Netflix’s Monster franchise has put a new killer in the spotlight each season, and every one sends viewers to Google. Now prediction market traders are betting on that attention. Polymarket prices Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story at around 11% to be the most-searched TV show of 2026, up from around 2% in the market’s first days. It sits third behind Euphoria (26%) and Stranger Things (16%), in a market that has traded more than $124,000 across more than 45 titles.

With Halloween around the corner, the iGaming experts behind the monthly VIP-Grinders Prediction Markets Report, tested the market against Google search data. They analyzed how much Americans search for 16 notorious killers, nationally and state by state, to see how big the appetite is and which story Monster could tell next.

Key findings:

• Lizzie Borden draws 532,400 average monthly US searches, the fifth highest of the 16 killers tracked and equal to 43% of Jeffrey Dahmer’s 1,247,250, more than a century after the 1892 murders she was accused of.
• Ted Bundy is the most-searched killer Monster hasn’t covered, with 1,013,950 monthly searches, but Ryan Murphy has ruled out a Bundy season.
• With Bundy out, John Wayne Gacy is the top pick on 778,350 monthly searches, ahead of Charles Manson (668,050) and Dennis Rader (421,350).
• Richard Ramirez is the favorite killer in California, Florida and New York, three of the four states that search for serial killers the most.

Why these searches matter:

Lizzie Borden’s story dates back to 1892, yet her name draws 532,400 average monthly US searches, the fifth highest of the 16 killers VIP-Grinders tracked. That is 43% of the 1,247,250 for Jeffrey Dahmer, the subject of the franchise’s first season, and more than Dennis Rader, Richard Ramirez or Aileen Wuornos.

João Mourato, Head of iGaming Product at VIP-Grinders, commented on the findings:

“Entertainment is a small corner of prediction markets, just 0.6% of Kalshi and Polymarket volume over the last twelve months in our tracking, and traders tend to hold these positions rather than trade in and out of them. Markets like this move on attention, which is why we look at what Americans are actually searching for.”

Americans want Bundy, but director Ryan Murphy says no

Netflix’s Monster has so far told the stories of Jeffrey Dahmer (2022), the Menendez brothers (2024), Ed Gein (2025) and now Lizzie Borden. Among the notorious killers VIP-Grinders tracked, the biggest name not yet covered is Ted Bundy, with 1,013,950 average monthly US searches.

The catch is that Ryan Murphy told Variety in 2025 that he has already decided against a Bundy season. Take Bundy out and John Wayne Gacy becomes the top pick on 778,350 monthly searches, ahead of Charles Manson (668,050), Dennis Rader (421,350) and Richard Ramirez (417,850).

America’s top 10 states for serial killer searches, and each state’s favorite

Ranked by total monthly searches for serial killers, these are the 10 states that search the most, with each state’s favorite killer. The list leaves out Monster subjects Jeffrey Dahmer and Lizzie Borden, whose searches are inflated by their series, and Charles Manson, who was a cult leader rather than a serial killer.

Rank	State	Total monthly searches	Searches per 100K residents	Favorite serial killer
1	California	374,300	951	Richard Ramirez
2	Texas	369,350	1,165	Dennis Rader
3	Florida	233,900	997	Richard Ramirez
4	New York	228,500	1,142	Richard Ramirez
5	Georgia	142,550	1,261	Ted Bundy
6	Illinois	142,550	1,121	Ted Bundy
7	Pennsylvania	142,550	1,092	Ted Bundy
8	Michigan	137,600	1,359	Ted Bundy
9	North Carolina	137,600	1,229	Ted Bundy
10	Ohio	137,600	1,156	Ted Bundy

States with identical totals are ranked by searches per 100,000 residents. Per-100,000 rates use U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates (1 July 2025). Where two killers recorded the same volume in a state they are shown as joint favorites.

Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, is the favorite in three of the four biggest states, while Ted Bundy takes the other six. Several of these states have also moved against prediction markets, including New York, Ohio and Michigan*.

Methodology and sources:

• VIP-Grinders analyzed Google search volumes for 16 notorious killers, including each killer’s name, “pictures” variants and well-known nicknames, across all 50 US states.
• Figures are average monthly US searches accurate as of 13 October 2026.
• The Polymarket market, “#1 Searched TV Show on Google 2026?”, resolves according to Google’s Year in Search TV Shows list for 2026, which is global. VIP-Grinders’ figures cover US searches only, so they show US appetite and are not a forecast of the final ranking.
• Polymarket prices (Euphoria 26%, Stranger Things 16%, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story 11%, His & Hers 7%, Heated Rivalry 6%) and total market volume of more than $124,000 were correct as of 14 October 2026 and change constantly. The starting price of around 2% for Monster is from the market’s first days in early August.
• The notorious killers list includes people who are not classed as serial killers, such as Lizzie Borden, who was accused of the 1892 murders of her father and stepmother and acquitted, and Charles Manson, a cult leader. Monster has covered stories beyond serial killers, so all are treated as potential subjects. The top 10 states table covers the 13 serial killers in the data set, excluding Dahmer, Borden and Manson. Where two killers recorded the same volume in a state they are shown as joint favorites.
• Prediction market statistics are from the VIP-Grinders Prediction Markets Report, using Artemis data: entertainment was 0.6% of Kalshi and Polymarket trading volume in the twelve months to 30 September 2026, and event contract volume reached $76.46bn in September 2026.
• *State action against prediction markets: VIP-Grinders’ research on where prediction markets are banned, last verified on 17 September 2026. The status of these cases changes frequently.
• Ryan Murphy’s comments on Ted Bundy were made to Variety in 2025. Ian Brennan’s comments on Aileen Wuornos were made to Netflix’s Tudum.