Logically, we should be terrified of serial killers. Between documentaries, podcasts and films depicting their terrible crimes, they are objectively terrifying.
However, there’s no denying that people are pretty obsessed,
Between the popularity of films like Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile – starring Zac Efron as Ted Bundy – and documentaries such as The Staircase, which depicted a case of a husband allegedly murdering his wife, our screens have been dominated by true crime for years.
Even in the podcasting world, true crime is a big deal. The podcast Serial, which debuted a decade ago, is still so popular that Time Out named it one of their top three podcasts for 2024.
And interestingly, there is a gender divide when it comes to this kind of content.
A 2010 study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that women tend to be drawn towards true crime stories more than men, and that they are most interested in stories that give insight into the killer’s motives, contain information about how victims escaped and feature female victims.
So, where does this obsession with serial killers stem from?
Richard Underwood, the Edward T. Breathitt Professor in the Rosenberg College of Law at the University of Kentucky is a true crime expert and said: “Psychologists have opined, women are getting tips about how to increase their chances of survival if they fall into dangerous situations.
“Crime writer Megan Abbott points out that although men are four times more likely than women to be victim of homicide, women make up 70% of intimate partner homicide victims, and she believes that women have an “instinctual understanding that this is the world they live in.”
Gemma Flynn, a criminal psychologist at Edinburgh University agreed, saying: “When we experience heightened levels of fear we can often seek comfort in facing these issues head on.
“We have always turned to crime storytelling as a way to better understand the moral limits of our society. Perhaps for women there is a desire to satiate fear by turning to these stories.”
Sadly, it does make sense.