The deadliest Pisces serial killers of all time
Pisces is ruled by Neptune – the planet of dreams, illusion, and emotion. Deeply intuitive, empathetic, and imaginative, Pisceans are often seen as gentle souls who feel everything deeply. But when those same traits turn inward and dark, they can produce something far more unsettling: killers driven not by logic, but by emotion, fantasy and obsession.
Despite their reputation for compassion, Pisces ranks surprisingly high among the zodiac’s serial killers. Their crimes often blur the line between delusion and reality – a nightmare born from imagination turned deadly.
Join us at Crime+Investigation as we take a look at some of the most infamous Pisces serial killers in history.
Charles Cullen – born 22nd February 1960
A trusted nurse turned mass murderer, Charles Cullen is one of the deadliest medical serial killers in modern history. Over a 16-year career in hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he administered lethal doses of drugs to patients – sometimes out of misplaced mercy, other times out of boredom or compulsion.
Cullen confessed to 29 murders but is suspected of killing as many as 400 people, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in the world. His calm, almost detached attitude reflected a chilling Piscean duality: compassion warped into control over life and death.
Aileen Wuornos – born 29th February 1956
Few names are as infamous as Aileen Wuornos, the woman often described as America’s first female serial killer. Working as a sex worker in Florida, she murdered seven men between 1989 and 1990 – claiming each killing was in self-defence against violent clients.
Her story – one of abuse, poverty, and trauma – became the subject of documentaries, books, and the Oscar-winning film Monster (2003). Wuornos’s emotional volatility, alienation and tragic life story reflect the darker side of Pisces’ sensitivity: a soul overwhelmed by pain that eventually lashes out at the world.
Richard Ramirez – born 29th February 1960
Known to the world as The Night Stalker, Ramirez terrorised California throughout the mid-1980s. His crimes – home invasions, sexual assaults and at least 14 murders – were marked by extreme brutality and a disturbing fascination with Satanism.
He struck at night, choosing victims seemingly at random and leaving behind scenes of chaos and fear. When caught, Ramirez showed no remorse – only defiance. His twisted charisma and obsession with evil embody the Piscean pull toward fantasy and darkness, where reality and delusion collide.
Adolf Seefeldt – born 6th March 1870
In early 20th-century Germany, Adolf Seefeldt became known as The Sandman – a seemingly harmless watchmaker who preyed on children. Between 1908 and 1935, he murdered at least a dozen boys, though police suspected he could have killed up to 100 victims.
Calm and unassuming in appearance, Seefeldt’s crimes reveal the Pisces ability to mask deep emotional disturbance behind a quiet exterior. He was executed by guillotine in 1936, his true victim count never fully known.
Mikhail Popkov – born 7th March 1964
Russia’s most prolific serial killer, Mikhail Popkov, combined police authority with unimaginable brutality. Known as The Werewolf, he used his position as a police officer to lure victims – mostly women – into his car under the guise of helping them.
Between 1992 and 2010, he murdered at least 83 women, with suspicions of several more. Popkov’s crimes were methodical and sadistic, but he justified them as 'cleansing immoral women', showing a delusional Piscean logic warped by fantasy and power.
Dennis Rader – born 9th March 1945
Dennis Rader, known as the BTK Killer – short for Bind, Torture, Kill – terrorised Kansas for nearly two decades. Between 1974 and 1991, he murdered ten people, including entire families, while taunting police with cryptic letters.
Rader’s double life as a church president and family man shocked the world when his identity was revealed. His need for control, attention and recognition illustrates how Pisces’ inner world of imagination can spiral into obsession – creating an identity rooted in fantasy and horror.
Peter Manuel – born 13th March 1927
Known as The Beast of Birkenshaw, Manuel was an American-born Scottish killer who murdered at least seven people across Lanarkshire and southern Scotland between 1956 and 1958.
Charming and intelligent, Manuel represented the manipulative side of Pisces – a man who used words and confidence to disarm his victims. His trial became a media spectacle, with Manuel famously representing himself in court before being executed in 1958.
Donald Henry Gaskins – born 13th March 1933
Standing just 5ft 4 and nicknamed Pee Wee, Donald Gaskins was one of South Carolina’s most feared killers. He murdered at least 15 people between 1953 and 1982 – and claimed responsibility for over 100 deaths, though many of those confessions were later discredited.
Gaskins’ crimes were sadistic and unpredictable, combining a need for dominance with erratic emotional outbursts – traits often found in Pisces when empathy and instability collide.
John Wayne Gacy – born 17th March 1942
Behind the painted smile of John Wayne Gacy’s clown persona was one of America’s most sadistic serial killers. Between 1972 and 1978, he raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys, burying many of them beneath his suburban Chicago home.
Outwardly charming and civic-minded, Gacy’s monstrous double life mirrored the Piscean tendency toward duality – capable of kindness one moment, cruelty the next. His case remains one of the most horrifying examples of evil hidden in plain sight.
Randy Kraft – born 19th March 1945
Known as the Scorecard Killer, Randy Kraft murdered at least 16 young men between 1972 and 1983 – and is suspected of up to 51 more. He kept a cryptic list of victims, each coded with disturbing references, suggesting an organised and ritualistic pattern.
Like many Pisces killers, Kraft’s crimes blended fantasy and precision – a killer who lived two lives: one as a respected computer programmer, another as a sadistic predator.
Can’t get enough of serial killer content? Subscribe to the Crime+Investigation newsletter for exclusive access to our latest crime stories, videos and investigations into the darkest corners of human nature.
