12 scary documentaries on Netflix for Halloween 2022

Abducted in Plain Sight Netflix documentary via Media Center courtesy Netflix

Scary true crime documentaries on Netflix

Halloween is right around the corner and I don’t know about you, but I love watching something spooky to get me in the holiday mood. There are so many great horror movies and TV shows out there, with a handful available to stream on Netflix.

But when it comes down to titles that are really scary, the ones that will keep you up at night, I’d say real-life cases are worse than fiction. Knowing so many frightening things happen in real life is enough to make me hide under the blankets, and many of the true crime documentaries on Netflix will have viewers rightfully creeped out.

From serial killers and disappearances to cults and the paranormal, here are the 12 scariest documentaries available to stream on Netflix, starting with Abducted in Plain Sight.

Abducted in Plain Sight

One of true crime filmmaker Skye Borgman’s first full-length documentaries was the 2017 movie Abducted in Plain Sight on Netflix. Telling the story of the Broberg family, we learn about the kidnappings of Jan Broberg, a young girl who was taken by a close friend. The family in Idaho trusted a man named Robert Berchtold, who manipulated them into thinking he was a good person. Instead, he groomed Jan and captured her not only once but twice.

After Robert kidnapped Jan the first time, he told her that she was being abducted by an alien UFO and the only way she’d get out alive is if she did everything he told her to do. Fortunately, she was returned home, and the Brogberg family dropped the charges against Robert. A couple of years later, Robert managed to kidnap Jan yet again using the same UFO scheme.

The Brogberg family was part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and their faith plays a big part in the documentary.

Abducted in Plain Sight is a chilling tale of a family torn apart by someone they thought they knew. A scripted series based on the true story, titled A Friend of the Family, premiered on Peacock earlier this month. It stars Anna Paquin, Colin Hanks, Mckenna Grace, and Jake Lacy.