Plot Synopsis

Hosted by Donnie Wahlberg, VERY SCARE PEOPLE is a two-hour documentary series that chronicles the twisted lives of some of the most frightening, diabolical characters in recent history. These biographies trace the crimes and evil deeds of bad people who were successful at eluding detection for quite a while and how they were ultimately caught and eventually brought to justice. Season 1 episodes include:

"John Wayne Gacy: Evil Secret" (March 17, 2019): This is the shocking and gruesome mystery of John Wayne Gacy, a popular Chicago businessman and part-time clown who was leading a double life in the 1970s. By day, Gacy was a community leader and helpful neighbor. But by night, he transformed into a monster who chose young male teens as his prey. How did this seemingly cheerful man become the most prolific serial killer of his day -- without anybody noticing and how he was ultimately caught?

"Charles Manson: The Devil's Work" (March 24, 2019): Charles Manson was born a bad kid, became a teenage thief and a violent predator, and in the end, spent far more than half his life behind bars. He had the ability to charm and developed amazing powers of persuasion, but he chose to use those talents for sinister purposes. This episode -- featuring Manson Family members, victims' families, witnesses, prosecutors, reporters, authors, and Manson in his own words -- details the horror of the vicious attacks and explains how Manson was able to convince his hippie followers to brutally murder celebrities and innocent strangers. The grisly killings terrorized Hollywood and remained unsolved until homicide detectives received a tip from a surprising source.

"NorCal Rapist: Phantom Predator" (March 31, 2019): Wanted for multiple sex attacks against women in Northern California over three decades, this masked predator meticulously planned his assaults by studying the habits and routines of his female prey. The NorCal Rapist entered homes in advance of his attacks, memorizing floor plans and planning exits to avoid being seen. Then, armed with guns and knives, he attacked the women at night, when they were alone. But after 27 years on the loose, police suddenly closed in on the man they believe is the NorCal Rapist. This episode features victims, detectives, prosecutors, and criminal profilers, who detail the horror of the attacks, and the new forensic science that led to the suspect's capture.

"Aileen Wuornos: Monster Made" (April 7, 2019): In 1990, Florida police were on a frantic search for a killer. Seven men were dead, their bodies scattered along state highways. Terrorized motorists heard of the bullet-ridden victims of the Interstate Killer -- but the investigative trail was cold and there was no end in sight. The killer behind the spree was Aileen Wuornos -- a complex, misunderstood misfit who hitchhiked near truck stops, selected her victims at random, and lured them to secluded locations. It took good old-fashioned police work, a little luck, and a lover's betrayal, to finally bring Wuornos' killing spree to an end. This episode features rare interviews with victims' family members, and Wuornos' best friend.

"Zodiac Killer: I Am the Zodiac" (April 14, 2019): He terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s, killing young couples at secluded lover's lanes. Not satisfied with just the murders, he also taunted the public with cryptic clues, threats of increased violence and most famously, ciphers that were supposed to lead police to his identity, but mostly went nowhere. Detectives, reporters, and even civilians, have worked for decades to solve the case -- but so far, no one has succeeded. Can new DNA techniques that were used to catch the Golden State Killer finally unmask this murderer, who is both infamous and completely unknown?

"Rev. Jim Jones: Unholy Massacre" (April 21, 2019): More than 900 Americans died in an isolated jungle in northern Guyana in November 1978. The man responsible, Jim Jones, has gone down in history as a madman who drove his followers to suicide. But the truth is more complicated, more horrifying, and more tragic than that. This episode dives deep into the life of Jones, from his lonely childhood to his spectacular rise as a charismatic minister sought out by politicians and film stars, and finally, to an almost unimaginable end: the mass murder of those who once called him "father."



VERY SCARY PEOPLE returned for its second season on Sunday, July 12, 2020 from 9-11pm ET/PT on HLN, with a two-part season opener:

"Son of Sam: The Duke of Death" (July 12, 2020 from 9-11pm): He is among the most infamous serial killers in American history. From 1976 to 1977, David Berkowitz terrorized New York City under his creepy self-given moniker: "Son of Sam." Using a large caliber .44 revolver, he unleashed eight horrific shootings across three different boroughs, wounding seven people and killing six. Despite an extraordinary investigation, and hundreds of NYPD officers working the case, Berkowitz's crime spree lasted over a year. How did he get away with it for so long? Did the investigators miss any vital clues? The detectives who worked the case tell the true tale of what it was like in New York City with a gun-toting murderer on the loose. The episode features interviews with detectives and psychologists about what he said after his arrest, why he did it, and how this quiet, soft spoken 24-year old post office employee from Yonkers turned into a serial killing monster.

