THAT cliché about fact being stranger than fiction couldn’t be more true when it comes to the spine-chilling series showcased on the Crime & Investigation Network (DStv channel 170).
Forget the fictionalised gore of Hannibal and the calculated killings seen on the CSI shows – this is real-life horror committed by seemingly harmless people, who cleverly conceal their psychopathic tendencies.
Some of the reasons are born out of rage, passion, jealousy or abuse. But one thing is clear, these people are monsters.
This month, viewers will get to see Monstresses, The Family that Slays Together, Evil Twins and Murder in Paradise.
The stories will shock as viewers gain insight into the volatile and dark minds of the perpetrators.
As the title suggests, Monstresses (Thursdays at 9pm) is about the mistresses who decide that they want more. And they aren’t your usual Glenn Close bunny-boiling (Fatal Attraction) variety either.
Thursday’s episode features Diana Haun and Morgan Hughes. It’s one of those steamy affairs that turns ugly when jealousy rears its nasty head.
Other stories include that of a mistress who helped her lover kill his wife after he convinced her that his wife was an evil alien who had to be vanquished.
The Family that Slays Together (Mondays at 9pm) uncovers murder plots within the family nucleus.
Some of the tales include a husband who kills his wife with his mother’s help, two siblings who kill their father and a mother and her children who murder her husband.
Having an evil twin is no joke. In the similar-titled new series, which starts on August 14 at 9pm, we see twins who play a tag team and go on a killing spree, those who turn on each other and those who fall into the good versus evil category.
In Murder in Paradise (Sundays at 9pm), idyllic settings become the bloody playground for partners with deadly intentions.
On Sunday, viewers will see how former boxing champion Arturo Gatti was found dead while on holiday with wife Amanda in Porto de Galinhas. His family suspected her of having more to do with his death than she let on. Another heart-rending story is that of New Jersey’s Julie Scully, who headed to Greece for a passionate affair, only to go missing a month later.
Not to be missed for viewers intrigued by the criminal mind.