What do you think?
Rate this book
Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can't Look Away
“A fascinating examination of a feature of human nature that all of us have, most of us deplore (at least in others), and few of us understand.”
—Steven Pinker, New York Times bestselling author of Rationality and Enlightenment Now
The leading expert on the science behind morbid curiosity explains our spooky, gory, and macabre fascinations
What makes us peek at a car wreck or binge-watch true crime shows late into the night? Why are some of us drawn to horror movies while others shudder at the thought? In Morbidly Curious, scientist Coltan Scrivner takes readers on a thrilling journey into the psychology of morbid curiosity, uncovering why we can’t resist the macabre. From grisly serial killers to spine-chilling paranormal stories, Scrivner reveals the psychological forces that compel us to explore our darkest fears—and explains how this proclivity is more than just a quirk. It’s a powerful survival instinct, helping us mentally prepare for real-world threats, all from the safety of our imaginations.
Blending fascinating insights and cutting-edge research at haunted houses across the world, Scrivner makes a powerful argument for the value of playing with fear and embracing the gruesome. Whether you're a horror fan yourself or just want to better understand the true crime craze, Morbidly Curious will open your eyes to the hidden benefits of exploring the dark side of human nature.
—Steven Pinker, New York Times bestselling author of Rationality and Enlightenment Now
The leading expert on the science behind morbid curiosity explains our spooky, gory, and macabre fascinations
What makes us peek at a car wreck or binge-watch true crime shows late into the night? Why are some of us drawn to horror movies while others shudder at the thought? In Morbidly Curious, scientist Coltan Scrivner takes readers on a thrilling journey into the psychology of morbid curiosity, uncovering why we can’t resist the macabre. From grisly serial killers to spine-chilling paranormal stories, Scrivner reveals the psychological forces that compel us to explore our darkest fears—and explains how this proclivity is more than just a quirk. It’s a powerful survival instinct, helping us mentally prepare for real-world threats, all from the safety of our imaginations.
Blending fascinating insights and cutting-edge research at haunted houses across the world, Scrivner makes a powerful argument for the value of playing with fear and embracing the gruesome. Whether you're a horror fan yourself or just want to better understand the true crime craze, Morbidly Curious will open your eyes to the hidden benefits of exploring the dark side of human nature.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2025
165 people are currently reading
6574 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
January 30, 2025
I thought this book was very interesting - an exploration of the different reasons humans are drawn to horror: ghosts, serial killers, etc. In our evolutionary history, we learned how to watch for threats so we could anticipate them. We also can experience fear more as a "practice round" for more intense situations. The author cites multiple research studies that have brought humanity's morbid curiosities to light.
September 12, 2025
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A scientist tries to explain the appeal of horror movies and the like through the lens of evolution. It's very informative, but seems like a lot of effort to justify liking horror movies.
A scientist tries to explain the appeal of horror movies and the like through the lens of evolution. It's very informative, but seems like a lot of effort to justify liking horror movies.
January 1, 2026
لقد مررنا جميعًا بفضولٍ مرضي في وقتٍ ما. إنه ذلك الشعور الغريب بالانبهار الذي يدفعنا لمواجهة الخوف والاشمئزاز والمجهول. إنه التناقض الذي نشعر به عندما نُواجه مشهدًا مُقززًا ولكنه جذاب بشكلٍ غامض. إنه التردد الذي نشعر به قبل دخول منزلٍ مسكونٍ في عيد الهالوين، حيث ترتجف أجسادنا وتتحرك عقولنا بمزيجٍ من الإثارة والخوف. أحداثٌ مُرعبة، وقصصٌ مُرعبة، وألعابٌ مُرعبة تخطف انتباهنا وتُغوي خيالنا.
عندما يحدث أمرٌ سيءٌ في العالم، نرغب في أن نكون أول من يسمع عنه. يُمكننا تخيُّل الأحداث المُرعبة بسهولة. أحيانًا نضطر حتى إلى مُقاومة الرغبة في استحضار أحداثٍ مُؤسفة. علينا أن نُقنع أنفسنا بعدم التفكير في تعطل الطائرة وتحطمها عندما يكون هناك القليل من الاضطرابات ويومض ضوء حزام الأمان.