"BTK: Bind, Torture, Kill" (July 19, 2020): In January 1974, four members of a family are brutally tortured and murdered in Wichita, Kansas. The murders shock the safe midwestern city, but little do they know, it is just the beginning. The killer calls himself "B.T.K." which stands for Bind, Torture, Kill; and for decades this bloodthirsty serial killer terrifies Wichita as he murders again and again and again. After multiple killings from 1974 to 1991, he goes quiet; but he resurfaces in 2004, and residents of the midwestern city are once again petrified. For months he plays a cat and mouse game with law enforcement and the media taunting them as he seeks the attention he craves. But when he finally makes a mistake and is apprehended, it is chilling to discover that he has been hiding in plain sight for years.

"The Night Stalker" (July 26, 2020): The Summer of 1985 was one of the hottest the city of Los Angeles had seen in a century, but terrified residents were not sleeping with the windows open, they weren't sleeping at all. A killer was on the loose. And although the 1980s were considered the decade of the serial killer, one man stood out. He was the night stalker, and his crimes were vicious, random, and committed in the name of Satan. His victims ranged from toddlers to the elderly; and as the city was paralyzed with fear, he went unchecked as police struggled to stop him. In 1985, the L.A.P.D. gets a tip. Twenty-four hours later, a mob of angry citizens track him down and capture him, and his trial is a bizarre chapter that has some wondering if the Night Stalker will escape justice.

"The Co-ed Killer" (August 2, 2020): Santa Cruz, California was a mecca for the hippie generation in the early 1970s, a beachside paradise, until female students began to go missing, with their body parts showing up around town. Police had no leads on who was committing these horrific crimes, but they soon realize that all the victims had something in common: they were last seen hitchhiking. A frantic public, desperate for answers, live in terror, waiting for the man they dubbed "The Coed Killer" to strike again. But no one could have expected that the person responsible, a local man, Edmund Kemper, was living among them, hiding in plain sight. Kemper was a man with a dark history and a tortured childhood, a man who had killed years before and had now set his twisted sights on young women. Told through interview footage with Kemper himself, as well as those who lived through this crippling period, this episode takes viewers back to the time when The Coed Killer brought terror to Santa Cruz.

"Robert Durst" (August 9, 2020): The unbelievable story of Robert Durst, the millionaire heir to a vast real estate fortune who has been living under a cloud of suspicion for decades. Durst's first wife went missing in 1982, but the case went cold when there were no leads -- and no body. Then, 18 years later, just as the investigation into her disappearance was re-opened, Durst's best friend and confidante, Susan Berman, was shot dead inside her home. Less than a year later, while Durst was hiding out in Galveston, Texas, his neighbor's dismembered body was found floating in Galveston Bay. Durst was quickly charged with his murder and after jumping bail and going on the run for six weeks, he returned to Texas to stand trial. Durst admitted he killed his neighbor and chopped up his body, but said it happened accidentally, in self-defense. The jury acquitted him of murder. Durst, who pled not guilty, stands trial in Los Angeles for the murder of Susan Berman. Prosecutors say he killed her because he was afraid she would reveal what she knew about his wife's disappearance.

"Dr. Death" (August 16, 2020): For nearly two decades, Michael Swango, a physician-turned-murderer, left a trail of death and mayhem across two continents. Suspicious illnesses and deaths followed this once-trusted doctor from hospital to hospital for nearly two decades, picking off unsuspecting coworkers and helpless patients. What would make a well-respected doctor become one of the most prolific serial killers in the U.S.? Hear from the local and federal authorities who brought his reign of terror to an end. Interviews include survivors from Michael Swango's poisoning sprees, his former colleagues, families of his victims, federal and local investigators, and a Zimbabwean journalist who helped uncover a series of murders in a rural African hospital.



Hosted again by Donnie Wahlberg, Season 3 of VERY SCARY PEOPLE debuted on Sunday, May 2, 2021 from 9-11pm ET/PT, with a new two-part story each week through June 6:

"The Golden State Killer" -- Joseph DeAngelo (Sunday, May 2, 2021 from 9-11pm): The Golden State Killer invaded homes, tortured and terrorized families, committed fifty brutal rapes and thirteen vicious murders, and was on the loose for forty-four years. Cold case Investigators chased down thousands of leads without ever getting their man. But a new forensic tool breaks the case and exposes this remorseless predator - Joseph DeAngelo - his family, his background, and his life story; and finally, scores of victims get a measure of long-awaited justice.

