Hannibal Lecter: The Composite Killer

Thomas Harris created one of pop cultures icons of terror, Hannibal Lecter. The wide spread appeal of this cannibal is phenomenal and it is quite simply because he embodies our collective modern fears, whiles he is intelligent and strangely charming, Hannibal IS a serial killer.

The Hannibal was a combination of several actual serial killers, the result was a character which like the real life basis is equal measures of intriguing and horrifying. Thomas Harris researched at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, using real life profiles to build all of his killer characters.

Hannibal Lecter’s origins mirror Russian Killer Andrei Chkatilo, the ‘Rostov Ripper’ who attributed crimes (raping, killing and eating children) to having seen his brother cannibalized during a particularly dark period of Stalin’s rule.

Although Thomas Harris is notoriously tight lipped about connecting characteristics of is fictional killers to real life serial killers, there some easily spotted comparisons between not only the ‘Rostov Ripper’ and Lecter but also, Albert Fish.

Albert Fish, when arrested appeared as an mild mannered, slightly build sixty-four year old man. However his unsuspecting demeanor was hid a man, who loved to savagely torture children before killing and making lavish dishes from their flesh.

These two examples are the two most easily recognized influences of Hannibal Lecter, as mentioned Harris’ used several profiles to build the character.

Thomas Harris’ creation, has become a modern day boogey-man; the good Dr.Lecter, chills his captive audience like few other fictional characters have, simply because he is based on fact.