Mindhunter: The real interviews behind the show.

It takes 8 hours 16 minutes to binge watch the whole season of the Netflix hit, Mindhunter. It takes 2 seconds to send shivers down your spine. Especially when you know that the show was inspired by the real stories of FBI agents studying the world’s most notorious psychopaths and serial killers.

Edmund “Big Ed” Kemper

Actor Cameron Britton captivates audiences with exceptional portrayal of real-life serial killer, Edmund Kemper. His bone-chilling performance and dialogue was based on actual interview tapes with Big Ed. What makes these particular interviews so astounding is that for a person with an exceptionally high IQ of 145, Big Ed always lays the blame for his actions on everyone and everything other than himself. He acknowleges his deviant behaviour but always follows it up with the cause being something outside of his control. His fantasies, his mother, his victims. It's all their fault.

Edmund Kemper wasn't the only serial killer interviewed and studied by the FBI. Below are a few more of the hundreds that went into the research for the behavioral sciences unit.

Arthur Shawcross

This excessive blinking, saggy faced, gray haired man is Arthur, aka The Genesee River Killer. He is more than just your average old-timer. He is a convicted serial killer and rapist who describes his murder spree as “fun”. This from the man who split open one of his victims right from her neck to her private parts. He speaks about people as though they were some kind of useful monkeys that he can make dance or die without repercussion.

Dennis Rader

Don’t be fooled by the GIF, this killer showed no remorse for killing his victims. The tears in that image are from his appearance in court. No one can say whether those tears are real or fake but I think his history lends the "fake" theory some weight. Dennis, a serial killer and sexual sadists revels in the recollections of his crimes – getting caught was almost part of the fantasy. In fact, when police eventually caught Dennis he went from playing a cat-and mouse game to giving a full confession. One of the police lieutenants working on the case was even quoted as saying: “we couldn’t shut him up”.

Jeffrey Dhamer

Jeffery Dhamer fascinates me. I honestly think that if there were places he could go to and pay for sex with dead bodies, he wouldn’t have killed anyone but perhaps I’m just taken in by his famous psychopathic charisma. He was certainly a killer who let his fantasies take ultimate control of his life and he seems quite reflective on his own crimes. Watch the video and decide for yourself.

Ted Bundy

Watching Ted Bundy talk almost makes you believe that he’s good guy who just wondered down a wrong path in life. It’s really hard to match the man with his crimes but watch carefully and you will see his mask start to crack. He is in truth, a cowardly manipulator who went to great lengths to ensure that his victims had as little power to fight back as possible.

Richard Ramirez

Richard Ramirez fits the classic psychopath down to a tee. You can see how thoroughly he loves the sound of his own voice and how he can captivate people's attention through his evil behavior. He lives for the look of disgust and fascination that is directed his way and acts accordingly: like a movie star.