If there is one thing most people have in common, it's that they love a good scare during October. For audiences that have gone through all the typical horror movies and are looking for something else, sometimes real life can be just as scary, if not more so, than fiction. Documentaries are meant to capture life as it is, including the good, the bad, and in some cases, the terrifying.

Whether investigating an actual crime that captures headlines or exploring the supernatural unknowns of the world, some documentaries will leave viewers scrambling back to fiction horror films for a more expected kind of scare.

Updated on October 8th, 2022 by Meagan Bojarski:

The popularity of Netflix's new documentary Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story shows that people are still looking for real-life stories to chill them to the bones. Throughout October, this instinct may lead them to look for stories that will shock and disgust them more than any horror story could manage. From classic urban legends to historical atrocities, documentaries prove that the real world is just as terrifying as the one filmmakers dream up.

Haunters: The Art Of The Scare (2017)

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Many people visit haunted houses in the lead-up to Halloween, but Haunters looks at how far the scare industry has gone. The documentary details the history of scare attractions before going into how dark some experiences can get, including putting participants through literal torture.

Alongside looking at the haunted houses themselves, the documentary looks at the legal parameters that influence them and how much the people behind the most extreme examples are willing to risk in their own personal lives. The trick when it comes to horror has always been to stay just on the right side of fiction and fact, but this documentary shows how easily blurred that line really can be.

A Certain Kind of Death (2003)

Watch On YouTube

Many people fear death however it comes, while others just hope it's not painful. But A Certain Kind Of Death (available on YouTube) captures one of the worst-case scenarios. Sometimes, bodies show up without any information surrounding them. If no family claims them, they enter into the abyss of anonymity.

Where possible, coroners and field workers attempt to learn about these forgotten people, giving them the dignified burials they would have wanted. When that isn't possible, the procedure is a lot more upsetting. The documentary handles these topics respectfully, but it does include real bodies and the processes they go through. Nothing has been manipulated to be scary, but the subject itself is sure to change the way its audiences think about death forever.

A Haunting In Connecticut (2002)

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Those who enjoyed 2009's The Haunting in Connecticut might be interested to learn about the Discovery documentary based on the same events. When the Parker family moves into a former funeral home, they begin to be tormented by spirits that don't want them there. This docudrama is based on real events, and the reenactments are chilling.

While there will always be skeptics, reviewers on IMDb claim that the documentary is far scarier than the fictionalized version, sticking with many viewers long after they turned it off. The manifestations of the haunting begin simply enough but soon turn down a nightmarish path that is likely to keep viewers up at night.

Room 237 (2012)

Stream On AMC+

Fans of The Shining have to check out Room 237, a documentary broken into nine sections, each investigating a different interpretation of the film. Depending on each viewer's stance, the film comes across as a fun exploration of a beloved film or proof that conspiracy theorists can fool a lot of people.

This documentary doesn't suggest that it has found the true meaning of The Shining as much as it allows its subjects to go on about the details they've obsessed over. However, director Rodney Ascher, who also created The Nightmare, an exploration of night terrors and sleep paralysis, knows how to make his audience uncomfortable, which adds a layer of uncertainty as fans investigate these bizarre theories.

Rats (2016)

Rent On Apple TV

Don't watch this documentary while eating, or before sleeping, or while in a big city, or possibly at all. Rats looks into the role rodents play in cultures around the world, and many of those are genuinely horrifying.

The images are more similar to a horror movie than a standard documentary, and yet what's worse is how paranoid the documentary can make its viewers feel. Rats are everywhere, and every fact the documentary shares insight into their intelligence and resilience makes it worse. For those who want to be sickened by their horror content, Rats is the most disturbing documentary to watch for that kind of feeling.

The Imposter (2012)

Stream On Tubi

In 1994, a 13-year-old boy named Nicholas Patrick Barclay went missing. Four years later, he reappeared. But the family soon discovered that this was not actually their son, miraculously returned to them, but someone using his name to deceive them. The Imposter explores this true story to see how the deception could have gone unnoticed.

Films like Us prove how much the idea of doppelgängers and duplicates disturbs most people. They like to believe they are utterly unique, but this story challenges that, making a crack in the myth of individuality. The documentary keeps audiences on the edge of their seats while posing questions that can shake them to their core. Director Bart Layton follows the facts and details carefully, but with a level of storytelling genius that makes its tale truly unforgettable.

Killer Legends (2014)

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Directed by Joshua Zeman, Killer Legends explores the potential origins of some of America's darkest urban legends. Delving into the history behind the babysitter killer, the hook man, poisoned Halloween candy, and killer clowns, the documentary is sure to provide some chilling evidence into the legitimacy of these frequently dismissed legends.

While the formatting of this documentary limits its success, it is definitely worth watching, especially for those who were terrified by some version of these legends when they were younger. The subject and the editing work together to create a thoroughly eerie atmosphere, which will be perfect for those who find horror stories that much more terrifying when they include a grain of truth.

