The Harpe Brothers: America’s First Serial Killers

Did You Know that America’s first known serial killers weren’t operating in the shadows of a modern city, but on the wild frontiers of the 18th century?  Meet Micajah and Wiley Harpe—two men so brutal, even their fellow outlaws were terrified of them. Known as Big Harpe and Little Harpe, these two left a trail of death and fear across Kentucky and Tennessee during the early years of the United States. The Harpes were born in the 1760s, likely in North Carolina, to Scottish immigrant families. Though they were cousins, they