I Knew You Didn't Feel Like Sleeping: Happy Halloween!

There is something macabre about most of my posts, whether it's a documentary about odd people, strange phenomena, campy and nostalgic TV shows, the horrors of mother nature, history, or a catastrophe. In the spirit of Halloween I compiled the spookiest of my posts. I've dished out a bit of true crime, a bit of horror film dissection, and a touch of the supernatural. Queue up your Netflix. This list will keep you occupied (and looking over your shoulder) through All Hallows Eve. 

Room 237

This documentary attempts to lay bare the hidden messages Stanley Kubrick left in his classic horror film The Shining. I recommend watching Room 237 and then take a crack at The Shining after. See if you can spot them all, or start your own Kubrick conspiracy theory!

VBS Meets... Issei Sagawa

An interview with a real cannibal who committed a heinous crime and is free and living in Japan... Be prepared for gruesome crime photos.

Hunting for a Quality Ghost Show

This is the most viewed post on Consume+Consume. This is probably true because a lot of people are hunting for a quality ghost show by typing this very headline into Google. If you do reach this article in that manner, will your prayers be answered? Click to find out.

Nightmares in Red White and Blue

History as told by horror films. See how since the inception of motion pictures art has been imitating life on a deep psychological level.

Cropsey and H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer

Two stunning tales of serial killers from different eras, I paired these two documentaries in a post deemed a "double feature." Cropsey not only discusses the nightmarish string of murders of defenseless mentally challenged children, but also the horrors of the mental health system in the 1970s. H.H. Holmes:America's First Serial Killer tells the tale of a well respected doctor who committed murder to a scale never before  seen in the late 1800s. Whether you can stomach both at once is entirely up to you.

Sweet dreams!

Morbid Curiosity Double Feature: Cropsey and H.H. Holmes America's First Serial Killer

Horror movies are good fun entertainment, but what to say of films about real life horror? I find documentaries about murderers to be more intellectually gripping and less anxiety provoking - at least until the magnitude of it sinks in. There are two sides to the coin. The horror flick might suck you into the story, but in the end you can feel good knowing it's just a movie. The documentary about serial killers allows you to watch with objectivity but leaves you questioning humanity.
If you are in the mood to question humanity, please enjoy these two documentaries Cropsey and H.H. Holmes America's First Serial Killer.

Click to watch

Cropsey, a 2009 documentary by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman, follows the story of Staten Island's underbelly of misplaced patients from the closed Willowbrook State School for the mentally ill and handicapped. Officially closed in 1987, the area surrounding the institution was a breeding ground for urban legend. The word "Cropsey" was coined by youths of Staten Island Boy Scout camps, defined as an insane man who lives in the woods near the asylum and murders children. For decades the stories were pass down, but it became very real in 1987 when a 12 year old girl with Downs Syndrome, Jennifer Schweiger, was abducted and murdered, her body found near Willowbrook. Chilling footage from Geraldo Revera's expose on Willowbrook, and aching testimonials of a community torn by disillusionment and terror make for a gripping film.
 

Click to watch

 H.H. Holmes America's First Serial Killer is... well it pretty much explains it in the title. Superb conman, H.H. Holmes with his "murder castle" in Chicago, managed to make countless people disappear for roughly 20 years before he was caught in 1894. It's the stuff every horror movie is made of, from Secret of the Blue Room to Hostel. John Borowski made a documentary about Holmes in 2004. The idea of him being the "first" serial killer is intriguing. It's like saying Holmes invented mass murder, along with the inception of the steam engine. But along with the steam engine also came slightly improved police investigations. Holmes was one of the first serial killers who was actually found out, and studied, defining the concept of a serial killer. Watch this documentary for the bizarre story. It is positively edifying [straightens monocle].
If you want to watch in chronological order (by topic and movie release date) watch H.H. Holmes first. If you want to get the bad news first and then the good news, watch Cropsey first. Even though Holmes seemingly set the standard for serial murder, H.H. Holmes will be refreshing in it's lack of grisly news footage. Enjoy!