لطالما جادل علماء النفس بأن البشر لديهم ميل للسلبية، أو ميل للتأثر بالأحداث السلبية أكثر من الإيجابية. فالأحداث السلبية تجذب انتباهنا أسرع، وتزيد من حماسنا، وتثير استجابات أقوى، ويتم تذكرها بسهولة أكبر مقارنةً بالأحداث الإيجابية أو المحايدة. إن الشعور الذي يتولد لديك بعد خسارة ألف دولار أقوى بكثير من النشوة التي تشعر بها بعد ربح ألف دولار. الانفصال المؤلم يبقى في الذاكرة أكثر من الانفصال الودي. ردود الفعل السلبية أقوى من ردود الفعل الإيجابية. باختصار، تؤثر فينا المشاعر والتفاعلات والأحداث والمواقف التي نعتبرها "سيئة" بشكل أقوى. نشعر بها بقوة أكبر، ونعالج المعلومات المتعلقة بها بدقة أكبر، ونتذكرها بوضوح أكبر. كما قال عالم النفس الاجتماعي روي باوميستر، فإن السيئ أقوى من الجيد.
لكن ماذا يعني أن يكون شيء ما سلبيًا أو سيئًا؟ هذه مصطلحات عامة جدًا. بالطبع، يمكنك معرفة الحدث السلبي عندما تمر به. فقدان شخص عزيز، الرسوب في امتحان، المرور بانفصال عاطفي صعب، التعرض لإصابة؛ يتفق الجميع تقريبًا على أن هذه تجارب سلبية. ومع ذلك، لا يمكن للعلم أن يتعامل مع "الشعور بالأمر بمجرد رؤيته". حتى شيء مثل العنف، الذي يبدو أنه يُصنف بوضوح على أنه سيئ، ليس بهذه البساطة. من المرجح أن يُنظر إلى العنف الذي يمارسه المتنمر على ضحية بريئة على أنه سيئ، لكن العنف الذي يمارسه بطل نبيل على شخص شرير لن يُنظر إليه كذلك على الأرجح. السلبية ذاتية وقابلة للتغير حسب السياق والشخص الذي يمر بها.
سمعنا جميعًا أن الأخبار السيئة تنتشر أسرع من الأخبار الجيدة. وهو أمر يُعزى غالبًا إلى تحيزنا السلبي. ولكن كما أوضح عالم الأنثروبولوجيا المعرفية باسكال بوير، فإن الأخبار المُهددة هي الأسرع انتشارًا. جادل بوير بأن تحيزنا السلبي مدفوع بالمعلومات المتعلقة بالتهديد تحديدًا، وليس بالمعلومات السلبية عمومًا.
تعتبر المعلومات المتعلقة بالتهديد أكثر أهمية من أنواع المعلومات الأخرى، والأشخاص الذين ينشرون هذه التهديدات يعتبرون أكثر جدارة بالثقة. لنأخذ مذيعي الأخبار على سبيل المثال: ينشرون يوميًا معلومات عن جرائم القتل والسرقات والكوارث. بالنسبة لهم ولمشاهديهم، تُعتبر هذه المواضيع أكثر أهمية من معظم الأخبار الأخرى. ورغم كل هذا التشاؤم، يحظى العديد من المذيعين الذين ينشرون معلومات مُهددة يوميًا بشعبية واحترام كبيرين من قِبل مشاهديهم.
.
Colton Scrivner
Morbidly Curious
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
عندما يحدث أمرٌ سيءٌ في العالم، نرغب في أن نكون أول من يسمع عنه. يُمكننا تخيُّل الأحداث المُرعبة بسهولة. أحيانًا نضطر حتى إلى مُقاومة الرغبة في استحضار أحداثٍ مُؤسفة. علينا أن نُقنع أنفسنا بعدم التفكير في تعطل الطائرة وتحطمها عندما يكون هناك القليل من الاضطرابات ويومض ضوء حزام الأمان.
