THERE ARE NO FEMALE SERIAL KILLERS: What The FBI Got Wrong In 1998

The press called Aileen Wuornos America's first female serial killer, and in 1998 an FBI profiler went further, saying there were no female serial killers at all. Jack the Ripper's own countrywoman, Mary Ann Cotton, had already claimed three or four times as many victims as he did, most of them children, and historians still chase the Ripper's identity while almost never mentioning her. READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mw3nzvbk FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Female serial killers… they are a lot more common than you think.  (We’re Surrounded by Female Serial Killers) *** The founder of the website Chicago Hauntings, Ursula Bielski, shares how the paranormal first invaded her life. (My Paranormal Life) *** The death of Thomas Becket shook the middle-ages. It’s believed his assassination in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29th, 1170 changed the course of history. (The Assassination of Thomas Becket) *** We’ll take a humorous look at the insane life of Boston Corbett – the man who was a hero because he killed John Wilkes Booth, but was also an idiot, cutting off his own manhood. (Abraham Lincoln’s Insane Avenger) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding 00:01:53.536 = Show Open 00:03:24.735 = We’re Surrounded By Female Serial Killers 00:14:29.474 = The Assassination of Thomas Becket *** 00:24:23.094 = My Paranormal Life 00:53:20.747 = Abraham Lincoln’s Insane Avenger 01:01:47.516 = Show Close *** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break SOURCES and RESOURCES: “We’re Surrounded by Female Serial Killers” from the book, “Lady Killers” by Tori Telfer: https://tinyurl.com/vpvqwvu “The Assassination of Thomas Becket” from British Museum: https://tinyurl.com/rhap89e “My Paranormal Life” by Ursula Bielski: https://tinyurl.com/uqx8gl9 “Abraham Lincoln’s Insane Avenger” by Mark Hill for Cracked: https://tinyurl.com/ql8ubex (Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.) WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness. *No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast* EPISODE SYNOPSIS: This episode of Weird Darkness runs from the female serial killers an FBI profiler once said didn’t exist to a medieval murder in Canterbury Cathedral, a haunted Chicago childhood, and the man who shot John Wilkes Booth. It opens with Tori Telfer’s introduction to her book Lady Killers, which starts with Aileen Wuornos, whom the press called America’s first female serial killer, and with the 1998 line from the FBI’s Roy Hazelwood that there are no female serial killers at all, while Jack the Ripper’s own countrywoman, Mary Ann Cotton, claimed three or four times as many victims as he did, most of them children. Telfer looks at nicknames like Giggling Grandma, Arsenic Annie, and Grannyball Lecter, the legend of Erzsébet Báthory bathing in virgin blood, and Leo Tolstoy’s comment on the 18th-century Russian killer Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova. From there, the episode turns to December 29th, 1170, when four knights ti