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Quizzes > General Knowledge & Mixed > General Knowledge Trivia

Serial Killer Trivia Quiz - Test Your True Crime Knowledge!

Ready to tackle these thrilling serial killers questions?

Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
paper art for serial killer trivia quiz with paper letters, knife shapes, question marks on golden yellow background

This Serial Killer Trivia Quiz helps you check what you know about famous cases, patterns, and motives. Answer quick questions, some easy and some hard, to see where you're strong, spot gaps, and learn a fact or two; if you want a gentler start, try the warm‑up round first.

Who is often cited as America's first documented serial killer?
H.H. Holmes
Jack the Ripper
Ted Bundy
Aileen Wuornos
H.H. Holmes operated in the late 19th century and confessed to 27 murders, though estimates vary. He built a so-called 'Murder Castle' in Chicago where he lured victims. His crimes are among the earliest well-documented U.S. serial killings. .
In which London district did Jack the Ripper commit his infamous murders in 1888?
Whitechapel
Soho
Kensington
Camden Town
The Jack the Ripper killings occurred in the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The area was densely populated and impoverished, contributing to the killer's ability to evade capture. These murders sparked a massive public and police outcry. .
Which serial killer was executed at Florida State Prison in 1989?
Ted Bundy
John Wayne Gacy
Jeffrey Dahmer
Richard Ramirez
Ted Bundy was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989. He had confessed to 30 homicides across multiple states. His execution marked the end of one of the most notorious serial killing sprees in U.S. history. .
Which symbol is famously associated with the Zodiac Killer?
A circle with a crosshair
A skull
A dagger
An hourglass
The Zodiac Killer used a distinctive circle divided by a crosshair—like a scope sight—as his signature symbol. It appeared in letters sent to newspapers during his murder spree in Northern California. The symbol became one of the most recognized emblems of an unidentified serial killer. .
Which female serial killer was nicknamed the "Black Widow"?
Belle Gunness
Elizabeth Báthory
Aileen Wuornos
Jane Toppan
Belle Gunness murdered suitors and allegedly her children in Indiana for insurance money during the early 1900s. Her betrayal of close relations earned her the nickname "Black Widow." Many of her victims were never found, shrouding her story in mystery. .
Who was referred to in the media as the "Night Stalker"?
Richard Ramirez
Ted Bundy
The BTK Killer
John Wayne Gacy
Richard Ramirez terrorized Los Angeles in 1984–1985 with a series of home invasion murders and sexual assaults. The moniker "Night Stalker" came from the terror he inflicted under cover of darkness. He was convicted in 1989 and died on death row in 2013. .
Which serial killer was known as the "Milwaukee Cannibal"?
Jeffrey Dahmer
Ed Gein
Albert Fish
Peter Sutcliffe
Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 males in Milwaukee from 1978 to 1991, often dismembering and in some cases cannibalizing his victims. Media dubbed him the "Milwaukee Cannibal". His crimes shocked the nation and led to major changes in forensic procedures. .
What does the acronym "BTK" stand for in the BTK Killer's moniker?
Bind, Torture, Kill
Beat, Trap, Kill
Break, Take, Kill
Betray, Torment, Kill
Dennis Rader called himself the "BTK Killer," which stood for "Bind, Torture, Kill." He sent letters to police explaining his acronyms and taunting investigators. Rader murdered at least 10 people in Kansas between 1974 and 1991. .
In what year was Ted Bundy first arrested for attempted kidnapping?
1975
1972
1978
1980
Ted Bundy was first arrested in August 1975 in Utah for the attempted kidnapping of Carol DaRonch. He escaped custody twice in 1977 and committed more murders before his final arrest in Florida. His 1975 arrest marked the first legal intervention in his crime spree. .
What type of cipher was used in the Zodiac Killer's original 408-character cipher?
Homophonic substitution cipher
Caesar cipher
Vigenère cipher
Transposition cipher
The Zodiac's 408-symbol cipher used a homophonic substitution system where multiple symbols represent a single letter to obscure letter frequencies. It was cracked in 1969 by amateur amateur sleuths. The cipher's complexity showcased the killer's interest in baffling investigators. .
Which serial killer was known as the Green River Killer?
Gary Ridgway
Ted Bundy
John Wayne Gacy
Albert Fish
Gary Ridgway raped and murdered at least 49 women near the Green River in Washington state during the 1980s and 1990s. He pleaded guilty in 2003 to avoid the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific American serial killers on record. .
Who is credited with coining the term "serial killer" in the 1970s?
Robert Ressler
J. Edgar Hoover
John Douglas
Edmund Locard
FBI agent Robert Ressler popularized the term "serial killer" to describe offenders committing multiple murders over a period with cooling-off intervals. His work at the Behavioral Science Unit laid the groundwork for modern offender profiling. The phrase has since become standard in criminology. .
Which serial killer, known as the Monster of the Andes, confessed to over 300 murders?
