It’s kind of hard to pin down what the first slasher movie was. Do you start with “Psycho” in 1960? Go even further back? But there’s no real doubt when the genre blossomed—the 1970s. And that makes sense, because the 1970s was also when the shocking crimes of serial killers really permeated the national consciousness. You ask someone to name a serial killer, there’s a good chance they’ll name someone who was mostly or exclusively active in the ‘70s—Bundy, Gacy, BTK, Son of Sam. The slasher movies tapped into a growing awareness that there really were terrifyingly dangerous people out there, killers who didn’t even have to know you to want you dead. This is the story of the horrible murders of two young hitchhikers, at a time when such cases were startlingly common.
Sources:Ann Rule—Last Dance, Last Chance—"The Beach”Court papers:,https://casetext.com/case/state-v-batten-3)https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/gone-girl-the-disappearance-of-laura-flink/) https://charleyproject.org/case/laura-lee-asynithe-flink)Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire)https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/)Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079)Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com)