The Creepiest Documentaries That Feel Like Horror Movies

Discover the creepiest true crime docs that blur reality and horror, from the urban legend of Cropsey to the chilling terror of The Nightmare.

I don’t know if everybody knows this, but I’m actually a massive fan of creepy documentaries. Whether it’s true crime, paranormal mysteries, or even weird cryptozoology stories like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, I’m all in. I haven’t talked much about these in my content before, mostly because a lot of them aren’t available on physical media. Documentaries tend to live on streaming, which makes them harder to collect.

But today, I’ve got a list of creepy documentaries I want to share. I’ll keep it spoiler-free - no big giveaways - but I’ll give you a reason to watch each one and let you know where you can find them. Some are terrifying, some are strange, and some are just plain unsettling because of the people involved. Let’s get into it.

The first one is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen, hands down. Fictional horror, non-fictional horror - it doesn’t matter. This movie terrified me because I’ve actually lived it.

It’s called The Nightmare (2015), and it was directed by Rodney Ascher, the man behind Room 237 and a really great guy who I got the pleasure of talking with earlier this year during a trip to LA. Right now, it’s streaming on Prime Video and is available to rent. The terrifying premise of the documentary is simple - it is all about sleep paralysis and an odd shared experience.

If you’ve never experienced sleep paralysis, imagine this: your brain is awake but your body can’t move. It is like waking up mid-surgery under anesthesia. Terrifying, right? But what makes this documentary so scary is that people across the world report the same experience during their paralysis. They all see a shadowy figure, sometimes wearing a hat, looming over their bed. This has happened to me once, and I swear it’s one of the most horrifying moments of my life. I would not recommend it, especially when the shadowy figure reaches out for you and literally makes you jump out of your sleep. It’s the purest form of nightmare fuel and will scare even the most hardened horror fans. If you can handle it, I highly recommend it. Personally, I don’t think I can watch it again - I am too worried about it bringing on sleep paralysis again.

Next up is The Imposter (2012). This one’s streaming all over on platforms like Roku, Kanopy, Pluto TV, Prime Video, and Shout Factory TV. It tells the story of a family who lost their child, and years later, come across a man in France who claims to be him. The family is so desperate for closure that they welcome him back. But is he really who he says he is? That’s the question the documentary explores.

It plays like a thriller, full of twists and turns. The way it’s shot and edited almost feels like a David Fincher movie. The reenactments are well done and stylistic enough to keep you engaged, and the interviews are both heartbreaking and terrifying, depending on who’s talking. This is usually on the top of my list when it comes to true crime documentaries because it handles a tricky subject matter with grace and serves as a great entry into a deeper world than some of the surface level streaming documentaries we get nowadays. It will truly keep you guessing for most of the runtime, and is an excellent example of how powerful documentary storytelling can be when it is done right.

Another one in the missing child category, but somehow even stranger, is Who Took Johnny (2014). This one’s harder to find - last I checked it was only on Kanopy in select markets - but I believe there is a rip of the film on YouTube as well, for as long as that lasts. The fact that so many people have had trouble streaming it only adds to the conspiracy at the center of this film.

Who Took Johnny originally blew up on Netflix in the early days of their service but then disappeared, which almost makes it feel like someone doesn’t want it to be seen. It’s all about Johnny Gosch, the first missing kid to appear on a milk carton. His mother, Noreen, never gave up the search for her son, and the deeper she went, the more she uncovered connections to human trafficking, powerful people, and conspiracies that sound wild but don’t feel as far-fetched in a post-Epstein world. It’s chilling, heartbreaking, and one of the most thought-provoking documentaries I’ve seen.

Can we believe Noreen? Or is she another tortured mother looking for answers and clinging to anything in the belief that her son might still be alive? Much like The Imposter, you have to question the people closest to the case and what their mindset is. That said, Who Took Johnny presents some pretty compelling evidence that has left me thinking about it long after I first watched it some years ago. Remember, even Epstein Island was a conspiracy at one point, until it wasn’t…

Speaking of unbelievable, Abducted in Plain Sight (2017) might take the crown for the most jaw-dropping insane documentary I have ever seen. It’s on Kanopy (shoutout again to Kanopy for being a free service with so many films other services do not have) and is available to rent. This film will truly leave you speechless.

It follows the story of a young girl, her parents, and a manipulative family “friend.” I won’t spoil the details, because I want you to experience it the way I did, but I’ll just say this: these might be the worst parents in film history. They put the McAllister family (who lost their son twice) to shame. The twists in this story are so outrageous that if you saw them in a Hollywood script, you’d roll your eyes. But it’s real, and that’s what makes it horrifying. My wife and I watched it together, and at one point we were literally laughing out of disbelief. You’ll know the moment when you see it.

Another recent Netflix entry is American Nightmare (2024). It’s a three-part series, about 45 minutes for each episode, so you can easily watch it in one sitting. It starts with a home invasion and kidnapping case, and from there it just spirals into one of the most unbelievable true crime stories I’ve ever seen. Every episode takes a hard left turn, then a right, then another left. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, you haven’t. It’s infuriating, shocking, and terrifying, and I will fully admit, I was totally wrong in my theories after each episode. Sometimes they even changed by the minute. By the end, you’ll be questioning everything. If you enjoy the twists and turns of a film like Gone Girl then American Nightmare might be your next obsession.

On a very different note, I always recommend Tickled (2016). This one sounds silly when you first hear about it, and I have always had a hard time convincing people to watch it for that reason. Basically, it’s about people who film themselves being tickled. I know - but stick with it, because it turns into a dark investigative rabbit hole that’s way stranger and more sinister than you’d expect. Directed by David Farrier, who also made the great Netflix series Dark Tourist and has a great Substack, this starts as a quirky curiosity and ends as something much darker. It gets into conspiracy territory a bit, but Farrier is a professional journalist, and he confirms his suspicions with solid facts. Trust me, it’s worth watching. You’ll never think about “tickling” the same way again.

To wrap up, I want to recommend a double feature for you creepy kids out there: Cropsey (2009) and its follow-up Killer Legends (2014). Cropsey dives into the urban legend of a child killer in Staten Island, and as the filmmakers investigate, they uncover the real crimes that fed into this local legend. It features some horrific footage and it will have you questioning how real the neighborhood legends you grew up with were.

Killer Legends expands on the idea of these local legend, exploring the real-life roots of various urban legends across America. This is not as well done as Cropsey and can get a bit long, but it still makes for a great double feature if you are into folklore and the meaning behind famous urban legends like creepy clowns, poisoned Halloween candy, and the most famous horror urban legend of all, the man with the hook for a hand! It plays sort of like an episode of Goosebumps or a chapter or Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but with real facts, which always make things scarier.

There you have it - my go-to lineup of essential creepy documentaries. They’re streaming across different platforms, and while most of them don’t have physical releases, they’re absolutely worth tracking down. So dive into the rabbit hole and have yourself some fun - but beware, because real life is always scarier than fiction…