agree on the definition of psychopathy. As a research psychologist, I take
the biopsychosocial perspective, and thus use the terms psychopath and
psychopathy, unless citing reports that explicitly use other terminology.
In sum, I have reviewed the definition of serial murder that I have
seen academics typically incorporate in their research. W ­ omen’s

15
 JUST AS DEADLY

­ ocumented crimes most certainly fit this definition. Women are abso-
d
lutely capable of committing serial murder, and they do. Yet societal and
psychological forces continue to influence our perceptions and there-
fore our ­willingness to accept that women can plan and execute the
cruel – often slow and ­painful – killings of men and women, young and
old, vulnerable and infirm. In the pages that follow, I report aggregate
data and ­additional case studies to illustrate key details about female
serial ­murder, including a comparison between FSKs and MSKs and a
psychological perspective regarding the motives, means, and makings
of female serial murderers. But first, let us dive into the psychological
forces that drive our interest in this most disturbing of topics.

16
 CHAPTER 2

Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?

§
Dana Sue Gray was a serial killer. In 1994, the unemployed nurse
murdered elderly women by stabbing and choking them. One 87-year-
old victim, Dora Beebe, was found in a pool of her own blood, stran-
gled and bludgeoned to death with a clothing iron. Another victim,
86-year-old Norma Davis, was stabbed eleven times and strangled. The
wounds to her neck were so deep she was nearly decapitated. After
Gray murdered her victims, she stole their credit cards to feed her
shopping habit.
Dana Sue Gray violently executed vulnerable women so she could buy
expensive vodka and cowboy boots. She callously and brutally murdered
people’s mothers, sisters, wives, and grandmothers. And, if so inclined,
today you can own Gray’s underwear for $250. Autographed by Gray
strategically in the crotch, the underwear is accompanied by her inmate
number: W76776.1
§
Elizabeth Yuko recently reported for Rolling Stone magazine2 that the
sale of murderabilia, the “macabre artifacts” of criminals and crimes,
has become quite a lucrative industry. She noted collectors’ strong
desire for serial-murderer artifacts such as a drawing of a deranged
cartoon face and bloody knife by MSK Richard Ramirez (“The Night
Stalker”). Self-portrait clown paintings by MSK “Killer Clown” John
Wayne Gacy have been estimated in recent years to be worth thou-
sands of dollars.3 It seems that Western society sees serial murderers as
“­perverse icons.”4

17
 JUST AS DEADLY

The curator of The Museum of Death5 in Los Angeles, which ­collects

and sells such artifacts, justifies people’s interest in murderabilia as
being legitimate and informative. Speaking to Yuko, the curator argued
that, since museums collect and display artifacts related to presidential
­assassinations and the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the USA, collections of mur-
derer artifacts should not be judged or viewed as aberrant. N ­ onetheless,
another collector interviewed by Yuko conceded that procuring murder-
abilia “can be a dark hobby.” Indeed, it should not be overlooked that the
hobby (or profession) of collecting murder artifacts is extremely distress-
ing to victims’ families. As one victims’ advocate stressed to Yuko, “It’s one
of the most nauseating and disgusting feelings in the world” to discover
that people are profiting from memorabilia related to the criminals who
murdered your loved one.6
Consumers spend hundreds of millions of dollars on media that is
­created to frighten them. According to Forbes, horror movies in ­particular
make huge profits, taking in about $1 billion per year.7 The ­carnivorous
murder shark from the movie Jaws has terrorized ­audiences since 1975,
and the franchise is reported to have taken in hundreds of millions of
dollars. The 1973 movie The Exorcist, a story about demonic possession,
has also raked in hundreds of millions of dollars, remaining popular
throughout its half-century existence.8 Similarly, serial murder is com-
modified.9 Serial killer media is hugely popular, particularly on television
and streaming services. The show Mindhunter on ­Netflix, which portrays
fictional stories about FBI serial killer profiling, is critically acclaimed
and an audience favorite.10 Other programs such as Dexter, Hannibal,
Criminal Minds, and Killing Eve continue to be fan favorites. They are con-
sistently recommended for those who wish to travel down the dark and
twisted paths of serial murderers and the law enforcement ­professionals
who profile and track them.11 Hundreds – if not thousands – of mov-
ies are also devoted to the topic, although some go directly to DVD or
streaming. Eric Hickey reported that these movies and television shows
appeal to consumers who want a greater in-depth understanding of
serial ­murder and “the requisite gore.”12
Whereas many of the aforementioned movies and programs are
fictional – although perhaps infused with aspects of real cases for
­
impact – there are countless programs, books, magazines, podcasts, and

18
 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?

even comic books devoted to real-world serial killers and their stories,
Collectively, these form the true crime genre.
Widespread interest in serial killers has even resulted in a robust
industry of mass-produced collectibles that seem to memorialize and
even make light of serial killing. Psycho Killers, a 1999 comic selling online
for about $50, features Aileen Wuornos on the cover. One can find Ted
Bundy, the Zodiac Killer, and Ed Gein action figures, each depicting kill-
ing and bloody action. Some are priced at well over $100. Interestingly,
however, while there is an Aileen Wuornos action figure, it is difficult – if
not impossible – to find figures representing the likes of Patty Cannon,
Amy Archer-Gilligan, or Dana Sue Gray. Perhaps it is challenging to
make an appealing resin model of an old grandma being choked with a
telephone cord? Yet, through a quick internet search, you can easily find
myriad macabre tributes to mutilating and murdering rapists. A T-shirt
featuring a cartoon of Ted Bundy’s abduction vehicle, for example, asks,
“Do you want a ride?” I would bet large sums of money that the families
of victims would not think this funny.
Admittedly, comedy is not a new approach to presenting serial mur-
der phenomena. Arsenic and Old Lace, a 1939 Broadway play13 and a 1944
movie14 was a comedy said to be based on poisoner Amy Archer-Gilligan’s
serial murders. The prosecuting attorney from Archer-Gilligan’s mur-
der case, Hugh Alcorn, was invited to and attended the play’s B ­ roadway
­premier. Alcorn attended, but his son later told the Hartford Courant that
his father did not like it: “He couldn’t understand all the laughter over
something he thought was a deadly serious matter.”15
Scholars have argued that murderabilia desensitizes the public to the
heinous nature of killers’ crimes and to the suffering and cruel deaths
of the victims. Research has indeed shown that, typically, the more one
is exposed to an alarming stimulus, the less unsettling it becomes over
time. This desensitization (decreased reactivity) or habituation has been
demonstrated over the course of decades of cognitive, emotional, and
physiological research.16 Even victims of crime evince physiological and
cognitive desensitization when watching a series of videos depicting real
crimes.17 Forensic criminologist Xanthe Mallett, for one, worries that
society’s increased immersion in stories of dangerous and violent true
crime will also mean decreased sensitivity (i.e., desensitization) towards

19
 JUST AS DEADLY

the suffering of the victims and their families.18 One wonders if purchas-
ers of an Ed Gein serial killer action figure with a shovel in his hands
really think about the invisible, implied victim being exhumed in order
for him to decapitate their bodies and harvest their body parts.
Around the world, there are various perspectives on the utility or
damage of true crime and murderabilia. In 2021, I was honored to
­participate in an online debate with the University Philosophical Society
(The Phil)19 at Trinity College, Dublin. The position of “The House”
was that true crime media is exploitative, and the desensitization of the
public to the hideous nature of murder was brought up several times. I
agreed. I took the position that true crime media – which can include
videos, movies, books, and even merchandise – ignored victims’ experi-
ences in favor of profit, such as the sale of serial killer statues and T-shirts,
and that this profit constituted exploitation. Skilled student debaters
from Trinity College offered their own powerful opinions on this point.
Passionately defending the rights and feelings of crime victims and their
family and friends, honors student Erika Magan provided what I felt was
the most intense statement of the night: “True crime keeps the pain
alive.” Student officer and editor Maggie Larson further argued that
many programs take crime details too far, invading privacy without the
victims’ consent and noting that true crime stories reflect “the ultimate
sense of entitlement to others’ lives.”
Nonetheless, there are valid arguments suggesting that some good
can come from true crime media. In the debate social psychologist
Amanda Vicary reminded us that true crime programs have resulted
in new information being discovered about crimes and victims. In
some cases, falsely convicted individuals were exonerated, particularly
through the efforts of the Innocence Project.20 In one example, the televi-
sion show America’s Most Wanted helped apprehend 17 people over time
from “FBI’s Top 10 Fugitives” lists, which included hardened murder-
ers.21 I myself am a fan of television programs like Oxygen’s Cold Justice
and Investigation Discovery’s Reasonable Doubt, both of which use their
experts and resources to pursue justice and truth without incorporating
gore and exploitation.
While we know that people do get desensitized to violent crime –
they do not always.22 In fact, research conducted with my colleague Erika

20
 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?

