October is a month full of everything and anything spooky. It is time for ghosts and zombies and skeletons. I have watched a lot of horror movies throughout my life, and one thing I can tell you is, there is nothing scarier than the real world. With all the jump scares and lurking monsters, I have never felt more fear than when I am learning about the monstrous acts that come people can enact on other humans. It is truly terrifying.
I have always been a documentary fan, and lately Netflix and other streaming services have been releasing really interesting and well researched documentaries and docu-series about a myriad of topics, from the food industry to fashion, there is something for everyone.
What I love to watch are the documentaries on crime. It all started when I was just mindlessly watching TV and Dateline or 20/20 came on. Those hour-long features of horrible crimes always intrigued me and spooked me at the same time. Netflix is now creating interesting and real tales of crimes and it has given me even more to watch. Next on this list, finally read a true crime novel!
It is terrifying and sad to watch these crime documentaries, but if you love them as much as I do, here are a few I have found on Netflix!
1. Unsolved Mysteries
This is one I have been hearing a lot of people talk about on Twitter. It is a series that follows multiple unsolved crimes. It is a Dateline or a 20/20 type show which is why I love it so much. Something I can watch when I don’t want to think too much, because I am so used to the format.
I have anxiety, and one of the things I have read is that it is often calming to watch crime shows and documentaries because they all follow a certain model, and you know what is going to happen next. I am not saying use this specific show, if you have anxiety, because these are called unsolved for a reason. But it works for me, so it might work for others.
3. I Am a Killer
When we are talking spooky, there is nothing spookier than the mind of a killer, and that is exactly what you get a peek of in this show. It is killers explaining their own crimes and their feelings around it.
I do believe that this show can be dangerous, as it gives a platform to murderers instead of their victims. But it is definitely interesting and honestly entertaining to watch. You just have to remember that there are really people behind those pictures of the victims that they show.
4. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Looks like there is a lot of shows hearing from the minds of a killer. This one is particularly interesting because it is the taped of the infamous serial killer, Ted Bundy, while he was in prison. It is absolutely chilling and horrifying to hear the complete lack of remorse in this man who killed so many people.
I initially started watching this series because I watched Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil, and Vile. It is a film created around the crimes of Ted Bundy, and it was incredibly well done. I found it so interesting, I wanted to get a more realistic look at the person.
5. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez
This one was honestly the most horrifying one on this list because it involved a child. I felt so uncomfortable and dirty after watching this. This is a child abuse story that could have been stopped so many times but wasn’t.
This is one that really had be scared of humanity. It is so insane that there are people who would do so many harmful things to a child, and this child went through so many social security check without any aid. It is truly horrifying and chilling.
The real world is so much scarier than anything paranormal and supernatural. Which is probably why it is so cathartic for us to see those evil lurking creatures being defeated in film. It might give us a little hope that the same thing can happen in the real world, even if that hope is fleeting. Sometimes you need it, especially with how the world is right now, in 2020.
Do you have any recommendations for some chilling true crime documentaries? Let me know in the comments below!
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[…] You can check out my other Netflix recommendations here, where I talk about spooky series that I have been enjoying. I also have a list of true crime documentaries I recommend, which you can find here. […]