Why, as a nation, are we so obsessed with true crime?
Intrigued, curious and desperate to find out more, you reach for your phone. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann. How old was Fred West when he met Rose?
Did Jeffrey Dahmer really eat his victims?
And before long, you’re now deep in the Google archives.
Opening tabs, collecting your own evidence and trying to wrap your head around what really drives a person to kill.
Not only that, but you begin to come up with your own theories.
Could it have really been JonBenét’s older brother Burke who killed her?
Was the ransom note an attempt to stage the crime?
Did the FBI reveal the true identity of The Zodiac Killer?
At times, it’s hard to imagine that such troubling crimes were committed in real life and happened to ordinary people just like us.
Only, it doesn’t just stop at internet searches.
There are TV shows, documentaries, films, podcasts and books that have all brought the most infamous true crimes to our attention.
In fact, in 2020, true crime was found to be the most popular book genre in the UK, according to Statista.
Not only that, but the producers of the true crime podcast Serial, revealed that their first series has been downloaded over 211 million times all over the world.
While women are often the victim in murders, they are twice as likely to listen to a crime podcast, rather than men, according to The World Health Organisation.
Only, why are we so collectively obsessed with true crime? ‘Morbid curiosity refers to the fascination or interest in subjects that are grim, unsettling and in some cases even disturbing,’ Kamalyn Kaur, a registered BACP psychotherapist, says.
‘The suspense, danger and unexpected twists often associated with crime can create an adrenaline rush and evoke intense emotions.
Serial, a true crime podcast, has 211 million streams
‘The human brain is naturally curious with the innate desire to understand things and problem solve.
‘Crime feeds into this human trait because it usually involves solving who committed a crime, how it happened, or the motives behind it.
‘For some people, the sense of justice which is brought about by solving a crime could be the reason why they are so drawn to it.’
So, maybe at heart, we all want to feel like we are a detective, too, solving a crime as if it were a puzzle.
However, our fascination doesn’t stop there.
When 2,000 self-reported true crime fans were questioned, OnePoll found that the average respondent consumes five true crime programmes every month.
75% of these said that they watch the latest programme the instant it is released. Which could explain how some of us f