"The Butcher Baker " -- Robert Hansen (Sunday, May 9, 2021 from 9-11pm): The Butcher Baker was one of the most prolific serial killers in Alaska's history. For more than a decade, he kidnapped young women and brought them into the wilderness where he stalked them like prey. He got away with his crimes for years, living a double life as a soft-spoken baker and church-going family man by day, and prowling the streets and strip clubs at night, looking for more victims. But when one woman escaped and lived to tell her harrowing story, police made a shocking discovery inside Robert Hansen's home, which would expose the baker as the monster he truly was.

"The Amityville Horror" -- Ron "Butch" DeFeo (Sunday, May 16, 2021 from 9-11pm): In November 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were found murdered inside their beautiful seaside home. The mother, father, and four of their children were shot in the back as they lay sleeping in their beds. The bodies were discovered by the only family member left alive - the oldest son Butch DeFeo. What really happened that night in Amityville? Who murdered the DeFeo family and why? What caused the strange events in the house near the sea? Parapsychologists and psychics descend on the house to investigate claims of levitating objects and demonic possession in an attempt to explain why, 50 years later, this house is still a source of nightmares.

"The Dating Game Killer" -- Rodney Alcala (Sunday, May 23, 2021 from 9-11pm): In 1968, an 8-year-old girl is abducted and raped. The Los Angeles police were just moments from catching her attacker, but he eludes them and escapes to New York where he kills a young woman. This is the beginning of a monstrous killing spree of young girls and women. When police discover who is behind these horrific murders, they are shocked to find it's a handsome, charming photographer. With a string of murders already behind him, incredibly, Rodney Alcala is chosen to appear on the national game show, "The Dating Game." What happens next makes Rodney Alcala one of the most horrific serial killers in US history.

"The Iceman" -- Richard Kuklinski (Sunday, May 30, 2021 from 9-11pm): He was a family man, living in a New Jersey suburb with his wife and three kids. But unbeknownst to his neighbors, Richard Kuklinski held a dark secret: he was the "Iceman" - a cold-blooded killer who was part-time mob hitman for hire, and full-time psychopath. This intimidating, oversized killer managed to evade the police with ease for years. That is, until a few smart investigators started connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated murders and a mystery man known as "Big Rich."

"The Firestarter" --- John Orr (Sunday, June 6, 2021 from 9-11pm): A string of horrifying fires plagues California in the Eighties and Nineties, one of them fatally trapping four people inside. Are these raging infernosaccidental or is someone setting them deliberately? Years of meticulous investigation leads law enforcement to uncover a wave of terrifying fires set by a man some call the most prolific arsonist of the Twentieth century, who turns out to be none other than renowned fire investigator Captain John Orr. In a game of cat and mouse, colleagues discover dark secrets behind the man who thrived on the chaos of igniting the fires he was supposed to be fighting.



Season 4 of VERY SCARY PEOPLE premiered on Sunday, June 5, 2022 from 9-11pm ET/PT on HLN with a two-part season opener. Host Donnie Wahlberg returns for the new season. Episodes include:

"The Ken and Barbie Killers" (Sunday, June 5, 2022 from 9-11pm): One of North America's most haunting and horrific crime sprees was a series of rapes, abductions, and murders of young women just north of the U.S.-Canada border from 1987 to 1992. Ontario authorities joined FBI profilers to hunt the monster responsible, but they came up empty handed for more than five years until one tip led cops to an unlikely suspect: a middle-class accountant living with his beautiful wife in a quaint pink house in the suburbs. They were sure they had their man, but the saga was far from over. Disturbing videotapes were discovered, and the public learned the sordid details of the crimes and who else was involved, sending shockwaves throughout the world.

"The Back to School Killer" (Sunday, June 12, 2022): When college-aged women in Charlottesville, Virginia started disappearing, the community was shaken to its core. The search for answers led authorities to an unlikely suspect, a local star athlete named Jesse Matthew Jr. In a story filled with twists and turns, the viewer goes behind the investigation of how he kidnapped and killed at least two young women, and how a third cheated death and became the key to bringing a murderer to justice. For the first time, you'll hear explosive and heart-wrenching details from victims' families and friends.

"Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano" (Sunday, June 19, 2022: Sammy "The Bull" Gravano was one of the most feared mobsters in history. As the right-hand man to mafia kingpin John Gotti, he carried out multiple murders on behalf of the crime family. But after his arrest, he committed the ultimate mafia sin: he broke the sacred oath of silence and cut a deal with the government - agreeing to testify against his former boss. In shocking testimony, Gravano described the cold-blooded murders of close friends and business partners and the secret world of La Cosa Nostra. As the highest-ranking mobster ever to defect, The Bull's testimony helped put Gotti and dozens of others behind bars and devastated the hierarchy of organized crime. After the trial, Gravano was supposed to slip away quietly under the Witness Protection Program with a new name and a new face. But the notorious gangster was not about to live a normal life. Despite the bounty on his head, Gravano abandoned the Witness Protection Program and drifted back into the criminal world. Sammy Gravano is one of the last mobsters of a bygone era and his journey from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to the mafia's inner circle, to government informant, and then to prison, is a riveting tale of murder, betrayal, and survival.

"The Hillside Stranglers" (Sunday, June 26, 2022): In the fall of 1977, the bodies of young women begin piling up in Los Angeles. Almost all were nude, showing signs of torture, and discarded on hillsides. Overnight, the city became gripped with terror as the press dubbed the perpetrator "The Hillside Strangler." As the killings escalated, police received reports that two suspicious men were spotted flashing police badges and asking women to pull over. Suddenly, detectives realized that they were facing not a single serial killer but a pair working in tandem. Even more terrifying: the perpetrators may be members of law enforcement. A large task force was formed, but every lead went nowhere. Then, in late February 1978, after ten women had been slaughtered, the killings inexplicably stopped. Nearly another year passed before two murders more than 1,200 miles away opened the door to a bizarre family saga that ultimately uncovered the identity of the Hillside Stranglers.

"The Cross Country Killer" (Sunday, July 10, 2022): It was just a normal night for 18-year-old Samantha Koenig. She was closing the coffee kiosk where she worked in Anchorage, Alaska - like she had done many times before - when one last customer came in: a man known in the community as a local business owner and caring father. But lurking beneath that anodyne surface was a rapist and a ruthless killer with a penchant for selecting random victims throughout the country. Israel Keyes' kidnapping of Koenig led to an intense manhunt and a cross country investigation that ended his reign of terror. While in custody, Keyes played cat and mouse with detectives, revealing some details about his crimes and his missing victims. In the end, Keyes had one last surprise.

"John Gotti" (Sunday, July 17, 2022): Nicknamed the "Dapper Don," on account of his expensive suits and swagger, John Gotti was one of the biggest celebrities of the 1980s. But the real John Gotti was a man to be feared - a ruthless gangster who ordered hits on enemies and friends alike, as well as anyone else who crossed him. In the 70s, Gotti worked his way up the ranks of the Gambino crime family as a solid earner and vicious capo determined to not let anything or anyone stand in his way. Gotti's big move came in 1985, when he organized the brutal murder of then Gambino boss Paul Castellano and took Castellano's throne as the new Gambino godfather, making him public enemy #1. Everyone from law enforcement to other goodfellas considered Gotti dangerous and unpredictable. And for years he seemed unstoppable. This episode explores how this common street thug became the godfather of one of the world's most powerful crime families, and how a secret FBI operation finally brought him down.
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For its fifth season, VERY SCARY PEOPLE moved to Investigation Discovery, debuting on Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT. The season premiere, "The Trailside Killer," focuses on serial killer David Carpenter. From 1979 to 1981, Carpenter terrorized Northern California's typically tranquil hiking trails, shocking the quiet community surrounding them with his cold-blooded violence and led local authorities on a twisted and challenging investigation to bring him to justice. The new season of VERY SCARY PEOPLE also digs into some of the most diabolical individuals of the past few decades, including: Larry Hall, the American murderer and rapist whose true nature was exposed by drug smuggler turned F.B.I. informant James Keene; the Times Square Killer, Richard Cottingham; The Happy Face Killer, Keith Jesperson; John Robinson, the internet's first serial killer who dubbed himself the "Slavemaster;" and Judy Buenoano, a deadly Black Widow lurking behind the facade of nurse, wife and mother.