They might be less common, but they’re no less scary.
Elizabeth Báthory
Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian Countess at the turn of the 16th century, is considered by many to be the most prolific female serial killer of all time: while she is publicly accused of killing 80 young girls, some speculate the number is as high as 650. Báthory lured her victims to her castle under the guise of well-paid servant work or courtly etiquette lessons. Some witnesses claimed they saw her biting flesh off her victims, and others claimed she drank their blood; these allegations (though unproven) earned her the nickname "The Blood Countess."
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Belle Gunness
Norwegian-American Belle Gunness was responsible for killing 40-plus people in the very early 20th century. Most were suitors and husbands; Gunness' motive was thought to be the collection of life insurance policies and other sources of wealth. After killing her first two husbands, Gunness placed a personals ad that would attract several of her later victims: "Personal — comely widow who owns a large farm in one of the finest districts in La Porte County, Indiana, desires to make the acquaintance of a gentleman equally well provided, with view of joining fortunes ... Triflers need not apply."
Gunness allegedly faked her own death in an arson set in her home; the headless body of a woman dressed in her clothing was later discovered in her bed. (Her dead children were also found in theirs.) Several witnesses who saw the body said there was no way it could be hers (Gunness was 6'0" and 200 pounds), but dental records later "confirmed" it. However, a hired hand of Gunness' said that she'd placed her own false teeth in the corpse's head (which she'd dressed as herself), and escaped by train. Gunness was reportedly sighted around the United States for decades afterward, but her ultimate fate is unknown.
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Amelia Dyer
Wikipedia has given Amelia Dyer the very dubious superlative "most prolific baby farm murderer of Victorian England." Confirmed killer of six babies, Dyer is the attributed killer of between 200 and 400. Dyer provided lodging for women who became pregnant "illegitimately" in exchange for a fee. Early on, like other baby farmers, Dyer either procured adoptions for the babies or allowed them to die of malnutrition. At some point she began murdering them. Dyer was caught in 1879, sentenced to six months of hard labor on the charge of "neglect," and released — at which point she resumed murdering babies. She was caught again in 1896, pled guilty, and was hanged.
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Mary Bell
Mary Bell was just 11 years old when she strangled two young boys (3 and 4 years old) to death in Scotswood, England. After killing the younger of the two victims, Bell reportedly returned to the scene and carved the letter "M" into the boy's stomach with a razor, among other mutilations. Bell was released from prison in 1980 at the age of 23, and has lived under court-protected anonymity ever since. In 1998 Bell collaborated with author Gitta Sereny on a book about her life called Cries Unheard: The Story Of Mary Bell.
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