Frederick has shown that serial murder and similarly horrid events are so
shocking that humans have evolved to be continuously sensitive to these
phenomena.23 Paying attention to the most gruesome acts and actors
may be an inherent, unlearned survival mechanism. As psychologist Dolf
Zillmann argued in 1998, the fact that horror appeals to us serves as a
form of protective vigilance. I recall when my research students wanted
to hear every single, violent, disturbing detail of the FSK cases that Erin
Murphy and I were compiling for our 2015 report.24 Anecdotally, I can
tell you that this information about serial murder continues to disturb
me greatly, probably even more so over time.

Belle Sorenson Gunness was a serial killer. She was also a serial arsonist.
Born Brynhild Paulson25 and sometimes listed as “Bella,”26 Gunness is also
known as “Lady Bluebeard.” Her crimes were gruesome and barbaric.
Gunness, originally from Norway, committed so many murders in
the USA from the late 1800s through the early 1900s that authorities
admitted that they would likely never know how many people she had
killed. When dozens of bodies and body parts were discovered buried
on her Indiana farm, the Burlington Daily News called her “the arch
fiend living in her two-story house on the little hill,” and it described
the scene a “Death Harvest.”27 Thousands of people raced to the
scene to watch the excavation of remains. Railroads ran special trips
to the Gunness farm, where people hoped to witness the recovery of
body parts. People even set up refreshment stands for onlookers, with
“­Gunness stew” for sale.28
Before arriving in Indiana, Gunness had lived in Chicago, Illinois,
with her first husband, Mads Sorenson, their biological children, Axel,
Caroline, Myrtle, and Lucy, and their foster daughter, Jennie.29 In 1896,
Caroline died of what was likely poisoning. In that same year, Gunness’
unsuccessful confectionary business burned to the ground, and she
collected insurance money. The family moved to Texas, where their
home burned to the ground in 1898, and they again collected insurance
money. In that same year, Axel also died of what was likely poisoning.
Two years later, her husband died after exhibiting symptoms of strych-
nine poisoning, suspiciously on the one day that two insurance policies

21
 JUST AS DEADLY

on him ­overlapped – conveniently adding to his wife Belle’s insurance

payout.30
Gunness, who had come from a family of farmers and was familiar
with the lifestyle, took the hefty sum of insurance money and moved with
her children to a farm in La Porte, Indiana. Soon after, the farm’s boat-
house pavilion and carriage house were completely destroyed by fire.
She collected insurance money. Sometime after arriving in La Porte,
Belle’s foster daughter, Jennie Olson, disappeared. A young man with
whom Jennie was friendly inquired about where she was, and Belle told
him Jennie had gone to school in Los Angeles, California.31
In La Porte, Belle met Peter Gunness. They married on April 1, 1902.32
Peter’s infant daughter died within one week of their marriage, and Peter
died within the year. The Indiana State Board of Health ­Certificate of
Death lists the “chief cause” as fracture of the skull.33 Gunness reported
that he accidentally got hit in the head with a sausage grinder, but one
of the children reportedly told a friend, “Momma brained Papa with a
meat cleaver.”34
Shortly after husband Peter’s death, Gunness posted advertisements
in newspapers looking for a male partner to be her companion and assist
with running her farm. Authorities do not know how many men answered
these “Lonely Hearts” ads with the hope of finding new love along with a
new business venture, but it was quite a few. Apparently, a series of men
visited Gunness, bringing most of their life savings with them, and all but
one of them disappeared. The survivor, Ray Lamphere, had worked for
Gunness and later told authorities about her wicked setup – murdering
potential suitors and keeping their money. In 1908, The New York Times
pronounced that “Mrs. Gunness was money mad.”35
When Gunness visited an attorney to create a last will and testament,36
she also mentioned to the lawyer that she feared Lamphere was obsessed
with her and might try to harm her. “I’m afraid he’s going to kill me
and burn the house,” she stated,37 although she herself purchased sev-
eral gallons of kerosene that day.38 Indeed, the very next morning, her
house mysteriously burned down to rubble. Her farmhand, Joe Maxton,
woke up to the smell of smoke in the home, but reported that he was
unable to wake up the Gunness family. He hurried to get help, but it
was too late.

22
 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?

The bodies of Gunness’ daughters, Myrtle Sorenson, Lucy S ­ orenson,

and that of her young son Phillip Gunness,39 born in either 1903 or
1904,40 were found under a piano. The body of a headless woman was
found in the house’s charred remains. Witnesses described an overpow-
ering stench of kerosene.41 Witnesses claimed, and doctors confirmed
during the forensic examination, that the dead body was too short to
be ­Gunness – even taking into account the missing head. The deceased
weighed only about 150 pounds and was about five feet three inches tall.
Gunness was reported to be about 200 pounds and was about five feet
seven inches tall.42 Still, a dentist did testify that he made the gold tooth
crowns and bridge found in the remains of the fire, but the teeth were
not found with the head.43 Since it seems more likely that the short, head-
less fire victim was not Gunness, it stands to reason she pulled her own
bridgework out and left it in the house to prove her demise. Nevertheless,
Belle Gunness was declared officially dead by the coroner.44 She is listed
in La Porte, Indiana records as having died on April 27, 1908, at age 48.45
John (Asle) Helgelien, the brother of one of the men who disappeared,
was aware of his brother’s correspondence with Gunness. John knew that
his brother, Andrew, had left home to visit Gunness, and that shortly after
arriving in La Porte, had withdrawn $3,000 from his bank account (that is
about $97,000 today). When he did not hear from his brother, John trav­
eled to the Gunness farm, arriving shortly after the fire. Along with Gun-
ness’ farmhand Joe Maxton, he searched in the debris from the fire, but
they found nothing. But when they started to dig through garbage in the
backyard where the farm hogs ate, they found Andrew’s body and more.
They immediately called authorities and reported their grim findings.46
The La Porte Sheriff’s Office excavated the farm’s hog pit and, over sev-
eral days, found the dismembered remains of so many people, in so many
severed parts, that the exact number of victims, and their identities, will
probably never be known. Gunness used the skills of butchery that she had
developed as a farmer to cut apart victims’ bodies, and then buried their
body parts.47 The body of Jennie Olson, her foster daughter, was among
those recovered from the yard. In Pine Lake Cemetery in La Porte, there is
a headstone erected in memory of the unknown victims of Belle Gunness.
Ray Lamphere, who was arrested and convicted of arson but not
murder, informed authorities that Gunness had indeed murdered
­

23
 JUST AS DEADLY

­ ozens of men and took their money before disappearing. Speaking

d
with a prison manager where he was incarcerated, Lamphere explained
that after getting their money, Gunness poisoned most of the men, then
bludgeoned them with a hammer. Some victims she dissolved in quick
lime, speeding up decomposition, and some victims she disarticulated
and buried in her yard.48 Lamphere knew these details, it turned out,
because he confessed to helping Gunness bury her victims. He said
that victims’ heads were generally buried in one location on the farm,
and bodies were buried in another.49 Lamphere also confessed that the
woman found dead in the charred rubble of the farm was a housekeeper
hired by Gunness only days before.
Her ruse successful, it seems that Gunness caught a train to Chicago.
The Chicago Police oversaw the investigation, and the Assistant Chief
stated his firm belief that the city was Belle Gunness’ destination. “We
are hunting for her in the theory that she lured her victims with matri-
monial propositions, killed them, dismembered them and buried them,”
he said. “And we will arrest her for murder if we find her.”50
Nellie Larsen, Belle Gunness’ sister, conveyed her sentiments to The
South Bend Tribune. According to the paper’s report, Nellie believed
­Gunness was “a wholesale murderess” and that she “was so demonically
possessed of lust for money that she would not have stopped at any
degree of crime to enrich herself.” Nellie also used the word “insane”
to describe her sister, saying that she hoped it was indeed Gunness who
died in the fire. It would, she expressed, “put an end to the misery which
enveloped all the actions of her life.”51
Although authorities did search for Gunness, she was never found.
There were numerous sightings, however, through the 1930s,52 and in
1931, there was strong speculation that a California woman named Esther
Carlson was actually Gunness. Carlson had been arrested for poisoning
a wealthy, elderly man named Carl August Lindstrom, for whom she had
worked as a housekeeper.53 When money disappeared from Lindstrom’s
bank account following his death, Lindstrom’s son Peter asked for an
autopsy. His father’s body was reported to be “reeking of arsenic.”54 Esther
Carlson not only had the same modus operandi as Gunness, she was also
reported to look remarkably similar. Furthermore, she had in her pos-
session a photograph of three children who resembled Gunness’ own.55

24
 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?

