Though horror is my favorite genre to read, I read a significant amount of nonfiction books as well. Ghoul Digest is primarily a horror fiction blog, but I do want to also occasionally share the nonfiction books that capture my attention. Welcome to the first Notable Nonfiction post!

I admittedly have had an interest in true crime since I was in high school. I truly believe that my first viewing of the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs is what spurred my interest in true crime; I was in awe of Clarice Starling and was determined to be just like her one day. Spoiler alert, I did not become a fearless FBI agent. However, I did end up obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, and I minored in both psychology and criminalistics. My connection to true crime has always been there, but I will admit that my perception of the concept of true crime has changed and evolved over time.

Savage Appetites: Four Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession by Rachel Monroe explores the relationship between women and true crime. Though women are not the only people who consume true crime content, the audiences for these documentaries, podcasts, and books are overwhelmingly female. This book explores the different ways that obsession with crime can manifest. One chapter focuses on Frances Glessner Lee, whose “nutshell miniatures” would go on to help train forensic investigators in the art of paying attention to detail. The next chapter tells the story of a young woman who managed to entangle herself in Sharon Tate’s family after becoming obsessed with the Manson Murders. The following chapter explores how Lori Davis, an established architect, managed to fall in love with and marry Damien Echols (of the West Memphis Three) while he was sitting on death row. The final chapter examines a Tumblr fangirl who tried (and failed) to orchestrate a mass shooting due to her obsession with the Columbine massacre.

I heard about this book on the Books in the Freezer podcast (which I highly recommend listening to, by the way), and I just knew I needed to read this one. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve consumed true crime media since I was in high school, and I have noticed how the culture around these stories has greatly changed over the years. I feel as though true crime has become almost a spectacle, and we often forget about the very people at the center of these stories: the victims and those they left behind.

I really want to focus on one perspective that was examined, as it impacted me the most out of the four that were shared. The chapter about Alisa Statman really presents how victims and their families are often forgotten in the midst of sensationalizing crime. Statman became fascinated with the Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the Manson family in 1969, and in 1990, she ended up moving into the guesthouse on the very property where those murders took place. She became close friends with a journalist who had a decent-sized collection of memorabilia from the case, and she even eventually befriended Sharon Tate’s family. After moving into Tate’s childhood home, Statman ended up bull heading her way to the front of the Parents of Murdered Children movement, essentially silencing the surviving family members of Sharon Tate in the process.

Statman’s obsession and eventual entitlement to an experience that was never hers in the first place is very similar to the discussions happening in true crime circles today. Cases like Gabby Petito or the Idaho College Murders have brought out the worst in the true crime “community”, allowing armchair sleuths to interfere with investigations because they truly believe they have become experts in the forensics field due to their listening to podcasts. When law enforcement decides to delay releasing information about investigations to the public, these folks often become angered, believing they are owed the information. The fact of the matter is that the people exhibiting the above-mentioned behavior do not truly care about the victims of these cases; these people only are enamored with the scandals that are often intertwined with true crime. It appears as though many of them ignore the fact that these victims were once real people who had hopes and dreams, who were unfortunately taken from this world way too early. Instead, they want to focus on the sensational, and often brutal or disturbing, facts in these cases because it is just entertainment to them.

Another perspective provided from the chapter on Statman was that victims often lose their entire identity outside of the violence that was acted upon them. Tate’s family really struggled in the aftermath of the Manson murders, especially with the media spectacle surrounding the trials. All of Sharon’s accomplishments prior to that fateful August evening were essentially thrown to the side, with Tate becoming a symbol of the pure innocent victim. She was pregnant at the time of her death, and the story of the moments surrounding her death have often been dramatized. An incredibly tasteless movie, The Haunting of Sharon Tate, even portrays Tate as having premonitions of her eventual violent death. Sharon’s family has expressed that they believe that everyone has forgotten who Sharon was prior to her death, and I feel as though this happens very often with victims of high- profile crimes. We get so caught up in the events that took their lives, that we forget to focus on the accomplishments and experiences they had while they were still alive.

I think the reason why I adored this book so much is because it touched on some thoughts and sentiments I’ve had regarding the current true crime climate for a long time now. I can’t sit here and say that I don’t enjoy true crime, because the fact of the matter is that I do. I share the same morbid curiosity that thousands of others have. However, sometimes I feel as if the interest just simply gets taken to an inappropriate level.

Now obviously, you are not a bad person for enjoying listening to true crime podcasts or if you like to put on a murder documentary every now and then. Monroe is not pointing fingers or telling you to swear off true crime forever. Instead, she’s sort of challenging you to take a look at your own interest in true crime and determine if it’s healthy or not. If your relationship to true crime is to the point where it is negatively impacting your mental health, you definitely should take a step back.

If you tend to find yourself searching for murder documentaries or podcasts that discuss the morbid side of life, I recommend reading Savage Appetites by Rachel Monroe. It gives some really incredibly perspectives on true crime that will definitely have you thinking and reflecting long after you’ve turned the final page.