لطالما جادل علماء النفس بأن البشر لديهم ميل للسلبية، أو ميل للتأثر بالأحداث السلبية أكثر من الإيجابية. فالأحداث السلبية تجذب انتباهنا أسرع، وتزيد من حماسنا، وتثير استجابات أقوى، ويتم تذكرها بسهولة أكبر مقارنةً بالأحداث الإيجابية أو المحايدة. إن الشعور الذي يتولد لديك بعد خسارة ألف دولار أقوى بكثير من النشوة التي تشعر بها بعد ربح ألف دولار. الانفصال المؤلم يبقى في الذاكرة أكثر من الانفصال الودي. ردود الفعل السلبية أقوى من ردود الفعل الإيجابية. باختصار، تؤثر فينا المشاعر والتفاعلات والأحداث والمواقف التي نعتبرها "سيئة" بشكل أقوى. نشعر بها بقوة أكبر، ونعالج المعلومات المتعلقة بها بدقة أكبر، ونتذكرها بوضوح أكبر. كما قال عالم النفس الاجتماعي روي باوميستر، فإن السيئ أقوى من الجيد.
لكن ماذا يعني أن يكون شيء ما سلبيًا أو سيئًا؟ هذه مصطلحات عامة جدًا. بالطبع، يمكنك معرفة الحدث السلبي عندما تمر به. فقدان شخص عزيز، الرسوب في امتحان، المرور بانفصال عاطفي صعب، التعرض لإصابة؛ يتفق الجميع تقريبًا على أن هذه تجارب سلبية. ومع ذلك، لا يمكن للعلم أن يتعامل مع "الشعور بالأمر بمجرد رؤيته". حتى شيء مثل العنف، الذي يبدو أنه يُصنف بوضوح على أنه سيئ، ليس بهذه البساطة. من المرجح أن يُنظر إلى العنف الذي يمارسه المتنمر على ضحية بريئة على أنه سيئ، لكن العنف الذي يمارسه بطل نبيل على شخص شرير لن يُنظر إليه كذلك على الأرجح. السلبية ذاتية وقابلة للتغير حسب السياق والشخص الذي يمر بها.
سمعنا جميعًا أن الأخبار السيئة تنتشر أسرع من الأخبار الجيدة. وهو أمر يُعزى غالبًا إلى تحيزنا السلبي. ولكن كما أوضح عالم الأنثروبولوجيا المعرفية باسكال بوير، فإن الأخبار المُهددة هي الأسرع انتشارًا. جادل بوير بأن تحيزنا السلبي مدفوع بالمعلومات المتعلقة بالتهديد تحديدًا، وليس بالمعلومات السلبية عمومًا.
تعتبر المعلومات المتعلقة بالتهديد أكثر أهمية من أنواع المعلومات الأخرى، والأشخاص الذين ينشرون هذه التهديدات يعتبرون أكثر جدارة بالثقة. لنأخذ مذيعي الأخبار على سبيل المثال: ينشرون يوميًا معلومات عن جرائم القتل والسرقات والكوارث. بالنسبة لهم ولمشاهديهم، تُعتبر هذه المواضيع أكثر أهمية من معظم الأخبار الأخرى. ورغم كل هذا التشاؤم، يحظى العديد من المذيعين الذين ينشرون معلومات مُهددة يوميًا بشعبية واحترام كبيرين من قِبل مشاهديهم.
.
Colton Scrivner
Morbidly Curious
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
November 17, 2025
Concept was interesting but it just read like a doctoral thesis and didn’t actually end up being that interesting. Way more academic than I anticipated to be honest.
January 9, 2026
A fascinating and surprising exploration into the science behind the human drive to seek out the disaster, gore, terror, gross, macabre or horrifying.
‘Morbid curiosity is an adaptive behaviour that is central to the success of our species.’
This was very interesting for my nerdy brain.
‘Morbid curiosity is an adaptive behaviour that is central to the success of our species.’
This was very interesting for my nerdy brain.
January 6, 2026
Avtor vzpostavi pojem "morbidne radovednosti" - evolucijsko razvito radovednost glede nevarnosti, strahu, gnusnih in smrtnih zadev, ki nam pomaga preživeti tako, da lahko v varnem okolju simuliramo in se pripravimo na ekstremne situacije. Razprava je oprta na številne eksperimente in teste osebnosti (ki so povzeti precej po ameriško, popreproščeni in ponavljajoči, v dobrem in slabem) in prinaša kar nekaj zanimivih spoznanj, ki razbijajo številne stereotipe o gledanju grozljivk. Na primer tudi o tem, da empatija ni vedno nekaj nujno dobrega (vsaj s stališča preživetja) in da se empatija in "mračni" osebnostni tipi ne izključujejo vedno (ker obstaja več vrst empatije itd.). Sicer pa so dobrodošle tudi raziskave o skupnostih ljubiteljev groze. Morda manjka kaj več poglobitve v estetske razloge za to, da "ne moremo pogledati stran", ampak to pač ni fokus dela (čeprav bi bil preplet estetskih dejavnikov po mojem tudi zelo v prid osnovni teoriji). Zelo informativno je tudi poglavje o tem, kako morbidna radovednost pomaga pri uravnavanju anksioznosti. Skratka, fino in berljivo spisano.