2.1 Belle Gunness with her children. (Photo from Getty Images)

25
 JUST AS DEADLY

After Esther Carlson died of tuberculosis while awaiting trial in

­ alifornia,56 an associate of Gunness’ from La Porte, a man named
C
­Dennis Daly, identified the body. “That’s Belle Gunness, unquestiona-
bly,” he said, noting her high cheekbones. Still, authorities ­questioned
the accuracy of an identification made decades after the time of Gunness’
murder farm.57 While the official story remains that Belle G
­ unness died in
a house fire, the evidence shows that she disappeared into history.
Although clinicians do not have access to Gunness to interview and
assess her, it is not a stretch to acknowledge that her reported personality
and behaviors recapitulate the signs and symptoms of psychopathy. On
the one hand, she was superficially charming and generous at church,
with one source describing her as “intensely religious.”58 She adopted
children in need and portrayed herself as a kind and lonely widow in
personal ads. On the other hand, arson and insurance fraud seem to be
the lesser of her crimes. She killed her husbands, children, and stepchil-
dren, stole victims’ life savings, murdered her suitors, fed their body parts
to hogs, and manufactured a story to frame her farmhand for murder.
The psychological evidence suggests that, with her disregard for danger,
repeated and callous disregard for and exploitation of others, and com-
mission of deadly violence, she may have been a psychopath along with
possible other disorders. But “Hell’s Belle” disappeared before anyone
got a chance to diagnose her mental health formally.
Belle Gunness remains the focus of intrigue and forensic investiga-
tion even to the present day.59 It seems that bludgeoning your husband
with a sausage grinder, poisoning and burning your children, killing and
dismembering at least dozens of people, feeding the remains of your
victims to hogs, and ripping your own gold teeth out to cover a crime
are jarring enough to capture onlookers’ and readers’ attention and
­curiosity for well over a century.

People have always been curious. The legendary psychologist and ­prolific
writer William James60 stated that curiosity is what drives us to seek novel,
sensational experiences to learn about ourselves and the world. Curiosity
can be viewed a positive force. It is a cognitive and physiological drive

26
 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?

that causes us to explore, to learn, and to want to learn more.61 On the

other hand, some scholars argue that curiosity is an aversive cognitive
state. That is, we are experiencing an information gap; we do not know
what lies ahead of us, thereby causing discomfort.
Researchers suggest that curiosity triggers a dopamine-fueled drive to
understand whatever mystery lies in front of us.62 Dopamine is a craving
and feel-good neurotransmitter in our brains that drives us to approach
what is rewarding. Dopamine neurons are excited by new stimuli, and
this motivates us to seek novel stimulation. That which activates dopa-
mine in our brains also causes physical addiction.63 With respect to the
topic of serial murder, then, we can extrapolate that consuming true
crime media may literally be addictive.
Humans have a negativity bias. If I told you, “I met a nice woman
at work. She is a great teacher, she is funny, she suffers from intes­tinal
worms, she has written three books, and she is a yoga instructor,” I would
bet that those unfortunate worms made the biggest impression. We pay
attention to, emphasize, and repeat negative information more than we
do positive information.64 But negative information also stimulates our
fight-or-flight physiology, including our emotional centers, stress hor-
mones, and attention and decision-making brain circuitry.65 In short,
threatening stimuli definitively capture and focus our attention.66 Our
emotional physiology is old, evolutionarily speaking, and viewing or hear-
ing of something dangerous and/or repugnant – including ­nonfiction
or fictional entertainment – sounds the alarm, keeps us ­vigilant, and
mobilizes us to action.67
It makes sense, therefore, that we pay attention to terrifying events
and people. This is protective vigilance.68 We can argue that we have an
evolved drive to attend to that which can harm us so that we can avoid
it should it come our way. Across millions of years of human evolution,
people who have paid more attention to alarming events have left more
descendants than people who have not.69
In fact, in several studies, people have chosen to view images of
violence and death over other images. As social psychologist Suzanne
­Oosterwijk emphasizes, “people deliberately subject themselves to nega­
tive images.”70 In Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can’t Look
Away, author Eric Wilson similarly asserts that when people witness or

27
 JUST AS DEADLY

watch something terrible, such as motor vehicle accidents and graphic

deaths, they cannot avert their eyes. “They can’t miss the carnage. They
are mesmerized by the savagery.”71
Indeed, as stated above, many people showed up at her farm to watch
the Sheriff’s team dig up dismembered heads, torsos, arms, and legs
from her hog pit of mutilated victims. Similarly, many dozens of people
also watched on as victims’ bodies were excavated from the properties of
serial killers Dorothea Puente and John Wayne Gacy, both of whom I will
discuss later. As evidence suggests, people get a ­visceral reaction to wit-
nessing blood and gore.72 In psychological terminology, even the visually
and conceptually aversive might be ­appetitive in some form or another.
Apparently, we like it when we encounter negative stimuli. The great
philosopher Aristotle is quoted as saying that we “enjoy contemplating
the most precise images of things whose sight is painful to us.”73 I can-
not tell you how many people approach me or otherwise contact me to
share that they “love serial killers.” I always hope and assume this means
that they have a great interest in these criminals’ psychology. Although,
to be sure, some people do actually love serial killers. Sheila Isenberg
interviewed women who have had long-term romantic relationships with
serial murderers and authored a book74 about them.
Taken all together, the evidence strongly suggests that we have mor-
bid curiosity. That is, we simultaneously feel excitement, fear, and a
compulsion to seek information and to know about horrid subjects that
include, but are not limited to, death and terror.75 In the media, the
saying “If it bleeds, it leads”76 conveys awareness among news entities
that horrific and alarming content will secure viewer interest at the top
of the news hour. Indeed, research shows that news stories about crime,
accidents, and disasters are prevalent in competitive news outlets across
many countries.77
Well-known psychologist Marvin Zuckerman and his colleagues were
among the first research teams to publish studies about morbid curiosity.
They argued that morbid curiosity is linked to the personality ­dimension
of high sensation seeking. Sensation seeking is defined as the need for
varied complex, stimulating, and novel experiences and the willing-
ness to take risks, whether these are psychological, physical, or social,
to gain such experiences.78 Individuals who score high on measures of

28
 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?

sensation seeking are those who are more likely to use alcohol and other
substances, gamble, mountain climb, have risky sex, and seek unusual
activities.79 There is also strong evidence that links engagement in risky
events to increased autonomic physiological arousal (i.e., fi­ ght-or-flight).
Symptoms of fight-or-flight in this context include increased heart rate
and respiration, heightened cortical activity, and the release of stress and
arousal hormones such as adrenaline.80
Sensation seeking is common across people and cultures, suggesting
that it is an evolved mechanism. Yet, like all psychological mechanisms
that are a product of evolution, individual differences exist.81 Suzanne
Oosterwijk, for example, observed individual variation in response to
negative images, and likewise, Zuckerman and colleagues reported indi-
vidual variation in sensation seeking.82 There is, however, a clear connec-
tion between morbid curiosity and sensation seeking. If an interest in
horror (and murder in particular) serves a survival advantage, it makes
sense that morbid curiosity serves as a mechanism of protective vigilance
and a physiological call to action.
My colleague Erika Frederick and I set out to document the connec-
tion between morbid curiosity and interest in serial killers, as well as
to document the connection between sensation seeking and interest in
serial killers. We recruited men and women college-student participants
and asked them to rate their interest in serial killers in addition to their
interest in other morbid and non-morbid topics.83 We asked the partici­
pants to complete the Curiosity About Morbid Events (CAME) Scale,
developed by psychologists Marvin Zuckerman and Patrick Litle, which
asks participants to rate their level of agreement with specific statements.
The scale asks participants to rate their level of agreement with state-
ments such as, “I think I would like to witness an execution,” “It does not
bother me to see extreme violence portrayed in movies or television,”
and “I would like to see an autopsy being performed.” We also asked
participants to respond to the Sensation-Seeking Scale, rating their level
of agreement with statements such as, “I have tried some drugs that pro-
duce hallucinations or would like to,” “Keeping the drinks full is the key
to a good party,” and “I like a lot of risky sports.”84 From the responses
to these different scales, we a­ veraged scores to calculate both an overall
index of morbid curiosity and a ­sensation-seeking score.

