13 Unsettling Songs About Female Murderers features songs about Aileen Wournos, Countess Elizabeth Báthory, Lizzie Borden & Myra Hindley.

Many times, when mass murderers, serial killers, and spree killers occur, more often than not, the perpetrator is a white male.  There are exceptions of course, but most commonly, such horrid and tragic crimes are committed by white males.  That said, there are female perpetrators who have committed serial murder and spree killings.  This dark and evil playlist, 13 Unsettling Songs About Female Murderers, examines songs written about and referencing ‘evil’ women.  Those evil women appearing on this unsettling soundtrack are Aileen Wournos, Brenda Spencer, Countess Elizabeth Báthory, Karla Homolka, Lizzie Borden, Mary Bell, Myra Hindley, and Rose West. The musicians providing the soundtrack include Interpol (“Evil”), Macabre (“Lizzie Borden”), Perfume Genius (“Look Out, Look Out”), Slayer (“Beauty Through Order”), and Superheaven (“Poor Aileen”).

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1. Superheaven, “Poor Aileen”

Ours is Chrome • SideOneDummy • 2015

Murderer: Aileen Wournos (serial killer)

“Oh, poor Aileen. You weren’t treated like a human / They took your veins. Don’t be afraid.” On the final song of their 2015 album (Ours is Chrome), “Poor Aileen,” Rock band Superheaven tackle one of the most famous female serial killers of them all, Aileen Wournos.  Wournos wasn’t the most prolific female serial killer (that would be the ‘Blood Countess’), but she definitely has a high profile in pop culture. Her biggest claim to fame in pop culture was the 2003 film Monster, starring an unrecognizable Charlize Theron playing Wournos and rightfully winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. Interestingly, “Poor Aileen” doesn’t highlight the crimes of Wournos but is sympathetic to her to an extent (more on that later).

“Strapped to a bed / Everyone says that you’re a monster in the way / Needle goes in. How did you live? / You didn’t get a chance.” Hmm, what is the mindset of Taylor Madison and Superheaven on these lyrics, as well as the lyrics excerpted at the top of the blurb? Per track-by-track commentary of Ours is Chrome via Diffuser.fm, Madison states:

“I’ve read a lot about Aileen Wuornos, and everything I’ve read about her life makes me feel bad for her more than anything. She lived a really horrific life and was treated terribly until she was executed. I don’t mean to say that I condone her actions when it comes to the murders, but I also feel like when a person is subjected to that kind of abuse and torture their entire life, it’s really no surprise that they would end up in a some kind of scenario like that…”

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2. Flotsam & Jetsam, “She Took an Axe”

Doomsday for the Deceiver • Metal Blade • 1986

Murder: Lizzie Borden (purported serial killer)

Phoenix thrash metal band Flotsam & Jetsam definitely don’t have kind words to describe purported serial killer Lizzie Borden. In their 1986 song “She Took an Axe,” they characterize Borden as being twisted, deceptive, and in cahoots with the devil.

“A young maiden with a demon in her soul / A twisted mind with secrets to unfold / An innocent face, a deceiving smile / Under no suspicion, servant to Belial.”

An axe was the weapon of choice for Borden, who was acquitted of murdering her parents in 1892. The act of “murdering his or her father, mother, or close relative” is known as parricide. Borden is arguably the ‘flagship’ example of it historically.

“Lizzy Borden took an axe
Gave her mother forty whacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one
Now before the jury with a solemn face
These legendary murders, she left not a trace
Lizzy found it so simple to take their lives
Today she walks free with her axe by her side.”

Notably, “She Took an Axe” also appeared on several other lists, including the dark, morbid 11 Songs About Painful, Torturous, or Troubling Ways to Die.  Expanding on the topic of family-related murders, there are specific terms for each. In the case of Borden, she committed patricide (murdered her father) and matricide (murdered her mother). For example, biblically, Cain committed fratricide when he slew his brother Abel in Genesis 4.

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3. Slayer, “Beauty Through Order”

World Painted Blood • American • 2009

Murderer: Elizabeth Báthory (serial killer)

Countess Elizabeth Báthory was something else – a ‘hot mess’ to say the least.  Safe to say, the Blood Countess wasn’t playing around when it came to murder.  Slayer is perfectly suited to provide a soundtrack for the Countess, in all her hellishness.

