Graphology is the study of handwriting and how it can reflect someone's personality traits. They say birds of a feather flock together, so are there any identifiable handwriting traits shared by some of the most notorious serial killers throughout history? The short answer is...yep.

BTK Murder Suspect Dennis Rader
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Handwriting Traits Of Serial Killers

Handwriting analysis is a really extensive and methodical process. Every single stroke, dot, angle...even how hard the pen is pressed to paper when writing reveals multiple personality traits about the person who wrote it.

The idea behind the science of graphology is that everyone has their own unique way of writing.

Although writing styles are somewhat unique to a specific person, there are certain handwriting behaviors experts have identified that they believe are shared between serial killers.

For instance, if the dot of the lowercase “i” or “j” sits high above its base, the writer may have a great imagination according to suecoletta.com.

If the writer places the dot of the “i” or “j” close to the base, it indicates empathy and organization.

Wide loops mean someone is relaxed, spontaneous, and open-minded.

Someone who writes the lowercase “o” with a loop or hole at the top is probably a pretty talkative and social person, while a closed "o" at the top of the letter indicates a much more reserved and quiet person.

Do you have any of these handwriting characteristics, and if you do, do they match your personality?

Those are just a small handful of fun ones, but what about the bad ones?

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OK, "bad ones" isn't necessarily a fair label here because it's not really one or two specific characteristics that raise red flags but rather a combination that could spell trouble.

Dangerous Handwriting Characteristics

After studying countless examples of handwriting, Graphologists have pinpointed a few warning signs they say can indicate aggression, arrogance, untruthfulness, destructiveness, and more.

From suecoletta.com -

Graphologist Anna Koren studies serial killers' penmanship, with a focus on schizoid murderers, comprising 80% of the cases she’s worked on. And Koren believes all those killers share similar handwriting traits.

Some murderers, she says, share characteristics with all the types. 'Their characteristics are at a high level and extremely twisted.'"

Serial Killer Handwriting
YouTube Via Gerald Blumentha
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According to the study, suecoletta.com lists some of the common handwriting characteristics shared by known serial killers are -

1. Unusual spacing between words

2. Unusual punctuation

3. Extremely wide spacing between words or identical to the spacing between        letters

4. Strange ending of letters

5. Printed letters

6. Over-abundance of punctuation or none at all

Suecoletta.com also notes that someone who writes the capital letter “I” much larger than other capital letters indicated "the person is arrogant, has a high opinion of themselves, and omnipotent", another common trait found in serial killer's handwriting.

Anna Koren also notes a few more troubling handwriting characteristics of serial killers -

1. Left of upright slant

2. Large or extreme height differentials

3. Covering the whole page

4. "Invented" letters

5. Corrections, especially "artistic corrections"

You can read more on Koren's study over at annakoren.com.

 

The Felon's Claw
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It's very important to note that, just because someone's handwriting may contain some of the hallmarks listed above doesn't definitively mean they're a serial killer or a dangerous person.

However, it can be an indication of possible issues that may or may not manifest into problems.

Below is an excellent presentation of handwriting analysis done on several notorious serial killers including John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Dr. Death, and many more.

The similarities in their handwriting are...chilling.

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