October 18, 2025
This is a really interesting read and dealt with several morbid esque topics. I loved it and learned a lot. My only criticism (and this is just me) there’s a chapter about the pandemic which I didn’t care for because I’m not interested in reading about something we all just lived through, and it kinda dragged the last 3 chapters.
November 5, 2025
This was a fascinating look at why people are morbidly curious. It covers all different kinds of reasons why humans are drawn to horror, ghosts, murder, violent games, etc., and how it all stems from our evolutionary history.
From the beginning, this book had me hooked on how it explains our fascination with morbidly curious things. As someone who is morbidly curious and reads a lot of books about death, the paranormal, and watches a lot of horror movies, this book really helped me understand myself a little better. Also I never knew there was so much research being done into being morbidly curious, but I really enjoyed learning about it.
Overall, this was a fantastic look at human nature and I highly recommend it. I feel like I need to reread this already because it was just so fascinating and I want this information to really sink in.
From the beginning, this book had me hooked on how it explains our fascination with morbidly curious things. As someone who is morbidly curious and reads a lot of books about death, the paranormal, and watches a lot of horror movies, this book really helped me understand myself a little better. Also I never knew there was so much research being done into being morbidly curious, but I really enjoyed learning about it.
Overall, this was a fantastic look at human nature and I highly recommend it. I feel like I need to reread this already because it was just so fascinating and I want this information to really sink in.
December 1, 2025
This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. I was hooked on the book within the first few chapters and halfway through I found myself wanting a copy of this book. As someone who is a huge fan of horror novels and paranormal things this book felt like an explanation for why I’m so drawn to these things. It’s human nature to be curious and this book shows readers why they are so drawn to the fictional macabre material that exists. I had a hard time putting this book down and it drew me in the way other books do to escape from my reality and explore someone else’s reality.
December 18, 2025
Really fast read to prep for my “Psychology of Horror Films” class, but I absolutely loved it. Several lightbulb moments for me!
December 12, 2025
This was a very interesting read. It was interesting to see how negativity biases shape people's curiosity about horror. We're more inclined to remember and pay attention to things in our environment that are negative so that we can learn to manage them.
October 30, 2025
Words cannot express how good this book is, and I don’t think I’ll do it justice. Whether you’re someone who enjoys horror or want to know about people who enjoy horror, true crime, and other morbid topics, you need to read this book immediately. I used to be the biggest wuss when it came to horror, but my now fiancée got me into it years ago. Coltan has researched and studied research about why people are into horror and other morbid things, and I’ve honestly been waiting for this book for years.
Coltan starts the book by explaining how we evolved to be morbidly curious, and it’s something I’ve thought about a ton. As someone who is anxious and thinks about death regularly, he discusses how some of this comes from us trying to mentally plan for awful situations. I also loved how he explained why scientifically minded people still get scared in “haunted” places. One of the other cool myths he debunks is the stereotype that fans of horror lack empathy.
I could honestly talk about this book all day. And if you’re reading this, I don’t want you to think Coltan only discusses horror movies, either. A lot of this book is about fear as well, and I think it’ll help a lot of people better understand themselves and potentially learn how to deal with or embrace certain fears. As someone who used to refuse to watch scary movies, this book helped me better understand why and how getting into them has helped me overcome fears and deal with them in a controlled environment on my own terms.
Coltan starts the book by explaining how we evolved to be morbidly curious, and it’s something I’ve thought about a ton. As someone who is anxious and thinks about death regularly, he discusses how some of this comes from us trying to mentally plan for awful situations. I also loved how he explained why scientifically minded people still get scared in “haunted” places. One of the other cool myths he debunks is the stereotype that fans of horror lack empathy.
