Your fascination with true crime is very normal

I was quite happy that true crime documentaries became increasingly popular. It probably started a bit with Making A Murderer (which I personally found a bit slow and boring), and from then on it was off to the races. Maddie McCann got a series on Netflix about her disappearance, JonBenét Ramsey, Aaron Hernandez, and so on... My true crime heart definitely beats faster for it. But until not so long ago, I kept this ‘hobby’ (for lack of a better word) to myself, because it seemed to me that it was usually not received very well when I said I loved crimes. Or rather, watching crimes. Or listening to podcasts about missing persons. Murdered persons. Announcing that generally didn't seem like a very relaxed conversation starter. But that time is completely over, because having a fascination for true crime is completely normal. Hatsikidee.

If we are to believe former psychologist Michael Mantell (and we do), who worked at the San Diego Police Department. He says it's very common to have a fascination for the good versus the bad in a person. And that fascination seems to start early. Quite logical: in the past, you also wanted to do what was forbidden. Because what is forbidden is exciting, breaking the rules. So in that sense, that fascination we have now still exists. Not that we need to break rules now, but it intrigues us. And apparently, it's also in us to want to understand the psyche of, for example, a murderer. Because we ourselves would not be capable of that (I hope), we want to know what triggers someone and why someone would be able to do that. could do. Makes sense, so far.

Another reason is that we sometimes see crimes as a ‘trainwreck’ and many of us are guilty of that, I think. When there is a car accident on the highway, you often can't look away. It's the same with delving into the most gruesome crimes. Nothing wrong with that. We are all perfectly normal. Michael Mantell also adds that if someone talks about nothing else, has posters of it hanging up, and keeps all newspaper clippings, then there might be something wrong. But we true crime viewers are well prepared for that, because by going through all these series and podcasts, we are very well prepared when something happens to us. We have all long picked up those signals. It could even save your life, that true crime addiction.

So, I don't know, but I'm not going to hide it anymore. Maybe I'll just put it in my Instagram bio. ‘True crime addict’. Easy, right? It's just perfectly normal.