'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYH/8QAIRAAAQMEAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDEQAFBhIEEyNBcZH/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACA//EABcRAAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAjH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AMxwK4soxDIG9HHOC644dFwVjtiCPHuri2ZHjqbbxA7Zz1A0gK1YYImBMSmftKVKdY2f/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Halloween season is almost here, and a rising fascination for true crime docuseries is felt all around again. As the veil thins, horror lovers revisit poltergeist tales, demonic hauntings, and spirits, while those who are into true, bone-chilling, real-world darkness hunt for shows like Netflix's Homicide or Conversations With a Killer.
These shows often use realistic, found footage style narration, recording events as they happened. These multi-hour portrayals took audiences to a deep, unsettling world of darkness.
From serial killings to disturbing homicide cases, the true crime shows induce fear, they hold a brilliant mirror to the loopholes in the legal system, and the characters involved. When reimagined on screen, cases that remained unsolved or those that were solved after a long chase give audiences a feel of puzzle-solving. As investigations launch to trace the culprit, a more serious dive is taken into their disturbed psyches.
Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion. Readers’ discretion is advised.
10 true-crime docuseries to binge before Halloween
1. Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)
Mood: Unsettling, Rage-Inducing, and Profoundly Sad
The four-episode Netflix special documents the story of Ted Bundy, a notorious serial killer who escaped arrest for a long time. The show is a searing portrait of the killer using his never-before-heard audio recordings made on death row, alongside interviews from surviving victims.
The opening episode features Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth, who discuss the project, establishing at the very beginning the gravity of the The series chronicles his four-year killing spree across seven states, his arrests, and his eventual execution, providing an unsettling look at his twisted mind.
2. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (2021)
Mood: Tense, Gritty, Intense
This docuseries takes you to the chilling nights of Los Angeles, which was once shaken to its core by the emergence of a notorious serial killer named Richard Ramirez. In only 4 episodes, the show was able to capture the suffocating paranoia of Los Angeles during the summer of 1985. Focusing on the work of the two detectives named Gil Carrillo and Frank Salerno, the chase for the culprit unfolds.
When the killings get rampant at night, the perpetrator is named the Night Stalker. The documentary throws light on the relentless police work that went into the identification of the killer as Richard Ramirez.
3. Making A Murderer (2015-2018)
Mood: Suspicion, Injustice, and Outrage
This docuseries revolves around Steven Avery, a man who was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and later released based on DNA evidence. Later, Avery was once again charged with the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach.
The series closely depicts his 1985 conviction to the 2007 murder trial. Angels like the conflict of interest within the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department and the coerced confession of Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, get prime seats in this series.
4. The Ripper (2020)
Mood: Atmospheric, Critical, and Historical
The Ripper chronicles the infamous period from 1975 to 1980, tracing the Yorkshire Ripper murders that plunged the North of England into an unforeseen darkness. 13 women were dead, and the killer evaded arrest.
The series, with its four installments, observes the massive British police hunt for the culprit of modern history. The show portrayed how, in the face of an unprecedented crime against women and growing national unrest, there was a profound sense of helplessness.
5. The Staircase (2022)
Mood: Forensic, Ambiguous, Grey
The Staircase is a dark dive into the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson, who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase. The series unfolds through her husband, crime novelist Michael Peterson, as he navigates the long, twisted legal battles to get justice.
The series digs deeper than most retellings and dissects theories from an accidental fall to the infamous 'blow poke' possibility.
6. Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist (2018)
Mood: Conspiratorial, bizarre.
This docuseries dives deep into the death of Brian Wells, who, after a bank robbery went wrong, was suspected to be coerced into doing the crime with a bomb strapped on his neck.
Brian was a pizza delivery guy, and this made him get the name "pizza bomber" of Erie, Pennsylvania. After the August 2003 robbery took place, authorities ultimately arrested Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. The documentary suggests that there was more to the story than was known to the world.
7. Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields (2022)
Mood: Sobering, Procedural, and Desolate
This Netflix Crime Scene docuseries focuses on the chilling mystery of the Texas Killing Fields. The one-season special focuses on the unexplained death of over 30 women whose remains were discovered across a 25-acre stretch of land between Houston and Galveston, Texas.
These haunting incidents spanning the 1970s to the 1990s were depicted in the three-episode series (each about 50 minutes long) exploring how the field became the center of an agonizing search for answers.
8. The Confession Killer (2019)
Mood: Skeptical, Systemically Critical, and Thought-Provoking
Another 2019 true crime series, The Confession Killer, compels viewers to question the narrative guide. It revolves around the case of Henry Lee Lucas, a man who confessed to hundreds of murders across the country.
The documentary scrutinized in detail the veracity of the matter and suggested that there may have been a closing score of cold cases. The show exposes systemic flaws, destabilizing the reliability of known narratives.
9. Don't F*** With Cats: Hunting An Internet Killer (2019)
Mood: Compulsive, Morally Complex, and Viscerally Disturbing
Netflix's Don't F*** With Cats retells the story of Luka Magnotta, a fame-obsessed killer who switched from killing kittens online to taking a human life. The docuseries centers on the online sleuths who pursued him, culminating in a glaring question: Did their relentless attention inadvertently encourage the murderer?
10. Homicide: New York (2024)
Mood: Gritty, Procedural, and Authentic
This show was produced by Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, offering an unfiltered look into the NYPD’s elite homicide squads. Veteran law enforcement officers from Manhattan North and Manhattan South retell the most puzzling cases handled by them.
The series focuses on the real detectives, prosecutors, and forensic experts who tackle New York's most discussed and heinous crimes.
Trending
Follow Soap Central for more.
Reply
