Psychologists believe that our interest in true crime and serial killers originates from it being a way for us to explore a dark world of crime that we do not fully understand, from the comfort and safety of our own homes. At the end of a true crime book, documentary or movie we are able to turn it off and return to our normal lives without any consequences.

Additionally, our interest in other people’s lives and separation from the cases is what makes us so fascinated. The human interest factor – it is what draw us to tabloids. As humans, we have a morbid fascination with events that can have such an impact on the lives of others. The same base instinct that draws us to look at a car crash in some ways draws us to true crime documentaries and stories.

However, crime can affect any of us, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or social status. It can happen at random. So the fascination is a natural one to try to understand it more, in order to avoid the unavoidable – a true catch22.

When it comes down to it, the popularity of this genre can be due to our natural human interest making us curious about the dark and the different, but it’s fascinating to see it can also be because we want to learn how to protect ourselves from harm.