'Serial killer' called The Howard Stern Show to say he murdered 12 prostitutes for the 'sense of power'

An alleged serial killer sent chills down listener's spines after calling into The Howard Stern Show in one of the show's most haunting episodes.

The Howard Stern Show has been on the radio airwaves for quite some time - but it is highly unlikely they've ever had an episode as creepy as one back in 1997.

An anonymous caller - who told the host to refer to him as 'Clay' - called into the show and claimed to have killed 12 women.

He even calmly gave answers about himself and the reason why he kills people

A recording of the haunting phone call has since been shared on social media - terrifying listeners.

The big question is - was this caller telling the truth?

First, let’s look at the conversation - Clay said that he chose to murder the women because of a 'sense of power' he gained from it.

He went on to claim that he had planned on leaving clues for detectives at the crime scenes, but there was no need.

"I wanted to baffle people, but it turned out that no one noticed for a long time," he told Stern.

"I never sent the clues, I never left anything, you know, I wanted to add my little signature."

When asked about the timeline of his alleged murders, Clay told the host and his producer, Robin, that he hadn't killed in almost a year.

The 'serial killer' called into The Howard Stern Show. (Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

When the host asked if he planned on taking his own life, Clay said: "If I killed myself, I'd miss the next Batman movie."

Chillingly, he then went on to explain why he hadn't murdered another woman in almost 12 months.

"I really don't know, Howard. Part of it had to do with my car broke down," he said. "Well, that was the reason for a month, but after that, I guess it was all self-control."

Howard then asked him if he still wanted to kill women, to which Clay replied: “Sure.”

The caller was then probed about his background, saying he had not been abused as a child and that he now had a ‘couple of kids’ but was not married to the mother.

The very dark conversation continued with Howard and Robin asking Clay whether he enjoyed watching the women struggle, and how he did it.

When asked about the timeline of his alleged murders, Clay told the host and his producer, Robin, that he hadn't killed in almost a year. (TheTalentReport/YouTube)

“Actually none of them really struggle,” he said before Howard interjects to ask why he uses a hammer.

That didn’t stop people from theorising, with some suspecting that convicted killer Russell Ellwood was the culprit.

According to Criminal Minds, the former taxi driver was charged with the murder of 30-year-old Cheryl Lewis, one of 26 women, many of them sex workers, who had been found dead in areas around New Orleans between 1991 to 1996.

Ellwood was sentenced to life in prison, and while this was for the one murder authorities could pin him on, at the time of his arrest in 1997, he was suspected of being responsible for up to 15 of the killings.

Although some people speculated that he was Clay, this has never been confirmed or commented on by authorities.

As for who Clay is and whether he really did murder anyone, it remains a mystery.

Topics: News, US News, True crime, Celebrity

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.