Serial killers: The real-life Hannibal Lecter and more
Reality always beats fiction and this is definitely something scary when it comes to serial killers and crime stories. Hannibal Lecter is the first name that pops into our heads when we think of serial killers, but there’s a long list that follows it and worse, in real life! In Film daily we’re big fans of true crime stories, and in this article you’ll find a list of real-life Hannibal Lecters.
With these kinds of criminals existing in real life, why would we keep inventing new fictions? Anyway, despite its cruelty, Hannibal Lecter is arguably one of the most iconic villains in film and literature and this is due to its combination of intelligence, cunning and murderous tendencies. His complex persona made him the perfect target for scriptwriters & filmmakers to make their stories about.
We’ve seen books, movies and even T.V. shows based on this character, but now it’s time to face the music and get to know the real-life-Hannibal-Lecters. Here are two notorious killers that were compared to Hannibal by several studious of the topic, their names are Robert Maudsley and Ed Geins. It looks like Guadagnino’s latest movie about cannibals has more resemblance to reality than we expected!
Real Killers Who Were Compared to Hannibal Lecter
The first name is Robert Maudsley, who was a British serial killer who was determined responsible for four murders between 1973 and 1983. In fact, he was known as the ‘Hannibal the Cannibal’ and as you can tell by this nickname he had a penchant for cannibalism during his killings. But how does somebody end up eating another human?
Maudsley was sentenced to life imprisonment since he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, nonetheless, this doesn’t mean schizophrenics have these behaviors. Yet this whole situation ended up having him held in solitary confinement since 1983 and was allowed only to have one supervised exercise hour per day. Imprison mechanisms are a whole topic to discuss!
On the other hand, Ed Gein was an American murderer that was an inspiration for some famous horror movies, like Psycho & The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Gein had numerous gruesome killing techniques and due to that he was known as ‘The Butcher of Plainfield’. This methodes included disemboweling victims and using their body parts for household decorations!
Gein turned his victims onto lampshades, furniture and even got to wear flayed skin like clothing! He died in 1984 from respiratory failure due to complications from cancer. See how reality beats fiction when it comes to serial killers? Yet, besides cannibalism, were there any other reasons why these murderers are related to Hannibal Lecter?
Their resemblance to Hannibal
Further than their particular killing methods and taste for human flesh, Robert Maudsley & Ed Gein have been compared to Hannibal Lecter for many reasons. Like it or not, serial killers tend to be hyper intelligent people, these particular cases also show a particular desire for notoriety. In fact, both of them wanted public recognition for their heinous acts.
Aside from that, they both had the obsession to reconstruct bodies & body parts from their victims, which plays heavily in the character of Hannibal Lecter’s story arc. Nevertheless, there are also some differences with the fictional Dr Lecter, such as their killer’s rampage motivation. Maudsley killed out of necessity while Ed Gein murdered just because he wanted power over people he thought were weaker than himself.
Fictionally, Dr Lecter kills out a visceral need that originates his own distorted sense of justice. Furthermore, Maudsley became unhinged due to his mental illness that was not presented by Gain or Dr Lecter. Anyway, all three killers hold fascinating stories that continue to captivate the audience despite many years passing since crimes were committed !
