In the mood to freak yourself out? Always, right!
Lucky for us people who enjoy chilling stories to keep us up at night, Netflix has plenty of true crime-inspired TV shows. Because it's not enough to watch something grim and disturbing, let's watch something that actually happened.
We've rounded up some of Netflix's most chilling shows based on true stories.
Mindhunter.
Mindhunter is one of the best TV shows Netflix has ever created. The series gives a glimpse of the early days of profiling serial killers at the FBI, presented through the eyes of agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany).
The first season touched on serial killers such as Charles Manson and the BTK killer. Manson was a cult leader in the late '60s who was the ringleader behind at least nine murders, including the murder of actress Sharon Tate. The BTK killer was a serial killer who got his name from binding, torturing and killing victims in the '70s to '90s.
Season two focuses on the Atlanta child murders, which was the case of 28 children, adolescents, and adults being killed by Wayne Williams from 1979 to 1981.
The Watcher.
This series is freaky and told in the most over-the-top, camp way imaginable. Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale star as a couple terrorised by a neighbourhood stalker known only as The Watcher.
The real story is even weirder.
In 2014, Derek and Maria Broaddus, along with their three young children, purchased their dream home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. Before the family had even moved in, they began receiving letters from someone called The Watcher.
In the letters, The Watcher said that generations of the writer's family have watched over the home. In following letters, they expressed concern over the couple starting renovations and even threatened to kidnap their three children.
The letters addressed to the Broadduses kept getting creepier, with one in particular said:
"It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone. I would [be] very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream."
The Broadduses decided to put the house back on the market, but they were unable to find a buyer who would tolerate The Watcher's persistent letters. They eventually found someone to rent the house, but on the condition that the Broadduses would install extra security cameras.
Unbelievable.
In August 2008, 18-year-old Marie Adler reported being raped at knifepoint in her Washington apartment. A man tied her up and took photos of her as he raped her, which when relayed to the police was a story treated with cynicism and disbelief. After tearing apart Adler's version of events, the police ended up charging her with making a false report.
This disturbing miscarriage of justice is explored in Netflix's eight-episode series Unbelievable with Katilyn Dever in the role of Marie. Toni Collette and Merritt Wever play the detectives who finally found justice for Marie when a more recent rape case had startling similarities with what Marie endured in 2008.
Dirty John.
Both seasons of Dirty John are important depictions of the ways women can be manipulated and controlled in relationships. The first season, inspired by the podcast of the same name, explores con man John Meehan, who preyed on Debra Newell and her daughters, with the Netflix adaption starring Eric Bana and Connie Britton.
Season two is about Betty Broderick, a complicated woman played incredibly by Amanda Peet. The story follows her love story with Dan Broderick (Christian Slater) which began in 1965, their five-year-long divorce process, which led to Betty murdering Dan and his new wife, Linda Kolkena, while they laid in bed in 1989.
When They See Us.
The 30-year-old case of the 'Central Park Five' is brought back to the surface in the Netflix miniseries, When They See Us. The Central Park Five were a group of five teenagers who were wrongly accused and convicted of raping and beating a white female jogger, Trisha Meili, in 1989.
At the time, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Jr., and Korey Wise were all Black or Latinx teenagers from Harlem who were between the ages of 14 and 16.
When They See Us features an ensemble cast including Jharrel Jerome, Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Jovan Adepo, Michael K. Williams, Joshua Jackson, Blair Underwood and Vera Farmiga.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
This series doesn't need much introduction, considering it became one of the most-watched Netflix Originals on the streaming platform. Evan Peters portrays serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history who tortured, killed and dismembered seventeen boys and men between 1978 and 1991.
Fair warning: Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is not for the faint of heart; creator Ryan Murphy doesn't shy away from the more gruesome and hard-to-watch moments from the killer's history.
Feature image: Netflix.
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