From the jump, Slayer addresses her love for bathing in the blood of her victims: “It’s the feel of your blood / As it flows smoothly down my skin / Intoxicating my soul / Immortality, seducing me.” The song continues on in chilling fashion, always highlighting the “vampirical,” cold nature of Báthory.

“Frozen in time is the ice flowing in your veins
Are you insane?
At your mercy, they suffered while you sat there painless
vile and shameless.”

There’s more of course, as Slayer brings biting to play (“Biting the flesh, face my sick prelude / Now meet your frozen death”), as well as her status in society (“Murder is my birthright the bloodline proves aristocracy / Walled in, left for dead, your actions show no hypocrisy”).

“Beauty Through Order” has appeared on numerous playlists, including A Bloody Soundtrack to Countess Elizabeth Báthory and  33 Great, If Disturbing Songs About Serial Killers. 

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4. The Boomtown Rats, “I Don’t Like Mondays”

The Fine Art of Surfacing • Mercury • 1979

Murderer: Brenda Spencer (spree killer) 

“Tell me why / I don’t like Mondays / I wanna shoot the whole day down.” Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats cover the Grover Cleveland Elementary School shooting on “I Don’t Like Mondays,” a song from their 1979 album, The Fine Art of Surfacing.  Infamously, 16-year old Brenda Spencer, who truly didn’t like Mondays, killed two adults and injured eight children with a .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle at the elementary across from her house.  The Boomtown Rats captures this tragic tale: “And all the playing’s stopped in the playground now / She wants to play with the toys a while / And school’s out early and soon we’ll be learning / And the lesson is how to die.”

Notably, Tori Amos covered “I Don’t Like Mondays” on her 2001 album, Strange Little Girls.  “I Don’t Like Mondays” previously appeared on playlists 12 More Songs About Mass Murderers (Vol. 3) and 15 Songs for the Days of the Week.

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5. Macabre, “Lizzie Borden”

Grim Scary Tales • Decomposed • 2011

Murder: Lizzie Borden (purported serial killer)

“Her stepmother was hacked as she made the bed / With father on the couch nine axe wounds to his head…” “Lizzie Borden” barely crosses the minute-and-a-half-mark, but that’s more than enough for doom metal collective Macabre.  When it comes to serial killers, mass murderers, and such, the satirical band are at their very best. “Lizzie Borden” is no different, appearing as the 10^th track on the band’s 2011 album, Grim Scary Tales. Of course, this marks the second entry on this playlist about purported serial killer Lizzie Borden following “She Took an Axe.”

“Lizzie Borden took an axe / Gave her stepmother twenty whacks / While on the couch her father slept / She hacked him till no life was left.” Pretty straightforward, right? As usual, Macabre treat dark subject matter in an ‘over the top’ fashion.  “Lizzie Borden” definitely sounds happier and more optimistic than it should.

But, give Macabre credit for the quick, sixteenth note guitar lines, not to mention the final verse:

“And Lizzie Borden’s trial was irrelevant
Because the evidence was insufficient
And even though she probably did it
Lizzie Borden was acquitted.”

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6. Richard Thompson, “Love in a Faithless Country”

Faithless • Beeswing • 2004

Murderer: Myra Hindley (serial killer)

“Always move in pairs and travel light / A loose friend is an enemy, keep it tight / Always leave a job the way you found it / Look for trouble coming and move around it.” Sometimes, the darkest songs can be the most beautiful.  That is the case with “Love in a Faithless Country,” one of the most radiant, yet blackest songs ever.  This song originally appeared on the 1985 LP by veteran British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, Across a Crowded Room. In the United States, however, the only available version appears on Thompson’s 2004 effort, Faithless.

“Love in a Faithless Country” “deals with a mass murderer and his wife roaming across Britain,” even though, the Moors Murderers – Ian Brady (1938 – 2017) and Myra Hindley (1942 – 2002) – aren’t explicitly mentioned in the song.  Nonetheless, as beautiful as “Love in a Faithless Country” is, it’s also unsettling, as are the lyrics.  However, That’s the way we make love.

“Always make your best moves late at night
Always keep your tools well out of sight
It never pays to work the same town twice
It never hurts to be a little nice.”

