It’s not uncommon for American Horror Story to take inspiration from history’s most prolific monsters. The Axeman of New Orleans, Madame Delphine LaLaurie, Charles Manson, Marshall Applewhite, and Jim Jones have all made their way into Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s twisted folds. But there’s one murderer and AHS regular who has never gotten the amount of attention his crimes deserved. If you were obsesed with American Horror Story: 1984, then you need to be watching Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer on Netflix
In Season 9 Richard Ramirez, aka The Night Stalker, is portrayed as a cool bad boy with a love of killing random people for no reason. Ramirez’s (Zach Villa) complicated relationship with Montana (Billie Lourd) follows the ever-addicting will-they, won’t-they of a man who is nothing but trouble and a woman who knows it but can’t walk away. On paper that depiction of a real life mass murderer and rapist may seem crass, but it’s disturbingly close to reality. The media frenzy that followed Ramirez’s trial turned this man from a monster into some form of a Satanic sex god. It’s that balancing act between the horrors Ramirez unleashed and the deplorable way he was portrayed that AHS depicts.
It’s easy to argue that Richard Ramirez is one of the most disturbing mass murderers of the last 50 years. From June 1984 until August 1985 he haunted California, first starting in Los Angeles then moving to the San Francisco area. Most serial killers or serial criminals target a specific type of victim. That was never the case with Ramirez. His victims ranged from the nine-year-old Mei Leung to the 79-year-old Jennie Vincow. He attacked, stalked, killed, and raped at random. Some nights he would murder a couple in their own home after sexually violating the wife. Others he would try to run innocent civilians off the road or simply stare at them, doing nothing. That unpredictability is what made him into a true force of terror throughout California.
Though Night Stalker chronicles Ramirez’s countless crimes and victims, what it’s more interested in is detailing the investigation that led to his arrest. Through Detective Gil Carrillo and Detective Frank Salerno, who worked on the Hillside Strangler case, you see just how truly hopeless this case seemed. The uncertainty of these professionals only serves to elevate how terrifying Ramirez was.
The Night Stalker was eventually captured and convicted in September of 1989. He was imprisoned for 13 counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder, 11 accounts of sexual assault, and 14 counts of burglary. Ramirez eventually died in prison of natural causes. There has been no definite documentary about this killer — until now. Want to get even more spooked by your favorite horror drama? Then you need to fully understand the terrifying force at its center.
Watch Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer on Netflix