Hostage To The Devil (2016)

Rent On YouTube

Directed by Marty Stalker, Hostage to the Devil tells the story of Father Malachi Martin, an Irish Catholic Priest famous in the Jesuit world for performing astounding exorcisms and being the author of The Scribal Dead Sea Scroll. There are many claims that Father Martin was the basis for Father Merrin in The Exorcist.

This documentary covers the hundreds of minor and significant exorcisms he claimed to have performed over his years serving the Catholic Church. With interviews of his colleagues and those he supposedly helped with exorcisms, a terrifying picture of the secrecy of church involvement in exorcisms is painted. The final spooky degree comes from the retelling of his death from a fall, supposedly after a four-year-old he was exercising was used by the Devil to speak to him.

The Mothman Of Point Pleasant (2017)

Stream On Prime Video

The first in what would become a career obsession for director Seth Breedlove, this film is one of the first to dig into the theories of the mythical Mothman. In 1966-67, the residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia began reporting sightings of a humanoid creature with wings that spanned at least six feet and had glowing red eyes, resembling the creature known in mythology—and in current pop culture—as Mothman. Some felt that the beast was there to cause evil, while others insisted the Mothman was a disaster harbinger. Either way, anyone who encountered him was terrified by the experience.

Through interviews and old footage, Breedlove weaves a tale of spookiness and out-of-this-world encounters, culminating in what is still the third-deadliest bridge failure in United States history with the collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967.

Wrinkles The Clown (2019)

Stream On Hulu

It's no secret that clowns have long been a staple in the world of horror, but many people have coulrophobia in their everyday, authentic lives. Even those who are not scared of clowns have reason to be terrified of Wrinkles. When a video of a clown crawling out from the bed of a little girl appeared on YouTube, the creepiness of that one video was enough to skyrocket this to the top of the scare list.

When the maker put in his video that he was hirable to scare misbehaved children into acting better, the legend of Wrinkles the Clown was born. The documentary follows the figure, with plenty of twists and turns to keep audiences guessing.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010)

Rent On Apple TV

Never Sleep Again is a must-see for fans of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, as it explores each of the films in depth along with their inspirations and how they were made. The crew focused on bringing their own nightmares to life, which led to some of the most unsettling scenes in the series. The documentary is four hours long, but the pacing is done well enough that it never drags.

The documentary has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is truly a tribute to how well-done the documentary is. There are hundreds of interviews included on every conceivable topic that fans could want to know about. On top of all of that, it's actually scary to watch at times because of how disturbing the inspirations for the films truly were.

Demon House (2018)

Stream On Prime Video

In 2014, the Ammons House made global news when the Department of Child Services, the police, and multiple medical professionals became convinced that a house in Gary, Indiana was haunted by demons. Demon House investigates the house and its history while trying (and failing) to explain the paranormal events.

According to Steve Barkon of Dread Central, Demon House is "one of the single most compelling documentaries on the existence of the supernatural that I’ve ever witnessed." Some hard-core skeptics will watch this documentary with defiance, but most audiences will find their certainty that demons aren't real shaken by a story too haunting to completely deny.

Cropsey (2009)

Stream On AMC+

Most have heard some version of the tale of Cropsey stalking the woods of Staten Island, taking kids and killing them. Being from Staten Island, filmmakers Josh Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio grew up with that legend as a common urban myth. As adults and documentarians, they set out to see if they could solve the mystery that plagued them as children - is Cropsey real, and if so, who is he?

From the creepy stories the locals tell like town histories to a cameo by Geraldo, the duo looks into the most commonly believed suspect: Andre Rand, a convicted kidnapper many believe is the real Cropsey.

The Donner Party (1992)

Rent On Amazon

Rather than watching current true-crime documentaries about cannibalistic killers like Dahmer, those looking for a frighteningly true horror story might want to look further in the past, to the 1992 documentary, The Donner Party. In 1846, 87 pioneers attempted to make their way from Illinois to California. Instead, they got trapped partway through and had to survive the winter with extremely limited supplies. Only 48 survived, some of whom had to resort to cannibalism.

This true story plays off of the same grotesque themes as Dahmer documentaries, but has less of an impact on the families due to the greater historical distance. The documentary was highly praised when it first aired, and continues to be haunting as it explores morality and desperation.

The Nightmare (2005)

Stream On Tubi

Forget A Nightmare on Elm Street. This documentary is truly the stuff that will haunt viewers' bedrooms at night. Directed by Rodney Ascher, this documentary follows eight people who have sleep paralysis. This condition paralyzes them at night, and they are forced to lay in their bed, unable to move or speak, as the worst dream imaginable seems to come to life around them.

Between the terrifying reenactments and the honest, gut-wrenching interviews, this documentary will have audiences checking the closets and under beds before attempting to go to sleep, suddenly afraid of the dark.

NEXT: 10 Genuinely Scary Crime Documentaries On Netflix