“Love in a Faithless Country” has appeared on numerous playlists, including 33 Great, If Disturbing Songs About Serial Killers.

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7. Candlemass, “The Bleeding Baroness”

Death Magic Doom • Nuclear Blast GmbH • 2009

Murderer: Elizabeth Báthory (serial killer)

Swedish doom metal band Candlemass has been in operation since the mid 80s. Exceptional tone poem, “The Bleeding Baroness” arrived in 2009, appearing on album, Death Magic Doom. “The Bleeding Baroness,” which focuses on countess and prolific early serial killer Elizabeth Báthory, has three distinct sections.

At the beginning and returning later, “Baroness” is in a slowish triple meter.  The guitars are incredibly dark and heavy, while the lyrics only add to the enigma, foreshadowing what’s to come. The second distinct section is in good ole common time.  It’s still heavy, capturing the self-indulgence and lust of Elizabeth. Then, there’s one more distinct section.  There’s a change of pace on the chorus. The tempo slows, while the lead vocalist continues to sing with the utmost angst and passion.

“The Bleeding Baroness
Hours of slumber
Just before she will take you and make you wish that you’ve never been born
The Bleeding Baroness
Crimes of passion
She needs you and feeds you and bleeds you with the rise of the moon.”

“The Bleeding Baroness” has appeared on numerous playlists, including A Bloody Soundtrack to Countess Elizabeth Báthory and  33 Great, If Disturbing Songs About Serial Killers.

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8. Interpol, “Evil”

Antics • Matador • 2004

Murderer: Rose West (serial killer) 

“Hey wait / Great smile / Sensitive to faith, not denial / But hey who’s on trial?” Fred West and Rose West made some kind of husband/wife pair – a murderous one.  There are plenty more serial killing duos that garner more press, but this English pair shouldn’t be left out.  Arguably, Fred West is the worst of the two, ultimately hanging himself after being convicted.  Rose, certain wasn’t innocent, eventually earned a life sentence.  Alternative darlings Interpol tackle the twisted pair on “Evil,” a popular song from their 2004 album, Antics.  

“Rosemary
Heaven restores you in life
You're coming with me
Through the aging, the fearing, the strife…
When your friends they do come crying
Tell them now your pleasure's set up on slow-release.”

“Evil” is taken from the perspective of Fred, who is focused on his wife, Rose, who is still alive (remember, he hangs himself).

“Rosemary
Oh, heaven restores you in life
I spent a lifespan with no cellmate
the long way back
Sandy, why can’t we look the other way?
You’re weightless, semi-erotic
You need someone to take you there.”

“Evil” has appeared on numerous playlists, including 33 Great, If Disturbing Songs About Serial Killers.

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9. White Lung, “Sister”

Paradise • Domino • 2016

 Murderer: Karla Homolka (serial killer)

“We were from the same womb.” Karla Homolka isn’t the first serial killer that comes to mind.  Furthermore, she isn’t the first female serial killer that comes to mind.  Likely, Aileen Wuornos, Elizabeth Báthory, and Nannie Doss get the nod first. Nonetheless Karla, and her husband, Paul Bernardo, managed to infuse more unnecessary evil, specifically death in the world.  The Canadian serial killer was convicted of manslaughter for her three murders (cue up the eye rolls), of which her hubby also raped the victims.  Disturbingly, now free, in 2017, she was volunteering at a Montreal elementary school.

White Lung captures the murderous incidents from the perspective of Homolka on “Sister.” Why is the song titled sister? Well, Karla’s sister, Tammy, was one of the victims…

“You’ll burn a bit, my little sister
He’ll drop and taste the best of you
He will cement you into garbage
I swear I miss all of you.
…Collapse your brain into rivers
My heart is pure, vain surprise
He swore he loved only the back of you
I choked and bathed in the lie.”

“Sister” appeared previously on the playlist, Chilling Songs About Serial Killers, Take 5.

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10. Perfume Genius, “Look Out, Look Out”

Learning • Matador • 2010

Murderer: Mary Bell

Mary Bell killed young – before age 11.  Perfume Genius gives the British serial killer of two young boys a song, “Look Out, Look Out” (Learning, 2011), describing her shameless crimes.  The performance is by Perfume Genius is tender – it’s a ballad – but definitely disturbing.  According to Chase Whale of Serial Killer Shop: “At age 11, she and a friend strangled and mutilated two preschool boys. Her trial, one of the most sensational of the twentieth century, showed a defiant child who killed ‘solely for the pleasure and excitement.’”

