Summary

• Hannibal Lecter, the character from The Silence of the Lambs, was not directly based on a real-life cannibalistic killer but inspired by a real-life surgeon.
• The character of Hannibal Lecter was inspired by Dr. Alfredo Ballí Treviño, a Mexican doctor who murdered his colleague and buried the dismembered body in his aunt's backyard.
• While Thomas Harris potentially drew inspiration from various real-life serial killers, such as Ted Bundy and Ed Kemper, the character of Hannibal Lecter is a combination of different elements and not representative of any one particular murderer.

Outside of being featured in the notoriously chilling 1991 Oscar winner The Silence of the Lambs, the character of Hannibal Lecter actually drew inspiration from a terrifying real-life killer. The name Hannibal Lecter is so well-known that it may be surprising to learn that the infamous character is not directly based on a real-life cannibalistic monster of the same name. Most popularized by Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning performance in The Silence of the Lambs, which won 5 total Academy Awards, Hannibal Lecter has been featured in several different films and television series.

The character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter was created by novelist Thomas Harris who introduced Lecter in his 1981 novel Red Dragon. Lecter had a small role in Red Dragon, which was later adapted into the feature film Manhunter (1986) directed by Michael Mann in which Brian Cox portrays the cannibalistic killer. Harris then published the Red Dragon sequel The Silence of the Lambs in 1988 which led to the creation of the renowned 1991 film of the same name. Hopkins has gone on to reprise the role of Lecter in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002). The character has also notably been portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen in the NBC television series Hannibal (2013 - 2015).

Hannibal Lecter Was Inspired By Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño

The notorious Dr. Hannibal Lecter character was inspired by Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño, who in 1959, became the last criminal to be condemned to death on Mexican soil. Harris had met Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño while he was working for a longstanding American magazine called Argosy in the 1960s as a journalist. Harris had visited a prison in Mexico during that time to interview Dykes Askew Simmons, an American who had allegedly killed three Mexican siblings. While in the prison, Simmons had been shot in the leg by a guard, and Doctor Salazar operated on him to remove the bullets.

Harris interviewed Doctor Salazar about Simmons only to later discover that he was a murderer named Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño. Ballí came from a wealthy family and was an accomplished surgeon before he was discovered to have murdered his colleague and alleged boyfriend, Jesus Castillo Rangel. The way that Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño was incredibly precise and disturbing, dismembering his body and placing all the parts in a small box only to bury it in his aunt's backyard and be arrested the day after. Ballí never denied the charges and was eventually released from prison after a 20-year sentence, resuming work as a physician and dying in 2009.

How Alfredo Ballí Treviño's Crimes Shaped The Hannibal Lecter Character

The key similarity between Hannibal Lecter and Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño is the same eerie elegance and conversational charm that they both possess.

While Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño is quite different from Hannibal Lecter primarily in that he was not a cannibal, Harris did include many features of his demeanor, etiquette, and personality to go into the shaping of the Lecter character. Ballí was notably a sophisticated and cultured person who stood very still, much like Hopkins' portrayal of Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. The key similarity between Hannibal Lecter and Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño is the same eerie elegance and conversational charm that they both possess which nearly suspends the fear of who they really are and what they are capable of.

Both Hannibal Lecter and Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño are of Lithuanian descent, which is another key characteristic that is similar between them. It is also considered that Harris took some inspiration from Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño for the other serial killer in The Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill. Outside of the characteristics pertaining to Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño's personality, intelligence, and sinisterly innocent and even charming appearance, there are not a whole lot of similarities between him and Hannibal Lecter.

What Happened To The Real Alfredo Ballí Treviño

The real-life Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño was remarkably released from prison 20 years after his sentencing for his crime of ion in 1981. Originally thought to be sentenced to death in the Mexican prison where Harris had found him, Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño went back to his hometown in Monterrey, Mexico, and tried to resume a life out of the limelight. Ballí was very reluctant to speak about his violent past until he finally agreed to a newspaper interview in 2008 following his diagnosis of prostate cancer. The fact that the real-life inspiration for Hannibal Lecter walked free from 1981 to 2009 is quite shocking.

Ironically, Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño was released from prison the exact same year that Harris would publish Red Dragon and give birth to the Hannibal Lecter character. It's unclear whether the timing of Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño's release from prison and the publication of Red Dragon are somehow connected or simply a rather large coincidence. Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño never made an official comment on Harris' novels or the Hannibal Lecter character even after the massive success of The Silence of the Lambs.

The Other Serial Killers That Inspired Hannibal Lecter

The highly intelligent aspect of Hannibal Lecter's character is likely inspired in part by infamous real-life serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Ed Kemper.

There have been several assertions by police detectives, analysts, and various writers of other real-life serial killers that may have inspired Harris to create the Dr. Hannibal Lecter character. The highly intelligent aspect of Hannibal Lecter's character is likely inspired in part by infamous real-life serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Ed Kemper. Bundy in particular was known for his charm which made him one of the most "likeable" or unassuming known serial killers of all time. There are also loose associations to real-life cannibals such as William Coyner, also known as Alonzo Robinson, who had reportedly salted and cured the bodies of some of his victims.

Hannibal Lecter is truly one of the greatest cinematic villains ever created but, thankfully, is not exactly representative of any one particular murderer. While Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño is often credited as being the direct inspiration for the creation of Hannibal Lecter's character by Thomas Harris, Ballí was not a cannibal, indicating that the most infamous part of Lecter's character was added to enhance the overall effect of the antagonist's contradictory nature for both Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs. It is undeniable, however, that Harris' encounter with Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño was a life-changing event that would eventually revolutionize the horror genre in American film history.