True Crime Stories

True crime stories are interesting to a lot of people because they are true, and they are stories that we first hear reported on the news. An especially heinous crime attracts us because we can't understand, for instance how a child can kill his mother, or how parents could torture and murder their own children. Very often at the time of the crime the murderer is not talking and the victims of course are unable to tell us why. True crime stories involve a writer or a reporter who follows the case from the time of the crime to the outcome of the trial. They dig into backgrounds and interview neighbors, friends and family members, so that we can try to make sense of the crime in question. It is important for us to try to make sense of the crime, because that way we believe there is way to keep something similar from happening to us in our own lives.

Of course, not all crimes involve murder and torture. Sometimes the crimes are about theft, in which case every time we hear one of those types of true crime stories, they do help us. They tell us about the different ways we may be vulnerable to theft. They also inform us of the latest scams, which without true crime stories, we may fall prey to. They tell us how to protect ourselves and our families from con artists.

True crime stories attract us, just like a car accident that we pass on the road. Most people just can't keep themselves from looking. It seems to be part of our nature. Those things are horrible and may make us feel bad, but still we must look, we must know what happened. True crime stories are a private invitation to be right at the front of the line to see what happened.