List of serial killers before 1900
The following is a list of serial killers i.e. a person who murders more than one person, in two or more separate events over a period of time, for primarily psychological reasons who began committing their crimes before 1900. This list does not include mass murderers, spree killers, war criminals, or members of democidal governments. This list is chronological by default, but can be re-ordered using the button at the top of each column.
Unconfirmed serial killers
The existence of the following serial killers is dubious or contradicts the accepted historical record:| Name | Country | Years active | Notes |
| Poison ring | Roman Republic | 331 BC | According to Livy, there is a story that several Roman men died in what was believed to be a plague, until a servant woman revealed that they had been poisoned by a conspiracy of matrons. According to this story, twenty patrician women arrested admitted to preparing concoctions but claimed that they were medicinal; when they drank it themselves to prove it, they died immediately. The story states that a total of 170 matrons were arrested. Livy says that "their act was regarded as a prodigy, and suggested madness rather than felonious intent". |
| Andrew Christie | Scotland | 1320–1339 | Called "Christie-Cleek". Purported Perth butcher turned road bandit, murderer and cannibal during a severe famine. |
| Christman Genipperteinga |  Roman Empire.png" /> |