Reality can often be stranger than fiction, and these 15 true crime documentaries prove it. From kidnappings and unexplained disappearances to shocking conspiracies you might have never heard of, these stories are so disturbing you’d swear they were made up. But, believe it or not, everything happened, which might just be scarier to think about than the documentaries themselves.
American Nightmare
When a couple experiences a home invasion and a kidnapping, the police suspect the whole scenario was staged. However, when the victim comes into the light, it flips the whole scene on its head and brings to life all the horrors they experienced. The couple now has to face the various traumas brought about not only by the perpetrator but also by the media, as well as the police.
American Murder: The Family Next Door
With the use of archival footage from recordings, text messages, home video footage, law enforcement recordings, and social media posts, the story of the Watts family is told. Although American Murder starts rather calmly, retelling the story step by step, it soon starts to dawn just how disturbing the situation is, as the title suggests, that something similar can easily happen to your neighbor.
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
It’s 1980s Los Angeles, and after a series of gruesome satanic murders and sexual assaults, a new nocturnal monster seems to have reared its head. The ordeal is filled with chaos and multiple victims, and eventually links back to a satanic killer who is known to be one of America’s most deranged men.
13th
Crime isn’t always attributed to criminals. Sometimes it can be present in the very system used to imprison such criminals. 13th aims to connect the dots between the prison system, systemic racism in the U.S., and slavery. It shows us how criminal justice can be used for more than simply housing criminals, but also oppressing an entire race.
Cropsey
What once haunted New York City as an urban legend quickly became a horrifying reality, still mentioned today. After five children disappeared from the same area, Cropsey’s infamy grew, but nobody expected the boogeyman to be a local convicted child kidnapper by the name of Andre Rand. Not only were his known and suspected crimes blamed on Cropsey, it shows us that sometimes there can be truth in myth and legend.
The Ripper
In the 1970s, a series of women were killed in a gruesome fashion, much like the atrocities of Jack the Ripper in the 1880s. The perpetrator was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper and slaughtered 13 women in West Yorkshire, England. The Ripper will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions linked to one of England’s oldest serial killers, but luckily, this one slips!
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
What started as an innocent visit to a hotel turned into a nightmare for Elisa Lam that had the internet in anarchy. Not only was she discovered in one of the strangest places imaginable, but when her death is ruled as an accidental drowning, it doesn’t go well with her family and the internet. Explore one of the strangest vanishings in Los Angeles history.
The Central Park Five
The Central Park Five is one of the most topic-heavy documentaries you can get your hands on. It discusses the rape and assault of Trisha Meili in 1989 and shows the differing public opinions as the case progressed. What started as a five-man conviction that eased the public soon turned into a heated discussion of police coercion and racial profiling.
Beware the Slenderman
Fictional characters may not exist, but in a child’s mind, it is often difficult to understand fact from fiction. When two girls became obsessed with an internet creepypasta called Slender Man, they started to think it wanted them to murder in his name. What follows is an elaborate plan by two small girls to murder one of their friends without understanding the horrors they could have been exposed to.
John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise
John Wayne Gacy is known to be one of the most two-faced serial killers in American history. He was beloved by his community and thought of as the happy clown of his community, but his secrets were much darker than anyone could have imagined. Through various interviews and unearthed footage, his horrifying crimes eventually come to light and reveal how he evaded justice for years.
Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story
Seven-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped in 1972, but when he returned home, a new horror story began. Steven’s trauma ran so deep that he struggled to remember his name, which was changed to Dennis by his kidnapper. The documentary shows how the actions of an adult can forever change not only a young boy’s life but that of an entire family.
The Devil Next Door
The Devil Next Door shows the various legal battles of John Demjanjuk, who was accused of being the German-Nazi prison camp guard Ivan the Terrible. It shows his journey as a denaturalized American citizen and how he was tried, convicted, and put on death row in Israel for his crimes against humanity.
Deep Web
Deep Web shows us the dark side of the internet, from drugs, whistleblower operations, and hackers that exist beyond law enforcement’s control. Deep Web focuses on the Silk Road, an anonymous marketplace that was founded by Ross Ulbricht. It follows his arrest and uncovers the ethical gray areas of digital freedom and the dangers of the internet.
Inside Job
Inside Job does a brilliant job of breaking down the 2008 financial crisis. Although there might not be murders, it does reveal the rampant systemic corruption and greed within the American political system. It shows us that white-collar crime can be just as gruesome as murder and that corruption can affect millions of lives all around the globe.
American Murder: Laci Peterson
When Laci Peterson disappeared, America was a witness. But when her husband started behaving strangely, he quickly became a suspect and raised the eyebrows of everyone who knew about the case. What follows is a story filled with heartbreaking betrayal, media frenzy, and deception that will have your thoughts running wild.
