Serial killers are often compared to each other. Maybe because what they do is so atrocious that it can't be compared to anything else. Entire professions are dedicated to learning why killers kill and how to find patterns in their behaviors to help catch them when they do. Two of the most infamous murderers of all time are Ted Bundy and Jack the Ripper. Their stories have both been the subject of film and literary adaptations as well as the subject of numerous studies on the psychology behind serial killers. These assassins, despite being a world apart, turned out to be very similar. Ted Bundy and Jack the Ripper were very similar killers in their methods of selecting victims, their charming personalities, and their notoriety. While they are often compared, they also have a couple of key differences. Jack the Ripper did not rape his victims like Ted Bundy did, and he was never caught or identified. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Most organized killers go through a victim selection process to choose who their next target will be. This does not necessarily mean that the person is haunted for months, but the killer's victims appear to have similar characteristics. These can be physical traits, psychological traits, demographics, relationships, etc. Bundy and the Ripper both had very similar methods of selecting victims. First, both killers had only targeted women. This may have been because they viewed women as the weaker sex and knew they would fight less for their capture or, in Bundy's case, sexual enjoyment. Both killers also frequented the same areas to choose their victims. Jack the Ripper kidnapped all his victims in the same neighborhood of London's East End. This was a very poor neighborhood, well known for prostitutes. The profession of these women, combined with the "marginalized" area in which they lived, made them easy targets. Ted Bundy had many different locations for his kidnappings and murders, but they all shared a common theme. Bundy prowled college campuses, dormitories, and popular youth hangouts. Although his position varied, his method of selection remained the same. Bundy would use his charm or the excuse of needing help on young, naive, college-age girls and then kidnap, rape and murder them. Both Ted Bundy and Jack the Ripper were known to be very intelligent. Bundy was a law student and Jack the Ripper, although never identified, proved to be extremely knowledgeable about human anatomy. Their intelligence helped them go unnoticed and allowed them to continue committing crimes. The killers are also thought to have been charming to their victims. Bundy was always described by witnesses as handsome and charming. Bundy often pretended to be injured to solicit help from his victims, putting them in the position of kidnapping them. He often hit them over the head with an object such as a crowbar and then tied them up to prevent escape. This was the case for victims Janice Ott and Denise Naslund. Both were abducted from Lake Sammamish State Park in the middle of the day after faking a left arm injury and asking for help hooking a sailboat to his car. Jack the Ripper was also alleged to have enchanted his victims to keep them away from other people and put them in a vulnerable position to commit his crimes. It might have been easier for the Ripperbecause all his victims were prostitutes. All but one of his victims were soliciting clients at the time of their disappearance. This made it quite easy for the Ripper to charm victims, with the promise of money of course, into being alone with him. After forensic analysis of the crime scenes, it was discovered that the women were all shot from behind, while their skirts were raised. This tells us that the victims were likely awaiting sexual intercourse when they became unconscious and then, according to reports, were placed gently on the floor instead of letting them fall. Jack the Ripper took great care of his victims. It has been a practice among serial killers to take "trophies" of their victims to help them relive their crimes after the body has been dumped and neither Ted Bundy nor Jack the Ripper are exceptions. Bundy decapitated many of his victims after killing them and often kept their heads for a while. He told investigators he would wash the hair and apply makeup to his victims' faces, saying that "if you have time, they can be whoever you want them to be." Bundy reportedly kept the heads until they began to deteriorate and then discarded them. Police found the heads of four of his victims on Taylor Mountain in Utah, while Bundy revealed that he burned one of the heads in his then-girlfriend's fireplace. Jack the Ripper was a little more gruesome in his carnage. The Ripper, after killing his victims, completely mutilated their bodies, often disembowelling them. He would take kidneys and uteruses as trophies. Many theories have emerged as to why he did this. Many believe he was some sort of doctor and used these murders as research due to the lack of medical technology in his time. Others believe he may have hated prostitutes, or even women in general, and would have taken their wombs as a symbol of deprivation of their "femininity". Bundy and the Ripper became household names. Morbid, but still famous, household names. Many serial killers gain national or even worldwide fame and recognition for their crimes. People are fascinated by how one person can make up the gruesome things done by a serial killer. Ted Bundy and Jack the Ripper are no exception. In fact, they were both the most famous assassins of their respective times. Ted Bundy's crimes stretched from one side of the country to the other. The United States had never experienced anything so shocking, and Bundy was his region's first widely known assassin. Bundy's trial was the first televised trial in the United States, which only added to his fame. Bundy has gained something of a cult following among young women. He even married and had a child with one of his followers while he was in prison. Ted Bundy's interviews and subsequent trial gave rise to the term "serial killer" by FBI investigator Robert Ressler who had interviewed Bundy and was giving a criminology lecture on his crimes during the time of the trial. Ressler, in response to the killers he interviewed, helped create Vi-Cap, a computer program that can help law enforcement link crimes across jurisdictions and help spot serial criminals early. Ressler's work also helped legitimize criminal profiling work. Jack the Ripper is still considered the most terrifying killer in London's history. The death of prostitutes was something that was largely overlooked during his time, but the manner and frequency of the deaths attracted public attention. Since Jack the Ripper was never identified either.