I, Monster: Serial Killers in Their Own Chilling Words

Product Description

What goes through the dark minds of such notorious killers as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”), John Wayne Gacy, Dennis Rader (the “BTK Killer”), and others? In this chilling book, you’ll read exactly what they were thinking in their own words as they committed horrible crimes. Using court transcripts and police interviews, veteran true-crime and crime-fiction writer Tom Philbin has compiled the testimony of twenty infamous serial killers―nineteen men and one woman.For fans of crime stories who look for realism, this book is like no other. The descriptions couldn’t be more realistic since, in effect, the book is written by the serial killers themselves. Their words range from the bizarre and weirdly fascinating to the revolting and horrific.In each case, Philbin provides a background profile to give readers a sense of the context from which these monsters emerged. Though they come from different backgrounds, nationalities, and generations, their words do reveal certain common elements. Not one evinces any sense of compassion or sensitivity in regard to their victims. They appear to be unable to control the impulses that lead them to kill. And in many cases, they derive a perverse sexual satisfaction from their deeds.Taking true-crime reading to a new level of immediacy, this disturbing book offers a glimpse into the worst side of human nature.

From Booklist

Veteran grim-lit readers may have noticed a recent uptick in the number of books plumbing the depths of all-star fiends (Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, etc.). Philbin has assembled a tribute to serial killers a little different in presentation and attribution: the words in it are “direct quotations from the letters, confessions, trial transcripts and the like” of the blood-stained miscreants themselves. Each chapter begins with a career summary of a single slaughterer and his crimes (all the subjects are male, except for Aileen Wuornos). Coverage reaches back in time to Jack the Ripper and H. H. Holmes and includes lesser-known psychopaths Westley Allan Dodd and Edmund Kemper along with such more familiar homicides as David Berkowitz and Albert Fish. A good many of these human-hunters’ narratives are extremely disturbing, certainly not for the faint of heart. (Consider yourself warned.) Yet this is an excellent addition to the serial-killer literature because of the straight-from-the-heart-of-darkness provenance of those same gruesome stories. –Mike Tribby

Review

”
I, Monster is a must read for anyone in law enforcement, and
a fascinating read for those who aren’t. An experienced police writer, Tom Philbin has done it again.” –Rich Roberts, director of special operations, International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO

“If you like to have nightmares, this is the book for you” –Tom Towler, screenwriter of movies on Ted Bundy and Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer
“Philbin’s compelling and graphic profiles take readers deep inside the minds of some of history’s most notorious serial killers. This is not for the faint of heart, but I, Monster does tell it like it is for anyone who wrestles with the horror of serial killing.” –Frederic Reamer, professor, School of Social Work, Rhode Island College; author of Heinous Crime: Cases, Causes, and Consequences
“[Serial Killers] are the vilest of the vile, and they need our scorn, not our admiration. This is an important book. Read it! But not before bedtime.” –Michael H Stone, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry, Columbia University and author of The Anatomy of Evil and Personality Disorders: Treatable and Untreatable

About the Author

Tom Philbin (Centerport, NY) is a freelance writer who has authored over forty books, including true-crime nonfiction and crime novels. Among his many publications are the novel A Matter of Degree and his nonfiction Murder USA and The Killer Book of True Crime. He has also published numerous articles in a wide variety of magaz