There Were More Fictional Homicides in Maine Than Real Homicides for About 40 Straight Years
Maine has long been known as a very safe state to live in. But if you believe everything you seen on television, that may not be the case. For decades, there's been a handful of shows and movies that have taken place in Maine, most of which have to do with mystery, death, and murder. That's why one tweet from Timothy Burke got people discussing the divide between fiction and reality.
If you don't remember the hit TV show Murder, She Wrote, it took place in a fictional town known as Cabot Cove, Maine. Angela Lansbury played the part of Jessica Fletcher, an author who had a knack as an amateur detective solving various murders throughout Maine. The show spanned 12 years and aired 264 episodes. Many of the episodes took place outside of Maine, but with that many seasons, the fictional homicides added up quick for Maine.
Of course, it hasn't just been Murder, She Wrote set in Maine. Many series and movies based on Stephen King works have been as well. When you add up the fictional murders over the course of the last 40 years, you'll find something odd. Far more fictional people were murdered in Maine than real people.
That's not to make light of the people who actually lost their life in Maine. Over the last 40 years, Maine has rarely eclipsed 27 murders per year. That was the typical average for a season of Murder, She Wrote. When you add in other series and movies, Maine's fictional population were being murdered at a higher rate than its real population.
The great news is that Maine remains one of the safest states in the country, whether TV and movies wants you to believe it or not.