29
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Title: Samoafahrten

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SAMOAFAHRTEN

***
SAMOAFAHRTEN von Dr. O.
FINSCH.
 SAMOAFAHRTEN.
REISEN IN KAISER WILHELMS-
LAND
UND

ENGLISCH-NEU-GUINEA
IN DEN JAHREN 1884 U. 1885

AN BORD DES DEUTSCHEN DAMPFERS »SAMOA«

VON

Dr. OTTO FINSCH.

MIT 85 ABBILDUNGEN NACH ORIGINALSKIZZEN VON Dr. FINSCH,

GEZEICHNET VON
M. HOFFMANN UND A. von ROESSLER, UND 6 KARTENSKIZZEN.
 HIERZU EIN EINZELN KÄUFLICHER
»ETHNOLOGISCHER ATLAS, TYPEN AUS DER STEINZEIT
NEU-GUINEAS«,
24 LITHOGR. TAFELN NACH ORIGINALEN GEZEICHNET VON O. UND
E. FINSCH.
MIT TEXT VON Dr. O. FINSCH.

LEIPZIG,
FERDINAND HIRT & SOHN.
1888.
ALLE RECHTE VORBEHALTEN.
 Einleitung.
Nur wenige Jahre sind es her, daß die früher vereinzelten
Bestrebungen für Deutschlands Kolonialbesitz immer mehr Anhänger
fanden und sich, in den verschiedensten Kreisen der Nation, wie in
allen Teilen des Reichs, eine lebhafte und ernstgemeinte Bewegung
dafür organisierte. Noch war es nicht ganz zu spät! Und als, wie auf
ein gegebenes Zeichen, europäische Großmächte die letzten Reste
sogenannten herrenlosen Landes zu verteilen begannen, da ging
Deutschland nicht leer aus. Dank der hervorragenden Machtstellung
durfte es seine Hand auf gewisse Gebiete legen, in denen der
deutsche Handel längst Fuß gefaßt und eine zum Teil dominierende
Stellung errungen hatte. Zu diesen Gebieten gehörte auch die
Südsee, wo die Plantagen Samoas und zahlreiche Stationen auf
meist herrenlosen Inseln beredtes Zeugnis von der Energie
deutscher Kaufleute ablegten, die an gar manchen Plätzen im
friedlichen Wettstreit der Konkurrenz Sieger geblieben waren und
das Feld allein beherrschten. Aber bei dem besten Willen konnte der,
mit sich selbst schon zur Genüge beschäftigte, Handel nicht auch
zugleich für ausgedehnteren Kolonialerwerb sorgen, sondern mußte
sich darauf beschränken, solchen mit anbahnen zu helfen. Wenn
daher in dieser Richtung die Lösung der schwierigsten Aufgabe
überhaupt versucht wurde, so ist dies vor allem einem Manne zu
verdanken, der sich schon längst mit Plänen dafür beschäftigte, dem
Geheimen Kommerzienrat Adolph von Hansemann in Berlin, und
einigen Gleichgesinnten, die mit für das nationale Unternehmen
eintraten.
 Die Samoa.
Bald nach der Heimkehr von meiner fast vierjährigen
Südseereise (Ende 1882) an den Vorarbeiten mitwirkend, wurde mir
1884 der ehrenvolle Auftrag, die inzwischen zur Reife gediehenen
Pläne auszuführen, als Leiter einer ersten Untersuchungs-Expedition.
Zu dem Zwecke war per Kabel in Sydney der britische
Schraubendampfer »Sophia Ann« erworben worden, welcher unter
der neuen Flagge den Namen »Samoa«[1] erhielt. Zur Führung
desselben konnte ich einen erprobten Vertreter unserer
Handelsmarine empfehlen, den Kapitän Eduard Dallmann aus
Blumenthal bei Bremen, rühmlichst bekannt durch seine glücklichen
Fahrten als Whaler im Pacific, wie in unbekannten Gewässern des
arctischen und antarctischen Ozeans. Der vielerfahrene Schiffer
bewährte auch auf diesen Reisen seinen alten Ruf, und wenn die
»Samoa« mancherlei Fährlichkeiten, an riffreichen unbekannten
Küsten, entging, so ist dies, wie die Erfolge der Expedition
überhaupt, der geschickten und vorsichtigen Führung von Kpt.
Dallmann zu danken[2]. Mit ihm langte ich am 29. Juli (1884) in der
Hauptstadt von Neu-Süd-Wales an, wo unser erster Besuch natürlich
der Samoa in Johnsons Bai galt. Da der Dampfer bisher
Passagierdienst versehen hatte, mußten mancherlei Veränderungen
vorgenommen werden, so daß wir erst am 11. September Sydney
verlassen konnten. Nachdem wir zunächst Mioko, in der Herzog-
York-Gruppe (Neu Lauenburg) erreicht und hier das schwer beladene
Schiff von Vorräten erleichtert hatten, waren wir endlich so weit, um
mit den eigentlichen Zwecken und Zielen der Expedition zu
beginnen. Sie gipfelten in den folgenden Hauptpunkten:
»Untersuchung der unbekannten oder weniger bekannten Küsten
Neu Britanniens, sowie der Nordküste Neu Guineas bis zum 141.
Meridian, um Häfen ausfindig zu machen, mit den Eingeborenen
freundlichsten Verkehr anzuknüpfen und Land im weitesten Umfange
zu erwerben«. Diesen, gewiß nicht ganz so leichten Aufgaben ist,
soweit es Mittel und Umstände erlaubten, nach besten Kräften
entsprochen worden. In Zeit von neun Monaten unternahmen wir
sechs Reisen nach Neu Guinea, dampften längs des größten Teiles
der Nord- und Südküste Neu Britanniens und besuchten Neu Irland
vier mal. Von den nahezu tausend Meilen Küste, welche die Samoa,
allein in Neu Guinea befuhr, gehörten nur 260 Meilen zu den besser
bekannten. Aber eine fast ebenso lange noch unbekannte Strecke
konnte als frei für Schiffahrt, für letztere außerdem sieben Häfen
und ein schiffbarer Strom, nachgewiesen werden. Ausgedehnte
Striche fruchtbaren Landes, für Kulturen, Viehzucht, wie Ansiedelung
überhaupt geschickt, wurden aufgefunden, zum Teil gleich erworben
und überall mit den Eingeborenen friedlicher und freundlicher
Verkehr eröffnet. Als daher deutsche Kriegsschiffe Anfang November
1884 im Archipel von Neu Britannien im Namen Seiner Majestät des
deutschen Kaisers die Reichsflagge hißten, konnten sie diesen
feierlichen Akt auch gleich in Neu Guinea vollziehen. Die weitere
Entwickelung ist bekannt. Wie zu erwarten, einigten sich
Deutschland und Großbritannien über die Grenzen, und »Kaiser
Wilhelms-Land« und der »Bismarck-Archipel« gingen laut
Kaiserlichen Schutzbrief vom 17. Mai 1885 in die Verwaltung und den
Besitz der »Neu Guinea Kompagnie« in Berlin über. Diese neuen
Schutzgebiete, die später noch durch einige der westlichen
Salomons-Inseln Zuwachs erhielten, umfassen (ohne die letzteren)
ein Areal von 231,427 qkm (= 4203,13 d. g. ☐M.), repräsentieren
daher ein respektables Besitztum, wenig kleiner als die alten
Provinzen des Königreichs Preußen (ohne Schlesien).
 ÜBERSICHTSKARTE VON OST-NEU-GUINEA & dem BISMARCK-ARCHIPEL.

Geograph. Anstalt von Wagner & Debes, Leipzig.