I could honestly talk about this book all day. And if you’re reading this, I don’t want you to think Coltan only discusses horror movies, either. A lot of this book is about fear as well, and I think it’ll help a lot of people better understand themselves and potentially learn how to deal with or embrace certain fears. As someone who used to refuse to watch scary movies, this book helped me better understand why and how getting into them has helped me overcome fears and deal with them in a controlled environment on my own terms.
December 6, 2025
A tad repetitive in explaining certain concepts but an interesting read nonetheless.
Some great phrases:
Psychologists have long argued that humans possess a negativity bias or a tendency to be more affected by negative events than by positive ones. In short, emotions, interactions, events and situations perceived as ‘bad’ impact us more strongly. We feel them more strongly, process the information related to them more thoroughly and remember them more vividly. As social psychologist Roy Baumeister has said, bad is stronger than good. Hence threat-related information is seen as more important than other kinds of information and people who spread them are seen as more reliable and trustworthy.
Our sensitivity to threat-related information can be explained in part by something called the smoke detector principle. The smoke detector is built to be sensitive to danger. Because of this, false positives occur more often, meaning you occasionally have to deal with a loud beeping when you are cooking despite there not being a fire.
To effectively avoid and deal with threats, we need to learn about them. This means that our inclination to be repulsed by or afraid of dangerous situations must be counterbalanced by morbid curiosity. We need to collect information about what a dangerous animal or person is like, how it behaves and what the consequences of interacting with it might be. The result is two opposing motivations: one to approach the potential danger and another to avoid it.
The factors that influence the weight of the cost and benefits are complex and multifaceted but the basic computation is the same. This calculation exists in nearly all animals but the human form of morbid curiosity is increasingly complex and interesting because humans can imagine situations, allowing humans to drastically reduce the costs of engaging with threat-related information and making humans the most morbidly curious creatures around.
Some great phrases:
Psychologists have long argued that humans possess a negativity bias or a tendency to be more affected by negative events than by positive ones. In short, emotions, interactions, events and situations perceived as ‘bad’ impact us more strongly. We feel them more strongly, process the information related to them more thoroughly and remember them more vividly. As social psychologist Roy Baumeister has said, bad is stronger than good. Hence threat-related information is seen as more important than other kinds of information and people who spread them are seen as more reliable and trustworthy.
Our sensitivity to threat-related information can be explained in part by something called the smoke detector principle. The smoke detector is built to be sensitive to danger. Because of this, false positives occur more often, meaning you occasionally have to deal with a loud beeping when you are cooking despite there not being a fire.
To effectively avoid and deal with threats, we need to learn about them. This means that our inclination to be repulsed by or afraid of dangerous situations must be counterbalanced by morbid curiosity. We need to collect information about what a dangerous animal or person is like, how it behaves and what the consequences of interacting with it might be. The result is two opposing motivations: one to approach the potential danger and another to avoid it.
The factors that influence the weight of the cost and benefits are complex and multifaceted but the basic computation is the same. This calculation exists in nearly all animals but the human form of morbid curiosity is increasingly complex and interesting because humans can imagine situations, allowing humans to drastically reduce the costs of engaging with threat-related information and making humans the most morbidly curious creatures around.
December 4, 2025
I listened to the modern wisdom podcast, particularly the episode: “#984 - Coltan Scrivner - Why We’re Drawn to Death, Crime, & Danger” and immediately decided to read this book after listening to Coltan Scrivner’s interview from the podcast.
This was a really interesting read and dealt with several morbid topics. It covers all different kinds of reasons why humans are drawn to horror movies, ghosts or other paranormal activity, murder, violent games, etc., and how it all stems from our evolutionary history. I loved it and learned a lot.
From the very beginning of this book, I was HOOKED! on how it explains our fascination with morbidly curious things (my notes app is filled with soo many quotes). As someone who is majoring in criminology and took a class in forensic science and loves reads a lot of psychological thriller and research a lot of video essays about death, the paranormal, and started to get into watching horror movies, this book really helped me understand myself a little better. Prior to reading this book and listening to podcast episode from modern wisdom, I never knew there was so much research being done into being morbidly curious, but I really enjoyed learning about it.
