Killer Legends - a Chiller Documentary

Back in March, a documentary premiered on Chiller called "Killer Legends". Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills investigated the true stories that may have inspired some of the most well-known urban legends in history. Now, I'm not a big fan of documentaries in general, but this one really kept my interest, having always been a fan of urban legends but never knew any of the truths behind them. Honestly, I never thought there was any truth behind them. I often thought urban legends were just cautionary tales, claimed to be true in order to warn children of the dangers out there. So, I found this documentary fascinating, even if it is grim and disturbing.

The legends include The Candyman (the tainting of Halloween candy), The Babysitter (the babysitter receiving calls from a threatening stranger), The Hookman (a teenage couple fearing a man with a hook for a hand is stalking them), and The Killer Clown (dangerous clowns kidnapping children). To be fair, that last one I've never heard of in terms of urban legends, but the other three are definite classics that most people have heard of.

What's interesting to me about these stories is that the real life crimes are actually so much worse than the legends themselves, despite them always having been cautionary tales. For example (and I won't spoil it), but I knew ahead of time that the tainting of Halloween candy has never happened except for one incident, but I never knew just how heinous that incident was. It goes to show how much more frightening real life can be compared to fiction, even when fiction is based on true events.

On a lighter note, my favorite of the four legends in this documentary is The Candyman, and it's weird to call it a favorite considering the crime involved, so let me explain. It's the only one that directly involves Halloween, and the filmmakers included vintage footage and images from the time (the 70's mostly). I'm super nostalgic by nature, so I love stuff like that. That being said, I don't want to make light of how horrid the crime was and how it's often blamed for the killing of Halloween as people knew it, namely the innocence and spirit of the holiday.

The documentary is definitely worth checking out and has recently gotten a DVD release, in case Chiller doesn't repeat it in October (I'd be shocked if they don't, to be honest).