Netflix “Monsters – Season 3” Filming in McHenry County Featuring Serial Killer Mark Allen Smith (My BAD Guess)

And my guess is wrong, as you can see in this subsequent post.

But, Mark Allen Smith, would be a good topic for Season 4.

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Cinematically, McHenry County is best known for “Groundhog Day.”

Of course, there are other movies with portions shot here, such as “Trains, Buses and Automobiles,” but their connections to McHenry County pales in comparison to the national impression made by “Groundhog Day.”

Now comes Netflix, with permission to be granted by the McHenry County Board tonight, about to film the third in its season of “Monsters.”

The first season featured the story about Jeffrey Dahmer:

Nerflix followed up with a movie based on the Lyle and Erik Menendez, who did in their parents.

I’m not a fan of true crime, but enough people like the first two seasons of “Monsters” that Netflix has selected a McHenry County monster for its sequel.

The Franklinville area is the location at which filming permission is sought from McHenry County, which will result in the detouring of road traffic.

Note that filming .Woodstock will be involved as well.

In the image above, one can see Emricson Park will serve as the Netflix “basecamp.”

So, who will be featured in Season 3 of Monsters?

My guess is Mark Alan Smith.

Wikipedia’s descriptions of the murders committed by Smith are truly gruesome.

What I remember is an abduction of a woman from the laundromat next to what used to be the Ace Hardware across Route 47 from where Jewel is now located.

Smith hired Crystal Lake defense attorney Harold (Hal) McKenney.

McKenney managed to keep Smith from the death penalty and wrote a book entitled “Legally Sane” along with Jon Hahn, who gets prime credit on the book’s cover:

This is on the cover of the book:

“Since May of 1970, Mark Alan Smith, an apparently well-mannered, clean-cut young man who always endeared himself to the mothers of the girls he dated, has confessed to the cold-blooded assault, murder, and rape of at least a dozen women.

“His confession started a chain reaction that reopened the books on hundreds of unsolved murder cases throughout the United States and in three foreign countries.

“In a series of exclusive interviews with Smith inside Stateville Penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois, Harold C. McKenney, Smith’s lawyer, and Jon K. Hahn uncover facts about Smith that never hit the headlines.

“For Smith managed to avoid public exposure just as he managed to avoid the death sentence.

“The composite picture of this self confessed multiple murderer is all the more horrifying in that he exhibits to the casual observer no bizarre behavior, no disassociation from reality.

“His obvious intelligence and his ability to carry on a seemingly normal life for weeks at a time made him seem congenial, responsible, and trustworthy to his co-workers, his friends, and his family.

“His tragically deceptive demeanor, so calm and controlled as to seem almost bland, contrasts with the merciless slaughterings to which he has confessed.

“In this unprecedented biography, the authors take you through the events leading to his arrest for the murder of Jean Ann Lingenfelter in May, 1970 and the subsequent exposure of the numerous murder to which Smith later confessed.

“They also introduce you to some of the families who found themselves trapped in Mark Alan Smith’s web of horror and explain the series of carefully engineered plea-bargaining agreements through which Smith managed to avoid the death sentence.

“In fact, he will be eligible for parole within thirty years.

“Finally, you’ll learn how, in brief, unpublicized court appearances, Mark Alan Smith, who may be responsible for the deaths of more people than Richard Speck and Charles Manson combined, was found to be legally sane.”

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Fun fact: Amazon has the hard cover for sale at $4,870.13.