Die Erlebnisse der »Samoafahrten«, ihre Ergebnisse und
Entdeckungen in zusammenhängender Form in Wort und Bild zu
schildern ist der Zweck dieses Buches. Es wird, nach den
unmittelbaren Eindrücken und Beobachtungen, wie ich sie an Ort
und Stelle niederschrieb, ausgearbeitet zum erstenmale[3], über Land
und Leute längs wenig bekannter, zum Teil neu erschlossener Küsten
eingehendere Kunde bringen, und so manches Stück ernsten und
heiteren Südseelebens kennen lehren. Die reiche illustrative
Ausstattung, durchaus auf Grundlage eigener Aufnahmen beruhend,
ist der besonderen Fürsorge des Herrn Verlegers zu danken, und
wird gewiß willkommen sein. Wenn die Rekognoszierungsfahrten der
Samoa somit wesentliche Lücken der Kenntnis Neu Guineas ausfüllen
helfen und schon dadurch allgemeines Interesse bieten, so im
besonderen für Deutschland, das bisher über die drittgrößte Insel
der Welt und ihr dortiges Besitztum kein Originalwerk besaß.
Als ein weiterer Beitrag und zur Ergänzung des erzählenden
Teiles ist ein ethnologischer Atlas beigegeben, welcher uns »Typen
der Steinzeit« vorführt, jener hochinteressanten Periode, die auch in
Neu-Guinea unaufhaltsam ihrem Ende entgegengeht. Denn überall,
wo sich der Weiße dauernd festigt, verschwindet die Originalität der
Eingeborenen. Durch eigene Erfahrung von dieser Thatsache
überzeugt, bemühte ich mich, überall wo es anging, Belegstücke für
die Wissenschaft zu sichern. Die »Samoafahrten« sind daher auch
für die Völkerkunde ersprießlich geworden und führten u. A. dem
Kön. Museum in Berlin[4] über 2000 Stücke zu. Die ausgewählten
Typen des Atlas veranschaulichen Erzeugnisse, die für die
Intelligenz, den Kunstfleiß und den Schönheitssinn der Papuas
beredtes Zeugnis ablegen, und, in Anbetracht der geringen
Hilfsmittel der Steinperiode, ganz besonderes Interesse, nicht selten
Bewunderung verdienen.
 Inhaltsverzeichnis.
Seite
Einleitung 5
Erstes Kapitel.
Von Sydney nach Mioko 17
Zweites Kapitel.
Astrolabe-Bai 28
Drittes Kapitel.
Friedrich-Wilhelms-Hafen 70
Viertes Kapitel.
Längs der Maclayküste 112
Fünftes Kapitel.
Vom Mitrafels bis Finschhafen 136
Sechstes Kapitel.
Englisches Gebiet 194
I.Trobriand 205
II. D'Entrecasteaux-Inseln 210
III.Ostkap bis Mitrafels 230
IV. Milne-Bai bis Teste-Insel 262
Siebentes Kapitel.
Kaiser Wilhelmsland 288
I.Längs der unbekannten Nordküste 288
II. Humboldt-Bai und heimwärts 347
Register 380
 Verzeichnis der Illustrationen.
Seite
1. Dr. Otto Finsch (Titelbild) —
2. Die Samoa (Separatbild) 6
3. Ausguck 17
4. Frauen von Bongu (Astrolabe Bai) 40
5. Häuser mit Barla in Bongu 46
6. Telum Mul in Bongu 49
7. Papuaschweine 52
8. Papuahund 53
9. Aufbruch zum Feste (Astrolabe-Bai) 55
10.Aimaka, am Dschelum auf Bilibili 73
11.Dschelum, Tabuhaus auf Bilibili (Separatbild) 74
12.Krieger von Bilibili 76
13.Töpferin auf Bilibili 82
14. Handels-Kanu, von Bilibili 84
15.Stutzer von Grager, Friedrich Wilhelms-Hafen 87
16.Hansemann-Berge, aus Nordost 100
17. Haus auf Tiar, Prinz Heinrich-Hafen 101
18.Tabuplatz auf Tiar, Prinz Heinrich-Hafen 103
19.Junges Mädchen, Friedrich Wilhelms-Hafen 108
20.Terrassenland mit Basiliskschlucht, Maclayküste 122
21.Kanzel und Bienenkorb, Maclayküste 126
22.Festungshuk, Maclayküste 128
23.Aufhissen der Reichsflagge in Mioko (Separatbild) 140
24. Herkulesfluß, Herkules-Bai 146
25.Mitrafels aus Nordwest 151
26.Adolphshafen mit Ottilienberg 153
27. Mann von Parsihuk, Huon-Golf 155
28.Häuptlings-Haar, Huon-Golf 157
29.Finschhafen aus Süd 161
30.Moru in Finschhafen (Separatbild) 162
31.Haus mit Grab (Vorderseite), Finschhafen 173
32.Haus (Rückseite), Finschhafen 174
33.Gabiang (Vorderseite), Holzfigur in Ssuam 175
34. Gabiang (Rückseite), Holzfigur in Ssuam 176
35.Im Dorf Ssuam, Finschhafen (Separatbild) 176
36.Scheinangriff, Finschhafen 178
37. Häuptling von Finschhafen 179
38.Kanu von Weihnachtsbucht, Normanby 214
39.Häuser in Weihnachtsbucht, Normanby 217
40.Kanuhaus auf Goulvain, Dawsonstraße 224
41.Häuser auf Fergusson-Insel 227
42.Ostkap aus Nordwest 231
43.Catamarans (Ostkap) 232
44. Junger Mann von Bentley-Bai 235
45.Haus in Bentley-Bai 237
46.Fingerspitze, Chads-Bai 241
47. Drachenfels in Bartle-Bai 244
48.Pyramidenhügel in Goodenough-Bai 245
49.Kap Vogel aus Süd 248
50.Trafalgar-Berg (bei Kap Nelson) 249
51.Familienhaus in Hihiaura, (bei Ostkap) (Separatbild) 250
52.Station Blumenthal, (bei Ostkap) 256
53.Missionsstation Aroani, Killerton-Inseln (Separatbild) 262
54. Vor der Kirche Aroani (Separatbild) 266
55.Kirärauchen, Dinner-Insel (Samarai) 268
56.Baumhaus in Milne-Bai 272
57. Tätowierte Frau von Rogia (Heath-Insel) 278
58.Glockenfels 279
59.Häuser und Grab auf Teste-Insel 280
60.Junges Mädchen von Teste-Insel 283
61.Junger Mann von Teste-Insel 283
62.Aufgezeichnete Tätowierung, Teste-Insel 284
63.Mann im Kanu, Venushuk 292
64. Bewohner der Hansemannküste (Hammacherfluß) 299
65.Häuptling vom Caprivifluß 302
66.Kopfbedeckung in Dallmannhafen 306
67. Haus in Gaußbucht 308
68.Tabuhaus in Rabun, Gaußbucht 310
69.Mann von Guap-Insel 317
70.Auf Palmblättern in See (Tagai) 323
71.Haartracht eines Häuptlings von Tagai 325
72.Gefesseltes Schwein 327
73.Langenburg-Spitze, Torricelli-Gebirge 329
74. Eingeborener von Massilia, Finschküste 333
75.Ziernarben 334
76.Kap Concordia und Berg Bougainville 335
77. Krieger von Angriffshafen 337
78.Auf Baumwurzeln am Sechstroh 344
79.Einfahrt in Humboldt-Bai, aus Ost 349
80.Pfahldorf Tobadi, Humboldt-Bai (Separatbild) 352
81.Damen von Humboldt-Bai 354
82.Tabuhaus in Tobadi (Separatbild) 358
83.Tätowierte Frau, Humboldt-Bai 362
84. Insel Blosseville aus West 365
85.Hansa-Vulkan aus West (Separatbild) 366
 Karten.
1. Übersichtskarte von Neu-Guinea und dem Bismarck-Archipel 8
2. Astrolabe-Bai und Maclayküste 30
3. Friedrich Wilhelm- und Prinz Heinrich-Hafen 93
4. Kartenskizze vom Huon-Golf 143
5. Finschhafen 163
6. Nordküste von Kaiser Wilhelms-Land 290
 Abbildungen des Ethnologischen
Atlas:
»Typen aus der Steinzeit Neu-
Guineas«.
Tafel Fig.
I 1–8. Steingerät (Äxte und Axtklingen).
II1–3. Häuser (Grundrisse).
III 1–4. Hausgerät (Kopfstütze, Haken, Schüsseln).
1–
IV Töpferei (Töpfe, Töpfebrennen, Werkzeuge).
10.
Verschiedenes Gerät (Kalkkalebasse, Spatel,
V 1–8.
Schaber).
VI 1–8. Kanus (Konstruktion, Ruder).
VII 1–9. " (Schnitzerei, Verzierungen).
1–
VIII " (Segel, Mastverzierungen).
10.
IX 1–9. Fischereigerät (Falle, Haken, Schwimmer).
X 1–4. Strickereien (Tragbeutel und Muster).
XI 1–7. Waffen (Speerspitzen, Wurfstock, Keulen, Dolch).
XII 1–2. " (Schilde).
XIII 1–5. Musikinstrumente (Trommeln, Flöte).
XIV 1–4. Masken (und Amuletmasken).
XV 1–8. Tabu (geschnitzte Figuren, sogenannte »Götzen«).
 Bekleidung (Tapabinden von Männern, Grasröcke für
XVI 1–9.
Frauen).
XVII 1–8. Schmuck (Kämme, Haarbinden, Ohrringe).
XVIII 1–5. " (Haarkörbchen, Kniebinde, Armbänder).
" (Gravierungen von Schildpatt- und
XIX 1–4.
Muschelarmbändern).
XX 1–8. " (für die Nase).
XXI 1–5. " (für Hals und Brust).
XXII 1–6. " (Brust-Kampfschmuck).
XXIII 1–2. " ( " " ).
XXIV 1–8. " (Leibschnüre).