Pedro Alonso López
Jack Unterweger
Charles Sobhraj
Luis Garavito
Pedro Alonso López admitted to murdering more than 300 girls in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru during the late 1960s and 1970s. He targeted young victims and was arrested in 1980. His case remains one of the deadliest on record. .
Which cult leader orchestrated a series of murders in Los Angeles in 1969?
Charles Manson
Jim Jones
David Koresh
Marshall Applewhite
Charles Manson directed members of the "Manson Family" to kill Sharon Tate and others in August 1969. While Manson did not personally commit the murders, he was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy. His orchestration of violence made him notorious worldwide. .
Which New York City serial killer was nicknamed the "Son of Sam"?
David Berkowitz
Richard Ramirez
Albert Fish
David Berk
David Berkowitz terrorized New York in 1976–1977, killing six people and wounding others. He called himself the "Son of Sam" in letters to the press. His capture followed a parking ticket tip and led to widespread relief. .
Which killer was known as the "Co-Ed Killer" for targeting college students?
Edmund Kemper
Ted Bundy
John Wayne Gacy
Gary Ridgway
Edmund Kemper killed six female college students in California between 1964 and 1969. He earned the nickname "Co-Ed Killer." After his arrest in 1973, he provided extensive interviews that shaped modern criminal profiling. .
Where did John Wayne Gacy bury most of his victims?
In a crawl space beneath his house
In the Chicago River
In an abandoned warehouse
In nearby wooded areas
John Wayne Gacy buried 26 of his 33 known victims in a crawl space under his Norwood Park, Illinois, home. He hid the remains beneath the floorboards and concrete. This concealment allowed him to evade detection until 1978. .
Which culprit was identified as the Golden State Killer using DNA evidence in 2018?
Joseph James DeAngelo
Gary Ridgway
Theodore Robert Bundy
Richard Ramirez
In April 2018, Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested after investigators used genetic genealogy to match crime scene DNA to distant relatives on a public database. This breakthrough ended a decades-long manhunt for the Zodiac-linked Golden State Killer. His arrest marked a milestone in forensic science. .
Which piece of evidence ultimately linked Dennis Rader to the BTK killings?
A parking ticket tied to his vehicle
A DNA match from a blood sample
A fiber found on a victim
A handwritten note with his signature
In 2005, police traced a 2004 parking ticket issued near a crime scene to Dennis Rader. They matched Rader's fingerprints on the ticket to prints in BTK files. This break finally identified the killer after decades. .
Which Wisconsin murderer exhumed corpses for trophies and inspired the character Buffalo Bill in "The Silence of the Lambs"?
Ed Gein
Jeffrey Dahmer
John Wayne Gacy
Albert Fish
Ed Gein dug up bodies from local graveyards and fashioned trophies from their remains in Plainfield, Wisconsin, during the 1950s. His actions inspired multiple fictional killers, including Buffalo Bill. He was found legally insane and confined to mental health institutions. .
What nickname was given to Peter Sutcliffe for his series of murders in northern England?
Yorkshire Ripper
Black Dahlia
Cambridge Strangler
Moors Murderer
Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women in Yorkshire and Lancashire between 1975 and 1980. He was dubbed the "Yorkshire Ripper," echoing Jack the Ripper. His capture in 1981 brought relief after years of fear. .
Which investigative method, pioneered in the 1970s FBI Behavioral Science Unit, profiles traits common to serial killers?
Criminal profiling
DNA phenotyping
Geographic profiling
Forensic linguistics
Criminal profiling was formalized in the 1970s by the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit under agents like Robert Ressler and John Douglas. The technique analyzes crime scene evidence and offender behavior to infer characteristics. It remains a cornerstone of modern investigations. .
What is the formal name of the Zodiac Killer's 340-character cipher that was unsolved for over 50 years?
Z340 cipher
Killer Code
Whitechapel Cipher
Ripper Cryptogram
The Zodiac Killer's 340-character cipher is commonly referred to as the "Z340 cipher." It was first mailed in 1969 and remained unsolved until December 2020, when amateur codebreakers cracked it. This breakthrough renewed interest in the case. .
Which public genealogical database was instrumental in identifying the Golden State Killer suspect?
GEDmatch
Ancestry.com
23andMe
MyHeritage
Investigators uploaded crime scene DNA profiles to GEDmatch, a public genealogy site, to find distant relatives. This allowed them to build a family tree identifying Joseph James DeAngelo. The case revolutionized forensic genealogy. .
What type of digital evidence on a floppy disk helped police confirm Dennis Rader as the BTK Killer?
File metadata
Embedded virus signature
Encryption key
Obscure file name
In 2005, the BTK Killer sent a floppy disk to authorities. Metadata on that disk contained the username "Dennis," which traced back to Dennis Rader. Investigators used this digital clue to obtain his home computer files. This was an early success in digital forensics. .
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Study Outcomes

