The “true crime” genre is one of much debate. Many documentaries on the subject tend to lean into the dramatics of very real and sensitive topics still affecting people today. The online content centered around real-life murders generates pits of discourse and armchair-detective theorizing, rarely treating the crimes with the empathy they require and reducing the tragedy to a public spectacle.
“Mind of a Serial Killer: The Experience” aims to present a new way of interacting and learning about criminal psychology, forensics, and serial killers.
The exhibit opened in Seattle on June 19 at Pacific Place downtown. Taking an escalator down will land you in a model FBI office, where details of forensic psychology and investigation are posted on the walls. The setup allows you to follow the process of solving and analyzing crime scenes. From then on, you can walk through over 20 rooms all filled with information on serial killers, their crimes, how they were caught, and even recreations of their crime scenes. The recreations are brutal and horrific—and that’s the point…