☛ Dieser Atlas ist gebunden in Halbfranz zum

Preise von 16 M. einzeln käuflich. ☚
 Erstes Kapitel.
Von Sydney nach Mioko.
Abreise von Sydney. — Schlechter Willkomm in See. — Tierleben. —
Schwalbensturmvogel. — Der ausdauerndste Flieger. —
Temperaturveränderungen. — Mioko. — Ralum-Plantation. — Handel im Bismarck-
Archipel. — Traderstationen. — »Labourtrade«. — Massacres. — Kopra. —
Handelsflotte. — Rückschritte der Eingeborenen.
Es war fast dunkel geworden, als
wir aus dem gewaltigen und
imposanten Felsenthor des Sydney-
Hafens, den »Heads«, in den »Stillen
Ozean« eintraten, der sich indes gar
nicht still zeigte. Mächtige
Wogenberge, deren weiße
Schaumköpfe, auch im Zwielicht
erkennbar, unheimlich leuchteten,
empfingen den kleinen Wagehals
Samoa recht unwirsch, als wollten sie
Ausguck. ihm den Garaus machen. Welle über
Welle ergoß sich über das ohnehin
fast zu schwer beladene Schiff, dessen Deck schon bei ruhiger See
den Wasserspiegel kaum sechs Fuß überragte und fast fortwährend
überschwemmt wurde. Oft schien das Schiff mehr unter als über
Wasser zu gehen. Unsere Schafe mußten in der kleinen Kajüte
untergebracht werden, um sie vor dem Schicksal der Insassen des
Hühnerkastens, dem Ertrinken, und für die Tafel zu retten. In der
Kajüte selbst ging es drüber und drunter: überall Bewegung und
Geklapper! Waffen und andere an den Wänden aufgehängte, aber
noch nicht seeklar befestigte Gegenstände pendelten hin und her,
Schubladen öffneten und entleerten ihren Inhalt von selbst, ja
schwere Kisten tanzten lustig von einer Seite zur anderen, kurzum es
war eine heillose Wirtschaft.
Da hatte ich denn alle Hände voll zu thun, um wenigstens den
Inhalt der Pantry, Porzellan und Glas, vor völligem Untergange zu
sichern, denn unser Steward lag hilflos an der Seekrankheit
danieder, und die übrige Mannschaft hatte andere, wichtigere Dinge
zu thun. Es stellte sich nämlich heraus, daß die Luke zur Maschine
nicht dicht hielt und jede Welle diesem Raum Wasser zuführte, das
selbst durch angestrengtes Pumpen sich nicht verminderte, weil die
letzteren verstopft, ihren Dienst versagten. Da mußten denn Eimer
zu Hilfe genommen werden, bis es nach achtzehnstündiger harter
Arbeit gelang, des Wassers im Raume Herr zu werden.
Im übrigen verlief die Reise ohne besondere Zufälle in
gewohnter Einförmigkeit des Seelebens und der See selbst, die wie
ich schon aus Erfahrung wußte, in diesen Breiten wenig bietet und je
näher dem Äquator immer ärmer wird. Vergebens späht man nach
Waltieren und ist schon zufrieden, wenn gelegentlich Scharen
lustiger Delphine das Schiff eine Zeitlang umspielen, oder fliegende
Fische ihr Element verlassen, um nach kurzer Luftreise wieder in
dasselbe einzutauchen.
Am häufigsten zeigte sich noch die Vogelwelt; aber auch von ihr
ließ sich oft einen ganzen Tag lang kaum ein Vertreter sehen.
Albatrosse, die charakteristischen Erscheinungen des südlichen
Halbrunds, welche in drei Arten (Diomedea melanophrys, culminata
und exulans) noch außerhalb Sydney-Hafens das Meer belebten,
waren immer seltener geworden und verließen uns mit etwa dem
25. Breitengrade Süd ganz. Dunkle Meerschwalben (Sterna
fuliginosa) und Noddies (Anous stolidus), von welchen einzelne der
letzteren zuweilen nächtlich auf den Schiffsmasten einen Ruheplatz
suchten, waren im ganzen nicht häufig, wie Tropikvögel, jene
charakteristischen Vogelgestalten der Meere zwischen den
Wendekreisen. Wir hatten den des Steinbocks längst passiert ohne
einen Tropikvogel gesehen zu haben, und erst unterm 12.
Breitengrade wurde ein einzelner (Phaëton aethereus) beobachtet,
der wie fast immer durch seine eigentümlichen kreischenden
Stimmlaute die Aufmerksamkeit erregte. Aus der artenreichen
Familie der Sturmvögel (Procellariidae) ließ sich nur selten ein
Puffinus oder Tauchersturmvogel blicken, der, meist in weiter Ferne
einsam über die Wogen streifte, bald in einem Wogenthale
verschwindend, bald über dem Scheitel der Welle schwebend,
dieselben gleichsam mähend, wie dies der englische Name
»shearwater« so treffend bezeichnet. Nur einer der kleinsten
Vertreter der Familie, ein Schwalbensturm- oder Petersvögelchen
(engl. Petrel) blieb der fast stete Begleiter des Schiffes, und
wenigstens einige Pärchen desselben konnte man immer im
Kielwasser beobachten. Es war dies die weit über die Südsee
verbreitete Thalassidroma grallaria, ein kaum stargroßes,
dunkelgefärbtes Vögelchen, eine gar liebliche Erscheinung jener
ozeanen Breiten. Mit ausgebreiteten Flügeln, fast ohne dieselben zu
bewegen, schweben diese Vögel so nahe über der Woge, daß sie auf
derselben scheinbar hüpfen und man sie jeden Augenblick erfaßt
glaubt. Aber nur zuweilen berühren die Zehenspitzen der
ausgestreckten Ständer das Wasser, während die Flügel demselben
stets mit bewundernswerter Geschicklichkeit auszuweichen wissen.
Ja, diese Sturmvögelchen tragen die Beziehung zum Namen
»Schwalbe« mit Recht. Denn ähneln sie den letzteren auch nur
scheinbar in der Form ihrer Flugwerkzeuge, so übertreffen sie
dieselben doch noch bedeutend in Flugkraft und Ausdauer. Nie, so
oft ich auch früher und später Gelegenheit hatte, diese Vöglein zu
beobachten, nie sah ich sie ausruhen, stets waren sie lebendig und
je mehr die See unruhig, um so lebhafter, ja soweit die einbrechende
Dunkelheit dem Auge zu sehen erlaubte, immer noch erschaute es
die lieblichen Gestalten über die Wogen hüpfend. Ich wüßte in der
That keinen Vogel, der sich in Ausdauer des Flugvermögens mit
diesem zu messen vermöchte, denn selbst der gewaltige Albatross
scheint ihm gegenüber ein Stümper. Und von was nähren sich diese
kleinen Ozeanbewohner? Zwar versammeln sie sich an über Bord
geworfenen Küchenresten, aber nie sah ich sie wirklich mit dem
Schnäbelchen etwas aufpicken, und Exemplare selbst erhielt ich
nicht. Wer wollte auch diesen trauten Begleitern über das unendliche
Wogenmeer des Ozeans ein Leid anthun? Sind sie es doch, die in die
Meeresöde wenigstens einiges Leben bringen und deren
bewundernswerten Spielen man nicht müde wird zuzuschauen.
Die angenehme bekömmliche Temperatur des australischen
Winters hatte sich allmählich geändert und die Tropen fingen an,
sich bemerkbar zu machen. Unterm 25. Grade (südlicher Breite)
zeigte das Thermometer in der Kabine noch 15° Reaum.; drei Tage
später war es schon um 4 Grad gestiegen und nach weiteren fünf
Tagen um 6 Grad mehr, so daß es in der kleinen Kajüte recht
ungemütlich warm wurde. Wir kamen eben immer tiefer in die
Tropen hinein, und bald zeigten sich die mir wohlbekannten
Landmarken unseres Reisezieles: zuerst die hohen in Wolken
gehüllten Berge der Südspitze Neu-Irlands, später Neu-Britannien
mit dem Berg Beautemps-Beaupré, der Südtochter und Mutter. Wir