“Mary, Mary Bell / With an uppercase M / All your neighbors know / What your mother sells / But you carved out a name / for yourself.” Oh geez.  Mary’s mom was a prostitute, which is what Perfume Genius references when he sings, “All your neighbors know / what your mother sells.”  The “carved” part plays into the mutilation that Mary committed to victim Brian, who was just three years old.  Interestingly, Mary Bell is free.

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11. Opera Diabolicus, “Blood Countess Bathory”

1614 • Metalville • 2012

Murderer: Elizabeth Báthory (serial killer)

“Beware! You don’t know what I’ve seen, what she hides in her Chamber below / Beware of the devil enchantress / Every thought will bring you despair / Her thaumaturgy is stronger than you’ll ever know.” Swedish metal band Opera Diabolicus tackles the infamous Blood Countess, Elizabeth Báthory. The collective doesn’t merely focus on just one song, but dedicates an entire album, 1614.  The main attraction is “Blood Countess Bathory,” in all its hellishness.

Throughout the course of “Blood Countess Bathory,” Opera Diabolicus does a superb job capturing her twistedness.

“Thy deeds are over, we’ve torn down your gate
The trial has begun, your accomplices arraigned
Blood on the wall, blood on the floor
For what they have done their heads are going to roll
Blood on the wall, blood on her hands
No words passed your lips but silence means yes
Gone are dreams, return to me
Can’t you see I’m Countess Báthory
Countess Báthory.”

“Blood Countess Bathory” has appeared on numerous playlists, including A Bloody Soundtrack to Countess Elizabeth Báthory and  33 Great, If Disturbing Songs About Serial Killers.

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12. OOMPH!, “Mary Bell”

XXV • Universal Music GmbH • 2015

Murderer: Mary Bell (serial killer)

“This nightmare was real / And it was never over / Heaven watches / When little hands do evil.” Given that OOMPH! Is a German band, the original lyrics for “Mary Bell” are in German.  Thankfully, Google Translate exists, not to mention a ready-made translation of the song! As for serial killer Mary Bell, in reiteration from her first entry on this list, she killed extremely young, at the age of 11.

OOMPH! successfully describes the coldness of one of the youngest serial killers of all time.  The band spares the detail of the murders, focusing solely on the “wiring.” The product of an unloving and un-nurturing environment, Bell clearly wasn’t set up for success so to speak.

“She was thrown into the world
Her mother herself was
Still a child, to whom love was foreign
Cold and remote…
It was in the summer that an empty house
Cast a spell over her
She wanted to perform the worst
That you can…
The sun rose,
Only coldness was within her
Empty eyes like steel-gray glass
Heaven remained silent
She couldn't feel anything
Not guilt, not pity
Not even the dew on the grass…”

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13. The Smiths, “Suffer Little Children”

The Smiths • Warner Music UK • 1984

Murderer: Myra Hindley (serial killer) 

“But fresh lilaced moorland fields / Cannot hid the stolid stench of death.” Eerie. “Suffer Little Children” is the penultimate track from The Smiths’ 1984 self-titled debut.  The Smiths were an English band from 80s, led by Morrissey, who continued his career as a solo artist.  “Suffer Little Children” references the infamous child murders committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.  These murders were known as the Moors murders.

Morrissey mentions the victims of Brady and Hindley by name.

“Lesley-Anne, with your pretty white beads
Oh John, you’ll never be a man
And you’ll never see your home again
Oh Manchester, so much to answer for
Edward, see those alluring lights?
Tonight, will be your very last night.”

Creepy. Interestingly, Ian Brady is left out of the name dropping.  Myra Hindley, not so much.

“Hindley wakes and Hindley says
Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, and says:
‘Oh, wherever he has done, I have done.’”

“Suffer Little Children” has appeared on numerous playlists, including 33 Great, If Disturbing Songs About Serial Killers.

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[Photo Credits: American, Beeswing, Decomposed, Domino, Matador, Mercury, Metal Blade, Metalville, Nuclear Blast, Pexels, Pixabay, SideOneDummy, Universal Music, Warner Music UK]

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