The serial killer's extreme violence, based on domination and coercion, is a form of compensation for severe emotional problems. When does an individual become aware of the potential of this compensation mechanism? It happens very early on, in childhood. FBI research into the origins of violence in the most dangerous criminals emphasises the early onset of this initiation stage (Ressler et al., 1992). The troubled, socially isolated child, who develops a taste for the thrill experienced whilst engaging in deviant behaviour, will use his intellectual abilities to construct egocentric alternatives which serve to offset the low level of satisfaction derived from everyday social interaction (Douglas and Olshaker, 1999).