‘Criminal Minds’ Most Terrifying Killer Is Still Unmatched

When a show is on the air as long as Criminal Minds has been, it gives you a lot of bad guys of the week. Some are more memorable, like Season 4’s Mason (Garret Dillahunt) and Lucas (Paul Rae) Turner or Season 8’s John Curtis (or The Replicator), played in two episodes by the great Mark Hamill. But others tend to fall to the wayside, which is unfortunate because some of those tossed aside are the worst of the worst. They may not be flashy. They may not have a huge body count. They’re definitely monsters, though. And wouldn’t you know it? The most terrifying killer in the series is one of those often forgotten ones: Season 3’s Stanley Howard (Michael O’Keefe).

Who is Stanley Howard in ‘Criminal Minds’?

Dr. Stanley Howard had a hard childhood. Consistently locked in closets and berated by an abusive mother, Stanley developed an immobilizing fear of the dark that has remained with him into adulthood. However, on the outside, his adult life seems happy. He married Jane (Stephanie Venditto), adopted a child, and became a psychiatrist due to his mother’s influence. It sounds like a great way to turn a trauma into a better future for others, doesn’t it? He wants to help others with their fears and healing from abuse. He even started his own charity for abused children. What a great guy!

Except, there’s a dark side to the good doctor. After leaving his practice, he began putting flyers out under an office called The Goodman Institute, a place that helps people overcome their phobias. Gaining a revolving door of young people new to the city and saddled with big fears, Stanley would sit with them for a few sessions to figure out what they were scared of and earn their trust before having them participate in an extreme and deadly form of exposure therapy.

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The Fear Factor is High With Stanley Howard

That is one of the biggest reasons Stanley is such a terrifying killer. Being murdered is horrifying under any circumstances, but being killed specifically by your biggest fear, which is weaponized by a person you thought you could trust, is particularly cruel and cold-blooded. Throughout the episode, we see Stanley attempt three of his murders, though fortunately, his last victim, Missy (Danielle Sapia), survives. Each one feels more horrific than the last, especially in terms of Stanley’s reactions. The first has him locking a claustrophobic woman, Jenny (Jennifer Keyes), in a box, and as she screams, he simply closes the sliding door over the window and spreads magazines on top of the box. The second is drowning the hydrophobic Patrick (John Bobek) by releasing the safety hook he was holding and watching as he goes under. Lastly, he buries Missy alive. Each time, he shows no remorse or any other emotion. He simply picks up his journal and writes a few notes on the victim’s anxiety level. It’s all very clinical, and this is confirmed when Stanley tells Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) that the victims donated themselves to science before jumping off of a building.

However, it’s not just the use of fear and psychology that makes Stanley so terrifying. It’s that he’s a doctor. When we step into a doctor’s office, be it for our mind or body, we place trust in the person taking care of us. We trust they’re good, want to be ethical, and uphold their Hippocratic Oath. We trust that they care about our well-being and won’t do anything to jeopardize it, especially not intentionally. As a doctor, though, Stanley breaks every assumption we hold about the people we’re supposed to find trustworthy. He is malicious. He is hidden in plain sight, disguised as a professional. He has access to the deeply personal parts of his patients, which he uses against them. It wouldn’t be surprising if Missy could never talk to another therapist again without the fear of being hurt again. We fear betrayal. And Stanley is the perfect example of our worst fear coming true.

‘Criminal Minds’ Stanley Howard is Similar to Some Real Killers

If all of that wasn’t enough to make your skin crawl, then perhaps knowing that Stanley is real will. Okay, maybe not real, but he might be inspired by some real-world serial killers. There’s, unfortunately, no shortage of examples of doctors using their careers for evil instead of good. In fact, one such criminal, Christopher Duntsch, even received a docuseries, Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story, in 2021. However, Duntsch didn’t operate the same way Stanley did; as a surgeon, he purposely botched surgeries and escaped suspicion by moving to different hospitals. There are dozens of other examples of killer doctors, so it isn’t a stretch to think that the writers of Criminal Minds had some of these doctors in mind when creating Stanley.

However, the killer that bears the most resemblance to Stanley is the Cleveland Torso Murderer, or the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run. The Cleveland Torso Murderer, unlike Stanley, was never caught for the twelve murders attributed to them. This killer targeted people they likely thought wouldn’t be missed – not unlike Stanley, who targeted people who lived alone and had no nearby friends or family – and had twelve victims of both genders, as did Stanley. All of the Cleveland Torso Murderer’s victims were found near bodies of water, as were Stanley’s (except for Missy.) The Cleveland Torso Murderer was thought to be a doctor, given the state of the victims, and Stanley was able to be profiled as someone with a psychiatry background due to the causes of death aligning with common phobias. While there has been no confirmation that Stanley was based on this killer, there are so many similarities that it seems far more than coincidence. It makes Stanley even more terrifying to think that he could have been based on a killer who was never caught; how long would he have continued to kill if he hadn’t been found out?

There are so many choices for Criminal Minds’ most terrifying killer. After all, the series has 324 episodes and even more if you count​​​​​​​ Criminal Minds: Evolution. However, it’s often the ones we least expect who have the most impact, and that’s why Dr. Stanley Howard edges out the competition. Using people’s phobias to kill them, bringing the fear of dastardly doctors to the forefront, and sharing striking similarities with a murderer whose identity will likely never be discovered, Stanley is an unholy combination of nightmares wrapped up in a completely nondescript package that allows him to blend in with the crowd. Hopefully, he didn’t spawn any copycats for our pals at the BAU to track down because he’s one killer that doesn’t need to evolve to be horrifying.

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds follows the elite team of FBI profilers in the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they analyze and track down the country’s most dangerous serial killers and criminals. Led by experienced agents like Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, and later David Rossi, the team delves into the minds of the perpetrators, using psychological profiling and investigative techniques to anticipate their next moves. Each episode features intense and often chilling cases, while also exploring the personal lives and challenges faced by the team members.

Release Date

September 22, 2005

Cast

shemar moore , Joe Mantegna , Kirsten Vangsness , Paget Brewster , Thomas Gibson , Matthew Gray Gubler , A.J. Cook , Mandy Patinkin , Lola Glaudini , Rachel Nichols , Jennifer Love Hewitt , Aisha Tyler

Main Genre

Crime

Seasons

17

Network

CBS

Streaming Service(s)

Paramount+

Franchise(s)

Criminal Minds

Showrunner

Erica Messer

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Criminal Minds is streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+