Wanna hear something scary?
When I was growing up, supposedly scary tales were pure entertainment for me. I read The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary’s Baby, and practically all Stephen King novels, and saw their film versions on the big screen. Christopher Lee was the actor I idolized in this genre. Before he was Saruman the White, he was The Mummy all wrapped in white, and his portrayal of Count Dracula was far more memorable than his stint as Count Dooku dueling with Yoda.
Yet, despite these narratives, they never really gave me nightmares. Now, true crime accounts—these are the real spine-tinglers. Or are they?
Welcome to the haunting world of true crime, the only place where murder, mystery, and hair-raising stories converge to turn an otherwise pleasant evening into fright night.
Interestingly, the biggest enthusiasts of this macabre genre are women. Yes, you heard it right, guys. So, if you’re planning any funny business with the so-called weaker sex, remember that instead of treats, you might just receive a trick or two from a potential walking library of forensic files.
A quick survey of young women reveals that they watch crime shows and listen to true crime podcasts not just out of a passing, morbid fascination but for information, education, and as an escape from one of life’s harshest realities: evil exists, and no one is truly safe.
It’s intriguing how women from diverse cultural backgrounds react to true crime and what they glean from it. Whether it’s a toolkit for navigating real-world threats or simply a guilty pleasure, true crime has captured the attention of women worldwide. This isn’t mere speculation borne of male paranoia—studies substantiate it.
Research shows that women are the dominant audience for true crime. Nielsen reports indicate that true crime TV shows are heavily favored by women. According to a 2019 survey by Parrot Analytics, women make up over 70% of the subscribers to true crime podcasts.
Okay, my fellow Martians, not only are Venusians (the proper word should be “Venereal,” but the medical lexicographers beat the space geeks to it) obsessed with true crime, but they’re also into spreading it around.
A sampling of popular and trending podcasts clearly demonstrates the strong presence of women: Serial, which won for Sarah Koenig the top true crime podcast at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards; Korean YouTuber Stephanie Soo’s Rotten Mango; The Criminal Makeup by Danielle Kirsty, another YouTube true crime content creator; Crime Junkie, a 2020 winner of the People’s Choice Podcast Awards for Storyteller & Drama, hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat; and for those in search of medical malpractices, Dr. Death by Laura Beil fits the bill—the podcast was even turned into a Peacock TV series.
For many women, true crime, especially the killing kind, isn’t just psychosocial curiosity; it’s a deep psychological dive. Studies from the University of Illinois and the University of South Carolina suggest that women are drawn to true crime because it helps them understand and deal with real-life fears. It’s like getting acquainted with John “Jigsaw” Kramer, Jason, or Freddie Krueger to prep for Halloween, but with actual stakes.
Some girls enter this world as early as grade school, where they’re exposed to Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. Later, they delve deeper into the sleuthing worlds created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dame Agatha Christie before eventually embracing the company of James Patterson and Kathy Reichs.
Then came the wave of TV crime shows that explored not just the how and the why behind gruesome crimes but also the hide-and-seek game of avoiding detection and solving cases through traditional police investigation coupled with ever-evolving forensic techniques.
Shows like CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, FBI, and the venerable Law & Order have gone on for multiple seasons and several spinoffs. Law & Order: SVU, already in its 26th season, is the longest-running primetime live-action series on American television. Adding to this creepy mix are Bones, Cold Case, Rizzoli & Isles, Blue Bloods, and Castle, creating an environment where crime is meant to be observed, but not experienced, thank you.
True crime has woven itself into the fabric of women’s lives around the world, offering a blend of education, thrills, and empowerment.
Criminal Minds, Mindhunter, and even the Korean shows Through the Darkness, Signal, and Partners for Justice, examine the transformation of man to beast that compel him (most of the killers are men) to commit atrocities, usually against women. The birth of behavioral science to create criminal profiles to prevent similar evil acts from recurring was a pivotal moment in solving cases.
True crime stories, however, strike closer to home because they are factual. Whether it’s a book, a video, or a podcast, these narratives provide women with a way to confront and understand personal fears from the relative safety of their private sanctums. Perhaps, knowing about how criminals think and how victims become ensnared is akin to taking a survival course but with some entertainment value.
For those telling the narrative—mostly women writers and hosts of varying ethnicity and philosophical persuasions—it could be a mere social commentary, or it could be an opportunity to advocate for change at a time when the justice system is incapable of solving, let alone eradicating, issues like stalking, sexual assault, and other acts of violence against women and children.
Only Murders in the Building, an American show about two old men and a young woman (played by veteran comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short, with Selena Gomez) who share an interest in true crime podcasts and end up producing their own podcast with the same title, has gained a cult following and has been renewed for a fifth season since debuting in 2021. It may poke fun at crimes, but the interest in strange, grisly cases remains the dominant sentiment keeping this show going.
With copious information on cable and cyberspace, (women) fans of true crimes are well-educated on how to detect perverts and psychos, read clues in any setting, identify suspicious behavior, and prevent a possible dreadful ending to a bad date. More disturbing (for men, at least) is that they know of various ingenious ways to commit these crimes, dispose of the evidence (the body!), and literally get away with murder.
In the end, true crime has woven itself into the fabric of women’s lives around the world, offering a blend of education, thrills, and empowerment. For some, it’s an intellectual exercise in understanding human psychology; for others, it’s a way to prepare for real-world dangers.
Whether it’s for knowledge or recreation, one thing is clear: The girls are watching and learning. So, all you men out there, beware. Women know what you’re thinking.