Nineteenth century America was awash with diabolical imagery. It was everywhere. It was used to link the Devil to everything from immigrants to abortion, the Catholic Church, Native Americans, and even outspoken women, so it can’t be a surprise to learn that it was also used to describe some of the most bloodthirsty killers of the day. 

For anyone who might think that deviant sex murderers and serial killers are monsters of modern times, then let me introduce you to the Joseph Lapage, one of the most depraved killers that you’ve likely never heard of. 

Lapage was a sexual psychopath and fit the modern definition of the classic lust killer, but his contemporaries described him in less clinical terms. They called him a “fiend incarnate” and more commonly, a “demon of the bottomless pit.”

For the people of the era, it was nearly impossible to believe that a human being could be capable of the things that Lapage did. Such acts, they insisted, could only be carried out by a servant of the Devil -- a monster that could have come only from hell. 

And perhaps they were right. 

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