Dennis Nilsen was born on November 23, 1945 in Fraserburgh, Scotland. His parents were Olav Nilsen, a Norwegian soldier who fled Norway when it was invaded by Germany and his mother, Betty Nilsen, was a local girl and daughter of a religious family. His parents divorced in 1949. Religion dominated his childhood and only his grandfather could get close to him. When Dennis was 6, he found out his grandfather had died when he saw the corpse in a coffin on top of the dining-room table. Dennis joined the army when he was 15 and left school. He enlisted in the catering corps but left when he reached the rank of corporal. The death of his grandfather was a huge effect in Nilsens mind.
