There’s a disturbing reason Frank sent tapes of his victims to the police in The Whisper Man

Frank Carter, in Netflix’s The Whisper Man, does more than abduct and murder young boys; he also sends cassette recordings of his victims’ conversations to the police, leaving behind disturbing clues about his crimes. So, why would the Whisper Man deliberately send those tapes to investigators?

Frank Carter is already serving a life sentence when retired detective Pete Willis returns to question him about his grandson Jake’s disappearance. By this point, Frank has become one of the most infamous serial killers in the story. But the tapes give us another glimpse into the way he thinks.

So, why does the Whisper Man send tapes of his victims?

Ashcroft told Entertainment Weekly that there was actually some real-life inspiration behind the tapes. The director said he had heard an excerpt from an actual recording made by serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who kidnapped and murdered children in England in what became known as the Moors murders.

“It was just voices, them talking to this child and recording it for whatever their own purposes are,” Ashcroft said. “And there was something so banal and uneventful about it that made it even more horrifying.” 

That idea became part of The Whisper Man’s approach to the tapes. Ashcroft continued, “And at the end of the day, you are dealing with a grown adult having power over an innocent child. And I don’t think it can get any worse than that.”

Frank sends the tapes because he needs control

There is also a much more personal reason for Frank leaving those recordings behind. According to Ashcroft, it comes down to Frank’s personality and his need to control the situation.

“In terms of Frank making those tapes and sending them into the police, I think that just speaks to Frank’s own self-involvement and narcissism,” the director said.

That fits with what we see whenever Frank interacts with Pete. Ashcroft explained that Frank “just has to have the final say.” He also wants to “twist the knife” and control what is happening around him.

So the tapes are actually part of the game he is playing with the people trying to catch him. The tapes allow Frank to keep himself at the centre of the investigation, even when he is not physically there.

Ashcroft added, “So I think people who correspond in that way usually have some sort of need for control, whether or not they actually have it, or they’re just doing it for themselves.”

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