Twisted Facts About Dexter

June 15, 2017 | Josh Mendelssohn

Twisted Facts About Dexter


21. The Blood Recipe

Ever wanted to make your own blood like the folks at Dexter? Now you can! The blood mixture is made from maple syrup, food colouring, peppermint oil and Dawn dish soap. The maple syrup has the desired thickness and is easier to clean than corn syrup. Food colouring for obvious reasons. Peppermint oil to ward off flying insects drawn to the sweetness of the syrup. And finally, dish soap, because it allows the blood to come out of clothing easier.

 

Dexter FactsWikimedia Commons

20. Like Father, Like Son

In season 8, Angel Batista played by David Zayas is not always the real Angel Batista – the character was sometimes portrayed by Zayas son, David Zayas Jr who would sub in as a body double.

Dexter FactsGetty Images

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

19. The Blood Slides

The blood we see Dexter put in the slides is made from the maple syrup mixture, but the blood we see stored in the slides in the box is actually made from furniture dye.

 

Dexter FactsShutterstock

18. Family Ties

Here’s something to wrinkle your brain: despite portraying brother and sister on the show, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter and Deb) were married in 2008. The pair consequently divorced two years later, but continued to work together.

Dexter FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

17. Michael C. Hall’s Secret

Michael C. Hall, who played Dexter himself, revealed that he was suffering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2010. He underwent treatment and chemotherapy, continuing his work on Dexter while in remission.

Dexter FactsGetty Images

16. Commitment

Michael C. Hall wore a wig for season 5 to cover up his hair loss due to chemotherapy.

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

15. The Kill Room

It takes the crew an average of 12 hours to set up Dexter’s kill room and around 8 to 9 hours to film the scene in it.

Dexter FactsGetty Images

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

14. Are There Brakes?

Michael C. Hall unwittingly managed to crash the Slice of Life, the boat he uses to dump bodies in the ocean,  into a pier during shooting, causing around $8,000 in damages to the boat. Luckily, he didn’t have to pay for the repairs.

Dexter FactsWikimedia Commons

13. Based on Real-Life

The producers have admitted that The Trinity Killer was loosely based on the BTK killer, Dennis Rader.

Dexter FactsGetty Images

Factinate

Sign up to our newsletter.

History’s most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Making distraction rewarding since 2017.

Thank you!
Error, please try again.

12. Duality

The name “Dexter” is Latin for “right hand”, the opposite of which in Latin is “left hand” or “sinister”. Jeff Lindsay, author of the original book, confirmed that the name was meant to signify the surface normality of the character and his inner darkness.

Dexter FactsFlickr

Advertisement

11. Driving Up the Murder Rate

On average, Dexter killed about one person per month with some variance. If you tally that up, it would mean that he would potentially account for around 15%-20% of murders in Miami during the years of his activity – with the city reporting between 59-79 murder in that time.

 

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

10 Dr. Morgan

After looking into his background, Sgt. Doakes mentions that Dexter finished at the top of his class in medical school, but chose to become a blood spatter analyst. This means that Dexter is technically a non-practicing M.D.

Dexter FactsGetty Images

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

9. Colours For Every Mood

If you take note, Dexter always wears light-coloured shirts to work or around town, but he dons dark clothing for his murderous deeds. Very symbolic wardrobe choices.

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

8. Any Beach Will Do

Most of the show’s exterior shots were actually taken in Long Beach, California and the interiors were shot at the Sunset-Gower Studios. A secondary crew would film scenes in Miami to add authenticity to the show.

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

7. An endorsement for Ford

Almost every vehicle Dexter ever drives on the show is from Ford.

Dexter FactsWikimedia Commons

6. The Shirt

Whenever Dexter is going to kill someone, he wears his long-sleeved dark green henley shirt.

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

Advertisement

5. 2-for-1 baby

Due to the restrictions of child labour laws, Dexter’s son was played by twins Luke Andrew Kruntchev and Evan George Kruntchev – so they could split the shooting time.

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

4. Stick to the Script

There was no improvisation during the shooting of the series. Any deviation from the script had to be approved, which kind of kills any improvisation.

 

Dexter FactsGetty Images

3. Monkeying around

In the Dexter episode “Monkey in a Box”, when Dexter is on the phone with Sylvia Prado, he is holding his phone upside down. The internet had a bit of a field day with that.

 

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

2. No dating at work

Dexter is the only character to never date a co-worker, all the other main character have dipped their pens in the company ink. At least, he exercises restraint in some ways…

 

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

1. Bad Publicity for Australia

The South Australian government once filed a complaint against an ad for Dexter on Foxtel (Australian television company), which cited Adelaide (city in South Australia) having the highest serial killer rate per capita. After a number of complaints all of the ads were pulled from the air. We’re not sure about the rate per capita, but we do know the country with the highest number of serial killers ever recorded is – the United States of America.

Dexter FactsDexter, Showtime Networks

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4


More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.