  1. Recall Notorious Cases -

    Memorize key facts and dates about famous serial killer cases to sharpen your true crime trivia mastery.

  2. Identify Behavioral Patterns -

    Recognize common modus operandi and victim profiles to differentiate between serial killers questions effectively.

  3. Analyze Case Details -

    Examine chilling evidence and crime scene facts to answer serial killer trivia questions with confidence.

  4. Differentiate Criminal Profiles -

    Compare hallmark traits of various killers to accurately attribute crimes in your serial killer quiz responses.

  5. Apply Critical Thinking -

    Use logic and deduction skills to crack lesser-known true crime trivia challenges and solve complex questions.

  6. Discover Surprising Insights -

    Unearth obscure facts and details from infamous cases to expand your knowledge and wow fellow crime buffs.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Serial Killer Definitions and Classifications -

    Review the Federal Bureau of Investigation's criteria: three or more separate events with a cooling-off period, as defined in the FBI Crime Classification Manual (1992). Understanding distinctions among serial, spree, and mass murderers helps you nail those serial killers questions in any true crime trivia challenge.

  2. Modus Operandi vs. Signature in Serial Crimes -

    MO refers to the techniques needed to commit the crime, while the signature is the killer's psychological "calling card," like Ted Bundy's staged abductions (Holmes & Holmes, 2009). Remember "MO = Method, SIG = Self" to ace that serial killer quiz detail.

  3. FBI Profiling Phases and Behavioral Analysis -

    The Behavioral Analysis Unit divides profiling into Input, Decision Process, Crime Assessment, and Profile Generation (Canter & Youngs, 2020). Memorize the acronym "IDCP" to breeze through serial killer trivia questions about investigative frameworks.

  4. Geographic Profiling and Rossmo's Formula -

    Offered by Dr. Kim Rossmo in 1995, the Mathematical Distance Decay Function (Geographic Profiling) pinpoints an offender's comfort zone on a map (Journal of Investigative Psychology). Use the "Circle Theory" mnemonic: offenders strike outside their safe circle, a key fact in famous serial killers questions.

  5. Notorious Cases and Key Facts -

    Study hallmark cases - John Wayne Gacy's "Pogo the Clown" ruse, Aileen Wuornos's highway attacks, and Andrei Chikatilo's victims - to sharpen your true crime trivia edge. Create flashcards with victim count, MO, and signature details to boost recall under quiz conditions.

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