There’s only one thing more chilling than a series about a toe-curling crime: a series about a toe-curling crime that actually happened. Knowing that the horrific events playing out on your screen were part of someone’s real-life story ups the viewing stakes considerably.
Whether you remember the cases happening in real time or you’re just hearing about them, true crime series and documentaries have an uncanny way of heightening our senses. We feel the pinpricks of fear on behalf of the victims, the rush of adrenaline as police race to catch the perpetrators, and the pangs of doubt in complex cases, as well as the inevitable stabs of sympathy and rage on behalf of the victims’ families and loved ones.
