The truth about the average IQs of serial killers

Humans like being able to assign universal definitions to the things that scare us. It's easier to process fear when its component parts are collated and filed neatly away in easy, pocket-sized universal truths. For instance, a red sky in the morning means "sailors take warning." When it comes to snakes, if red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow. Don't eat decorative fruit. That sort of thing. These seeming truisms not always accurate — sometimes a red sky just means that a sailor woke up in their ruby quartz X-Men cosplay glasses — but they do help us sleep better at night, feeling like there's some order to the world.

When it comes to acts of unspeakable evil, the common knowledge goes like this: A serial killer is either a Machiavellian genius, or an intellectually stunted oddball. Think of Jigsaw or Leatherface. Hannibal or Elmer Fudd. The outliers of human intelligence make up the bulk of American nefariousness, with Ted Bundy on one end and a cartoon caveman with a machete on the other. However, as is often the case with human attempts to assign unflappable truths, this turns out to be an oversimplification. Serial killers have been observed to possess measurable IQs that run the gamut from MENSA-level brilliance, to learning disabled, and every benchmark in between.

In short, serial killers are just like us. Comforting, right?