What causes society’s widespread fascination with true crime? Is it wrong to be interested in adaptations of real gruesome corruption? Some people find juicy details about notorious serial killers fascinating, and, fortunately for these viewers, there seems to be new true crime content coming out every week.

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Netflix has released several original docu-series about serial killers. “Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer,” “Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes,” “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” and the original film adaptation, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” starring Zac Efron as the black-hearted Ted Bundy are only a few examples of the streaming service’s subgenre.

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The Netflix original true crime series “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is a recent success starring Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer. ​​According to Netflix, “The first season of the series is projected to reach the landmark number of one billion view hours in the coming weeks. So far, the show has accumulated over 900 million view hours, which makes it one of the most-watched English-language shows to premiere on the streamer ever.”

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It’s rumored that the creators of the show — Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, who also created the popular horror fiction series “American Horror Story” — are working on two more seasons of the true crime series. Fans are speculating that the seasons will be about John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy, but Netflix hasn’t confirmed it yet.

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If you have a true crime obsession, you aren’t the only one. I’m a huge true crime fan myself watching pretty much anything that points its finger at history. 

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I enjoy true crime because it often portrays where our criminal justice system should’ve improved, which can hopefully help us learn from our mistakes and not make assumptions or trust someone just because they “look normal.” A lot of notorious serial killers had run-ins with the law during times they could’ve been caught — when the killer was at the peak of their crimes. For too long, nothing was done, with the crimes being ignored or not investigated until so many victims were affected.

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Watching true crime content also makes me feel more prepared if I ever was put in that situation. But mainly, I desperately want to know what was going on in these serial killers’ minds to commit such unfathomable acts.

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According to journalist Christine Persaud, the true crime genre was originally popularized in 1966 due to Truman Capote’s book “In Cold Blood” and the film adaptation of the story in 1967 about the murder of the Clutter family. The genre has developed rapidly since.

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With the true crime genre more popular than ever, it has me wondering: Why are we so taken with such a dark and disturbing genre? At least with horror movies, you can step back and ground yourself once you remember it isn’t real. But with true crime, there’s something very upsetting and deeply sickening about these real, horrific events, knowing there was so much that could’ve prevented them. So why can’t we stop watching?

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The answer points to escapism and morbid curiosity. Ironically, true crime can ease anxiety because watching these terrible tales can make the viewer feel like their life isn’t so bad — it’s tragic what these victims experienced.

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These stories being rooted in facts can cause an alarming realization for the viewer. Subconsciously, viewers may think understanding how evil people operate could provide a better chance of knowing how to protect themselves.

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“Watching true crime shows, particularly those about killers, provides viewers with a sense of being able to see inside the mind of a killer, thus creating a psychological protective barrier,” said psychotherapist Kathleen Check.

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Does this mean watching a true crime show can be therapeutic? For some people, it may be. There’s comfort in feeling emotions and fears that might have otherwise been repressed. For those who have suffered their own trauma, hearing the stories of others who have gone through trauma as well can oddly function like a type of support group, knowing they’re not alone.

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But obviously, immersing ourselves in such negatively charged content can become taxing. Filling our brains with images of death, malice and downright evil acts through real-life stories can’t be great for our psyches.

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There’s more evidence about the negative impact of “binge-watching” than the negative effects of watching true crime.

 

According to VeryWellHeath, “Over time, binge-watching may harm your health in ways you may not expect. Among the concerns … are decreased physical inactivity, sleep problems and fatigue, blood clots, heart problems, poor diet, social isolation, behavioral addiction and cognitive decline.”

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Whatever the motivation is for watching true crime shows — realized or subconscious, for comfort or simple curiosity — balance is important. 

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Our desire might be to learn about the human condition across the entire spectrum, good and bad, no matter how unbelievably horrific it can be — but it’s important to avoid “painful overstimulation.” After watching a particularly gruesome episode or two of a true crime show, I like to throw on a 20-minute comedy or cooking show to ease my mind. When you lay your head on your pillow at night the last images you see shouldn’t be ones that will disturb your subconscious.

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People can be obsessed with true crime for an endless list of reasons — so don’t hide your love for true crime. After all, some of these shows are sensationalized for dramatic effect — sometimes even criticized for glamorizing killers. Although they’re based on true stories, they’re designed to evoke emotion and keep you watching with every episode leaving you wanting more, which they successfully do.

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The most accurate serial killer movies often include true-life details such as dressing actors in the same clothing victims wore when they were killed or featuring the exact words that were spoken. Movies and shows about real serial killers might even shoot in the same locations where the actual crimes took place.

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These factual details add eerie realism to the stories, and it shows in what you see on screen — transporting viewers back to the moments when these heinous crimes happened.

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Criminologist Dr. Scott Bonn says the appeal of consuming true crime media is simple: “Serial killers excite and enthrall people — much like traffic accidents, train wrecks or natural disasters. People don’t want to look but they can’t look away.” 

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Dr. Bonn compares true crime to the horror genre. We experience an adrenaline and endorphin rush when we’re scared or disturbed. Sometimes we enjoy that fear in a controlled way that is not actually dangerous. Catharsis is the main draw of these genres, and many people refer to their obsession with true crime as a “guilty pleasure.” 

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Crimes motivated by fear, rage or jealousy are easier to comprehend. The circumstantial nature of emotion-driven crimes makes more sense to us than someone motivated to kill strangers. It’s extra terrifying that becoming a serial killer’s victim could come down to just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

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We find it difficult to conceptualize the darkness driving serial killers, and sometimes they do not even understand it themselves. As portrayed in this “Saturday Night Live” skit, women, in particular, are riveted by serial killers. Women tend to have a greater fear of becoming the victim of a motivation-less crime because they are commonly the victims. But also, it’s proven that women are the more empathetic sex and are better at understanding the motivations, emotions and actions of other people — making these senseless crimes all the more confusing and captivating.

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Overall, it seems like being a serial killer content junkie is a normal response to our fears and anxieties. Healthy adults can safely engage in our true crime obsession as long as we are cautious of the effect it may have on our emotional well-being. Therefore, our “guilty pleasure” true crime and serial killer fascination may not be so guilty after all.