The Sons of Sam: ‘Spooky’ Netflix documentary is scaring viewers

‘Hearing the letters he wrote to the police and press is chilling,’ one person wrote

Netflix has released a true crime documentary that is creeping a lot of people out.

Four-part docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness dropped on Wednesday (5 May). It explores the killings of David Berkowitz who went on a murder spree in New York in the mid-1970s.

Viewers are starting to tear through the series as the documentary rises on the streaming service’s charts.

One person wrote: “Hearing the letters he wrote to the police and press is chilling.” Another described the series as “creepy”.

Reviews have been largely positive for the show, with Radio Times calling it “spooky, mind-boggling [and] very frustrating at times”.

Den of Geek said it was “an impressive entry in the true-crime documentary premiere run at Netflix”.

Berkowitz shot and killed six people and wounding seven more. His preferred targets were young couples sat in their cars.

When arrested by New York City homicide detectives, the killer confessed to his crimes. He later claimed, though, that his neighbour Sam’s dog was actually a demon manifesting as a canine and had ordered him to carry out murders.

At the scenes of some of his crimes, Berkowitz left letters in an attempt to taunt the police and the press.

In his first letter, he wrote: “I am deeply hurt by your calling me a woman hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the ‘Son of Sam’.”

Netflix documentary ‘Sons of Sam’ is scaring viewers (Netflix)

He later claimed he never thought his neighbour’s dog was possessed and admitted his story was a hoax.

Berkowitz was sentenced to life in prison and, now aged 66, remains in New York’s Shawangunk Facility.

He appeared as a character in season two of Mindhunter.

The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness and Mindhunter are available to stream on Netflix now.