waren somit im St. Georgs-Kanal, der breiten Meeresstraße, welche
die beiden Hauptinseln des Bismarck-Archipel, Neu-Britannien und
Neu-Irland, oder wie sie jetzt heißen: Neu-Pommern und Neu-
Mecklenburg, trennt, und näherten uns dem ersten Haltepunkte, der
Insel Mioko. Am fünfzehnten Tage ihrer Abreise von Sydney ging die
Samoa hier glücklich zu Anker und hatte mit dieser ersten Reise von
ca. 2000 Meilen[5] zwar ihre Seetüchtigkeit bewiesen, zugleich aber
auch, daß sie kein solcher Schnelldampfer war, wie sie nach dem
Certifikat sein sollte und wie es für ein Expeditionsschiff zu
wünschen gewesen wäre. Statt der angeblichen 11 Meilen in der
Stunde waren im günstigsten Falle mit Dampf und Segeln zusammen
kaum acht erzielt worden, aber immerhin kamen wir, auch bei
ungünstigen Verhältnissen, vorwärts, wenn auch langsam. Solche
ungünstige Verhältnisse bietet gerade der St. Georgs-Kanal sehr
häufig in Windstillen und Strom, welche Segelschiffe hier zuweilen
über Gebühr zurückhalten. So brauchte z. B. das deutsche Schiff
»Sophie« von Sydney bis zum Kap St. George, der Südspitze Neu-
Irlands, nur 18 Tage, von hier bis Mioko, eine Strecke, die nur 45
Meilen beträgt und die wir mit der Samoa schlimmsten Falls in 8
Stunden zurücklegten, 21, schreibe einundzwanzig Tage! Anderen
Schiffen erging es noch schlechter! Die Bark »Etienne«[6] kreuzte
Ende 1877 30 Tage im Kanal und ein Schuner mußte schließlich
wieder nach Mioko zurückkehren, weil der Proviant zu Ende ging.
Mioko ist eine der kleineren Inseln von den dreizehn, welche die
Herzog York-Gruppe, neuerdings »Neu-Lauenburg« umgetauft,
bilden und kaum mehr als einen Quadratkilometer groß, aber wegen
seines trefflichen Hafens wichtig. Es hatte sich seit meinem letzten
Hiersein, kaum zwei und ein halbes Jahr her, gar manches verändert.
Ich vermißte zunächst die frühere Godeffroysche Station an der
gewohnten Stelle; kaum daß sich noch erkennen ließ, wo die Häuser
gestanden. Die letzteren waren mit der früheren Station des
Engländers Thomas Farrell vereint von der »Deutschen Handels- und
Plantagen-Gesellschaft der Südsee-Inseln zu Hamburg«
übernommen worden, welche das Farrellsche Besitztum gekauft und
es diesem ermöglicht hatte, 1883 in Blanche-Bai, auf dem Festlande
Neu-Britanniens, die »Ralum-Plantation« zu gründen, das erste
derartige Unternehmen im Bismarck-Archipel überhaupt. Ich
besuchte die sehr gut gehaltene, freundliche Anlage, die mancherlei
Reminiscenzen an das abenteuerliche Kolonialunternehmen des
Marquis de Rays (1879 bis 1883) aufzuweisen hat. Das stattliche aus
Wellblech errichtete Koprahaus stand früher in der „Baie Française",
das Büffet im Wohnhause war der einstige Altar der Kirche in Port
Breton, zu welcher fromme Gemüter in Frankreich die Mittel
hergaben. Dieser Altar hatte indes nie seinem heiligen Zwecke
gedient, denn die Kirche war nicht gebaut worden und figurierte nur
auf dem Papier. Statt Meßgefäßen zeigte der Altar jetzt in äußerst
profaner Weise Gin- und Whiskyflaschen, eine Bestimmung welche
die gläubigen Stifterinnen gewiß niemals für möglich gehalten haben
würden.
Was die Pflanzung selbst anbelangt, so fand ich eine ziemliche
Fläche mit bereits tragender Baumwolle bestellt, sowie den Versuch
einer Kaffeeplantage in ein paar Beeten mit wenigen Zoll hohen
Kaffeepflänzchen. In dem etwas früher von Farrell ausgegebenen
Prospekt der: »Western Pacific Plantation and Trading Co.«, welche
in Australien mit einem Grundkapital von 40000 £ in shares von 500
£, auf seinem Besitztum gegründet werden sollte, wurden 100 Acres
mit »Sea-Island-Cotton« und als neu gepflanzt 5 Acres Kaffee und 2
Acres Aloë angegeben. Späteren Nachrichten zufolge hat die Ralum-
Plantage jetzt »200 bis 250 preußische Morgen unter
Baumwollenkultur und 8 Morgen mit Kaffeepflanzungen besetzt«,
über Erträge verlautet aber noch nichts. Der unermüdliche Farrell
war übrigens abwesend und in San Francisco, um diesmal in Amerika
Interesse für seine Unternehmungen zu gewinnen. Er kehrte von
dort im folgenden Jahre nicht allein mit einem Dampfer (120 Tons)
und zahlreichen Tradern (Kleinhändlern) zurück, sondern war
überdies »amerikanischer Bürger« geworden, um den Plackereien
der englischen Gesetze bezüglich der Arbeiteranwerbungen zu
entgehen. Die anglo-amerikanische Firma machte also den
deutschen bedeutend Konkurrenz, wenigstens damals, aber
inzwischen mögen sich die Verhältnisse wohl geändert haben, wie
dies namentlich in der Südsee so häufig der Fall ist. Mit Ausnahme
der eben genannten Firma ist der Handel im Bismarck-Archipel, wie
dem westlichen Pacific überhaupt, lediglich in deutschen Händen
und zwar der beiden Hamburger Häuser: »Robertson u. Hernsheim«
und der schon erwähnten »Handels- und Plantagen-Gesellschaft«,
sowie Friedrich Schulle in Neu-Irland. Dem seiner Zeit so mächtigen
Hause Johann Cesar Godeffroy u. Sohn in Hamburg gebührt
übrigens das Verdienst, 1874 zuerst Stationen in diesem Gebiete
gegründet zu haben. Wie überall in der Südsee machte nur allein der
Reichtum an Kokosnüssen, welche geschnitten und getrocknet den
jetzt bekannten Exportartikel Kopra liefern, die Gründung solcher
Stationen überhaupt möglich, und dieses Naturprodukt ist immer
noch das einzige von Bedeutung geblieben. Wie Mioko für die
Handels- und Plantagen-Gesellschaft, so ist Matupi, auf der kleinen
Henderson-Insel in Blanche-Bai, die Centralstation für das
Konkurrenzhaus. Zweigstationen sind an der Küste errichtet, aber
gegenüber dem Ganzen hat der Handel übrigens nur in
engbegrenzten Gebieten Fuß gefaßt. In Neu-Britannien sind es die
Küsten von Blanche-Bai etwas südlich über Kap Gazelle hinaus, die
äußerste Nordostküste westlich bis Weberhafen, in Neu-Irland die
äußerste Nordwestecke von der Insel Nusa bis Langunebange, ein
Strich von ca. 25 Meilen, welche eine beschränkte Anzahl solcher
kleinen Handelsplätze, Traderstationen genannt, aufweisen. Im Jahre
1885 besaßen die beiden deutschen Firmen in Neu-Britannien je 6
bis 7 Traderstationen, Farrell vier, in Neu-Irland gab es drei,
gegenüber 10 im Jahre 1881. Das letztere Gebiet war fast
ausschließend in Händen von Friedrich Schulle auf Nusa, der früher
als Geschäftsführer von Hernsheim zuerst mit Stationen in Neu-
Irland gründete. Gerade in diesem Gebiete wechseln die Stationen,
wie ihre Leiter, die Kleinhändler oder Trader, welche den Einkauf von
Kopra besorgen, am meisten, und eine kurze Spanne Zeit bringt oft
große Veränderungen. Hier muß eine Station aufgegeben werden,
weil der Trader am Klimafieber starb, erschlagen oder verjagt wurde,
dort wird eine andere von den Eingeborenen angezündet, als
Repressalie gegen »gekochte«, d. h. seitens Weißer
niedergebrannter Hütten, oder sie wird freiwillig verlassen, weil sie
