Chikatilo's ability to lure people to their deaths

Most remarkable in those two bloody months was Chikatilo's ability to lure to their deaths young people who would not normally have dreamed of going off with a strange man. In contrast to prostitutes like Petrosyan, Ryabyenko or Shalapinia, they certainly had no intention of having sex with him. Yet he still managed to catch them like a spider catches a fly, tying them up in a deadly web of compliments, platitudes and proffered advice. The tactic was always the same, although the precise formula was tailored to each. Approaching them as a complete stranger, Chikatilo played on his harmless exterior in order to win over their confidence, talking to them about the weather or holidays or other such neutral subjects. And most times it went no further than that. The intended victim would walk away after a few minutes, oblivious of the true intentions of the man to whom they had been talking and of how close they had come to death. There must have been thousands such instances during his twelve-year reign of terror. Chikatilo didn't care. For just a few times he struck lucky and the victim agreed to go off with him.

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