Was there widespread fear/media panic of serial killers in the 70s and 80s?

[Agonized-Statism]

Serial killing was especially prominent during that time due to urbanization and relative affluence (harder to be Michael Myers when you're busy fighting World Wars/Korea/Vietnam, working over 40 hours a week, or dead from Polio), and stories circulated more due to advancements in communications technology (TV). In tandem with the anti-cult movement and anxieties over the uptick in violent crime, it played into the narrative of the day that the US and its utopian suburbia was in irreversible decline. Movies like Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre were outright said to be statements on American decline, in fact.

The number of active serial killers in the country peaked in 1989 and has trended downward ever since: less frequent use of parole, improved forensic technology, more cautious parenting, and as with other violent crimes, the first post-Baby Boom generation coming of age. The declinist narrative fell out of fashion with the end of the Cold War, so serial killers were relegated to parody movies like Scream and those really cheesy (but fun) Halloween sequels. Declinist anxiety has, of course, returned, and terrorism no longer monopolizes it, so I suspect that's why they're getting popular again. They're still sort of looked at as retro, though, and school shooters sort of occupy their niche now.