Random Highly Disturbing Letters From Serial Killers (20 items)

(#12) Jane Toppan
- 01-01-1857
Who she was:
Jane Toppan was a murderous nurse who worked in Massachusetts in the late 19th century. During her nursing career, Toppan engaged in sadistic experimentation, testing the effects of morphine and other opiates on her patients to see what it would do to their nervous systems. Additionally, she claimed to take sexual pleasure from watching her patients die.

Who it was sent to:
This letter was sent as an open statement to the press after Toppan had been found guilty of murder by reasons of insanity and sentenced to a mental institution.

Creepiest part:
In her statement, Toppan said, "That is my ambition. To have killed more people. More helpless people than any man or woman who has ever lived."
(#2) Donald Harvey
- 04-15-1952
Who he was:
Donald Harvey served as an orderly in hospitals in Ohio and Kentucky during the 1970s and 1980s. It was during this time that he found creative ways to poison at least 30 patients. Before he was discovered, Harvey had been given the nickname "Angel of Death" by a co-worker because he always seemed to be nearby when a patient died.

Who it was sent to:
Harvey sent this lengthy letter to someone who wrote to him in prison.

Creepiest part:
This morbid joke that Harvey included with the letter: "Lord, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, change the things I can and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill because they pissed me off."
(#20) The Bloody Benders

Who they were:
The "Bloody Benders" were a family of serial killers who ran an inn and general store in Southeast Kansas in the early 1870s. The Benders' inn drew travelers to their death, and the isolated nature of the building helped to keep suspicions at bay. Only 11 victims of the Benders' hospitality are known.

Who it was sent to:
Advertisements, like one claiming that Kate Bender had psychic powers that could cure the ill, were published in Kansas newspapers with the intent of luring more victims.

Creepiest part:
The promise that Kate Bender "can heal all sorts of diseases."
(#4) Albert Fish
- 05-19-1870
Who he was:
An unassuming, grandfatherly looking man, Fish was actually a serial killer, kidnapper, and cannibal. Although he only confessed to three murders in the 1920s, he would later claim that he had killed at least 100 children.

Who it was sent to:
Fish sent this letter anonymously in 1934 to the family of Grace Budd, a 10-year-old girl he killed, cooked, and ate in 1928. The letter detailed how he became a cannibal and how he killed Budd.

Creepiest part:
"I choked her to death, then cut her in small pieces so I could take my meat to my rooms."
(#9) John George Haigh
- 07-24-1909
Who he was:
In the 1940s, Haigh killed six people and then dissolved their bodies in acid. It's believed that this English killer murdered for money to attain a lavish lifestyle. However, at his trial, he pled insanity, claiming that drinking the blood of his victims caused him to go mad. The court didn't believe his claim and he was sentenced to hang.

Who it was sent to:
Haigh wrote this letter to his girlfriend, Barbara Stephens, after she visited him in prison.

Creepiest part:
"How foolish of you to ask why I hadn't murdered you. Of course I had millions of opportunities I know that. But the idea, never crossed my mind I wouldn't have hurt a hair on your head."
(#7) The Axeman of New Orleans

Who he was:
In 1918 and 1919, at least eight individuals in New Orleans (primarily Italian immigrants or Italian-Americans) were killed by a mysterious man with an ax. Making things even more unsettling, in most of these cases, the victims were killed with axes they themselves owned. The identity of the Axeman remains unknown.

Who it was sent to:
On March, 13, 1919, a letter from the Axeman, addressed to "Esteemed Mortal," was published in several New Orleans newspapers. In it, he explained that he would kill again on March 19, 15 minutes after midnight, but would spare anyone who was listening to jazz music. Unsurprisingly, many parties were held that night to ward off the Axeman and no murders occurred.

Creepiest part:
"At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens, for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death."