sich nicht bezahlt macht. Das klingt freilich ziemlich entmutigend, ist
aber in Wahrheit nicht so schlimm, denn eine Traderstation ist leicht
errichtet und man muß sich von einer solchen keine großen
Vorstellungen machen. Mit Proviant im Werte von 300 Mark zu
Sydney-Preisen und ebensoviel für Tauschwaren ist sie meist
ausgerüstet, und zum Aufbau läßt sich einheimisches Material
trefflich verwenden. Handelt es sich doch im wesentlichen um ein
kleineres, höchst bescheidenes Wohn- und größeres Koprahaus,
einen Zaun und ein paar eiserne Wasserbehälter (tanks), da alle
diese Stationen, die Hauptstationen in Matupi und Mioko nicht
ausgeschlossen, für ihren Bedarf an Trinkwasser, sowie zum
Schiffsgebrauch, nur auf Regen angewiesen sind. Als Trader eignen
sich am besten Seeleute, die an Salzfleisch gewöhnt, keine großen
Ansprüche machen und mit einem Segelboot umzugehen verstehen,
da sich nur mit solchen die Küste erfolgreich bearbeiten läßt. Der
Handel ist selbstredend nur Tauschhandel, und amerikanischer
Stangentabak (Nigger-head), Beile, Messer, Angelhaken, Glasperlen
und einige andere Kleinigkeiten sind die Hauptartikel zum Ankauf
von Kokosnüssen oder Kopra, da jetzt Gewehre und Schießbedarf,
welche früher am meisten begehrt waren, verboten sind. Dieses
Verbot erstreckt sich glücklicherweise auch auf das Anwerben von
Eingeborenen als Arbeiter, die sogenannte „Labourtrade", welche in
diesen Gebieten wie überall, soviel Unheil anrichtete und wesentlich
mit zu den blutigen Zwisten mit den Eingeborenen beitrug, an denen
keineswegs immer die letzteren schuld waren. Während meines
früheren achtmonatlichen Aufenthaltes[7] in Neu-Britannien wurden
in meiner Nachbarschaft allein fünf Weiße erschlagen, die wie später
Theodor Kleinschmidt auf Mioko ihr Schicksal provoziert hatten.
Nachweislich ist übrigens bis jetzt im Bismarck-Archipel kein Weißer
verzehrt worden, wenn auch die Eingeborenen noch heut Kannibalen
sind, wie ich noch 1881 mit eigenen Augen sah[8]. Seitdem der erste
Trader den Boden Neu-Britanniens betrat und den ersten
Eingeborenen erschoß, um damit die hier geltenden Rechte der
Blutrache einzusetzen, ist gar viel Blut im Bismarck-Archipel
geflossen und Mord von beiden Seiten verübt worden. Der im Jahre
1878 unter der Ägide der Wesleyanischen Mission, oder vielmehr des
Rev. George Brown, unternommene Vergeltungskrieg forderte allein
zahlreiche Opfer unter den Eingeborenen, die nicht vergessen
wurden. Wer die Verhältnisse draußen kennt, weiß wie schwer es ist
zu strafen, und zwar so, daß wirklich die Schuldigen getroffen
werden. Man kann sich daher nur freuen, daß die neue deutsche Ära
auch hierin Wandel schaffen und dem willkürlichen Eingreifen
einzelner gegen Leben und Eigentum von beiden Seiten strenge
Schranken setzen wird. Denn erst dadurch kann die neue Kolonie zu
gedeihlicher Entwickelung, namentlich der Plantagenwirtschaft,
gelangen. Wie bereits erwähnt, ist in letzterer Richtung bis jetzt nur
ein Versuch zu verzeichnen und der Handel, der Koprahandel,[9] der
einzige Vermittler zwischen Weißen und Eingeborenen. Der
Gesamtertrag an Kopra im Bismarck-Archipel bewegt sich, um dies
noch zu erwähnen, zwischen 1000 bis 1500 Tonnen (à 200 Pfd. engl.
pro Jahr) und ist nicht minder Schwankungen unterworfen als die
Koprapreise selbst, welche in Europa je nach der Konjunktur
zwischen 280 und 370 Mark variieren. Die im Bismarck-Archipel
beschäftigte Handelsflotte weist unter deutscher Flagge zwei
Schuner (von zusammen 180 Tons) und einen Kutter (30 Tons) von
Hernsheim und einen Schuner (60 Tons) der Handels- und
Plantagen-Gesellschaft, unter amerikanischer Flagge der Firma Farell
einen Schuner (70 Tons) und einen Dampfer auf. Bis zum Jahre 1882
unterhielten die beiden deutschen Häuser auch je einen kleinen
Dampfer, gaben dieselben aber auf, da sich trotz der geringen Größe
(ca. 70 Tons) die Unkosten zu hoch stellten. Seitdem haben sich die
Verhältnisse jedenfalls schon dadurch bedeutend verändert, daß die
Neu-Guinea-Compagnie ihre drei Dampfer nach dem Bismarck-
Archipel schickt.
Wer in der Südsee reist, muß vor allem Geduld besitzen! Dies
erfuhren wir gleich in Mioko, wo das Löschen und Laden viel mehr
Zeit erforderte, als wir wünschten. Denn auch in dieser Richtung
hatten sich die Verhältnisse, nur nicht zum Besseren, geändert. Die
Eingeborenen, welche früher gegen einen Tagelohn von einem Stück
Tabak im Wert von vier Pfennigen willig bei solchen Arbeiten halfen,
waren bei weitem anspruchsvoller geworden und verlangten andere
und bessere Tauschartikel. Ja, was weit schlimmer war, es hielt, trotz
der höheren Preise, überhaupt schwer Arbeiter zu erlangen, deren
Zahl sich durch die rücksichtslose Ausfuhr der Werbeschiffe[10]
ohnehin vermindert hatte. Wie in Faulheit, so waren die guten Neu-
Lauenburger, wie sie jetzt heißen sollen, auch im übrigen dieselben
geblieben, und Fortschritte in der Civilisation nicht bemerkbar, außer
in gewissen Tauschartikeln. Statt der gewöhnlichen weißen
Thonpfeifen verlangte man jetzt schwarze »Negerköpfe« (negro-
heads), statt ordinärer Äxte (Fan-tails) teure amerikanische u. s. w.
Perkussions-Musketen, früher das Ziel des höchsten Wunsches eines
Kanaker, waren kaum mehr begehrt. Dagegen Hinterladerbüchsen
(Snider-Rifles) sehr gefragt, weit mehr als z. B.
Bekleidungsgegenstände. Letztere werden eben nur von einzelnen,
an den Hauptstationen beschäftigten Kanakern zuweilen getragen.
Aber die große Masse unserer neuen Landsleute in Neu-Lauenburg,
Neu-Pommern und Neu-Mecklenburg läuft noch jetzt, und zwar in
beiden Geschlechtern, im adamitischen Kostüm umher und findet
dasselbe bei weitem einfacher und bequemer, wogegen sich bei
einigem Verständnis mit dem Leben und Wesen der Eingeborenen
nichts einwenden läßt. Auch die Mission (australische Wesleyan) hat
in der von ihr so sehr protegierten Bekleidungsfrage, außer bei ihren
unmittelbaren Zöglingen, die sich nach mehr als zehnjähriger
Thätigkeit auf kaum 200 Bekehrte[11] belaufen, keinen Einfluß
ausgeübt, ja schien überhaupt Rückschritte gemacht zu haben. So
wenigstens auf Mioko und der Insel Utuan, der York-Gruppe, wo die
beiden samoanischen Lehrer (Teachers) nur noch wenige
Eingeborene als Mitglieder der Kirche besaßen. Außer der
allgemeinen Lauheit gegenüber der christlichen Lehre, wie jeder
Lehre überhaupt, mochte hieran auch der unter der Leitung von
Thomas Farrell 1883 wirkungsvoll geführte Feldzug mit schuld sein,
der die Eingeborenen für die Ermordung von Theodor Kleinschmidt
und seiner beiden weißen Genossen strafte und einer großen Anzahl
Eingeborenen, darunter auch Kirchengängern, das Leben kostete.
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