The Night Stalker: Fear in the Darkness

He didn’t choose victims. He chose doors that weren’t locked. In 1984,

homes across California became hunting grounds for a man the media would soon name The Night Stalker.

His real name was Richard Ramirez. Unlike most killers, Ramirez didn’t follow a pattern.

He targeted men, women, children, and couples — rich and poor — breaking

into homes under cover of darkness and attacking with shocking unpredictability. He used guns,

knives, blunt force, and fear itself. Some victims survived. Many did not.

Ramirez left behind Satanic symbols and fingerprints — but still managed to vanish night

after night. By 1985, California was paralyzed. People slept with weapons near their