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Daily Inspiration Quote by Pat Brown

"In reality, serial killers are of average intelligence"

About this Quote

Pat Brown’s line pokes a hole in the lurid myth that serial killers are twisted geniuses playing chess with the police. It works because it disappoints the audience on purpose. True-crime culture trains us to expect the “criminal mastermind” archetype: the Hannibal Lecter glow-up that turns violence into an IQ flex and, conveniently, makes the horror feel containable. If the killer is a rare genius, then ordinary life is safe; the threat is exceptional, almost museum-grade.

Calling them “average intelligence” drags the subject back to an uglier place: the most frightening thing about predatory people isn’t their brilliance, it’s their persistence, their opportunism, and the social conditions that let them repeat harm. Brown’s phrasing is blunt and deflating, a corrective aimed as much at consumers as at cops. It hints that investigative failures often aren’t a battle lost to intellect, but to bias, bureaucracy, under-resourced departments, and patterns of victims being ignored. Average intelligence can still exploit predictable systems: people who won’t report, communities that aren’t believed, institutions that don’t connect dots.

As an entertainer’s claim, it’s also a branding move against sensationalism. Brown positions herself as the grown-up in the room, refusing the glamour of villain-as-genius. The subtext is a warning to viewers: stop romanticizing the predator. The danger isn’t a superbrain; it’s a society that keeps giving an ordinary monster room to operate.

Quote Details

TopicTruth
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Brown, Pat. (2026, January 16). In reality, serial killers are of average intelligence. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-reality-serial-killers-are-of-average-90118/

Chicago Style
Brown, Pat. "In reality, serial killers are of average intelligence." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-reality-serial-killers-are-of-average-90118/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"In reality, serial killers are of average intelligence." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-reality-serial-killers-are-of-average-90118/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.

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Serial Killers: Average Intelligence, Not Masterminds
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Pat Brown is a Entertainer from USA.

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