Overall, this book was a fantastic look at human nature and I highly recommend it. I feel like I need to reread this already because it was just a fascinating read and I want this information to really sink in…
This was a really interesting read and dealt with several morbid topics. It covers all different kinds of reasons why humans are drawn to horror movies, ghosts or other paranormal activity, murder, violent games, etc., and how it all stems from our evolutionary history. I loved it and learned a lot.
From the very beginning of this book, I was HOOKED! on how it explains our fascination with morbidly curious things (my notes app is filled with soo many quotes). As someone who is majoring in criminology and took a class in forensic science and loves reads a lot of psychological thriller and research a lot of video essays about death, the paranormal, and started to get into watching horror movies, this book really helped me understand myself a little better. Prior to reading this book and listening to podcast episode from modern wisdom, I never knew there was so much research being done into being morbidly curious, but I really enjoyed learning about it.
Overall, this book was a fantastic look at human nature and I highly recommend it. I feel like I need to reread this already because it was just a fascinating read and I want this information to really sink in…
Read
December 29, 2025This was a failure of pop science writing for me. This read like a poorly translated PhD dissertation turned into an over generalized jumble for the general public that watches horror films. It fails to balance factual information (ie providing fulsome citations, drawing conclusions from history based on actual fact, fairly and accurately summarizing experimental conditions/conclusions) with facts that are interesting to a general reader. Not something I would recommend to my friends and it’s not going on my non-fiction or science shelves.
It’s clear that the author is a horror fan so if you are too you may get something out of it…just perhaps not academic rigour.
It’s clear that the author is a horror fan so if you are too you may get something out of it…just perhaps not academic rigour.
November 1, 2025
Pretty interesting and useful evolutionary psychology framing for understanding our own and/or others' interest in horror, true crime, violent scenes and narratives, the paranormal, etc, which can seem so counterintuitive in a (largely) ordered, moral, rationalist, pro-social society--but Scrivner makes it make a lot of sense. The prose can sometimes be a bit boring and repetitive, but overall it's readable with some interesting anecdotes and clear explanations of scientific studies underpinning his conclusions.
November 9, 2025
"Many people shut out the negative side of life. They try to hide anything related to fear, disgust, or anxiety behind tightly sealed doors in their minds. Being open to experiencing these emotions in safe contexts prevents us from being naïve to their effects."
Super informative and I picked up a lot of books and movie references while reading. Having a phobia in blood while also being a fan of horror books / movies is kinda like walking willingly into torture every time. Thanks for the validation, morbidly curious!
Super informative and I picked up a lot of books and movie references while reading. Having a phobia in blood while also being a fan of horror books / movies is kinda like walking willingly into torture every time. Thanks for the validation, morbidly curious!
January 10, 2026
2.75 ⭐️'s
This book just wasn't really for me. The author had some interesting observations however it was somewhat repetitive after a while; the second half of the book really seemed to drag due to this. As a non-horror fan, I could not relate to the findings the author discovered about the horror fandom. I think this would resonate more with horror fans who may find deeper meaning into why they love this genre.
This book just wasn't really for me. The author had some interesting observations however it was somewhat repetitive after a while; the second half of the book really seemed to drag due to this. As a non-horror fan, I could not relate to the findings the author discovered about the horror fandom. I think this would resonate more with horror fans who may find deeper meaning into why they love this genre.
October 12, 2025
This was a fascinating look at what makes people interested in dark matters. The limits of goodness in empathy, watching horror movies or playing horror video games is a therapy against anxiety, and the benefits of age old games of hide and seek and tag all had center stage throughout this research.
December 17, 2025
It’s always fun to gain some insight into why you are the way you are. This book was incredibly interesting and I learned a lot. The chapter on empathy was very eye opening and actually taught me a little about myself that I never understood. Also, the work that horror games are doing in the world of
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in children is amazing, and I hope the research continues to grow.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in children is amazing, and I hope the research continues to grow.
December 30, 2025
this had a lot of really interesting takes. i especially liked when he brought up how long childhood lasts and what people expect for the modern child (that was the topic of one of MY college papers lol). his idea that risky/scary material can contribute to creating a space where kids can mimic unsupervised play in a slightly supervised environment was really cool!
November 12, 2025
4 ⭐️
Why do kids play games that can make them scared? Why do adults read and listen to content about serial killers? Are individuals who like horror movies less empathetic?
Morbidly Curious is FULL of research to answer so many questions you never knew you had about being morbidly curious.
Why do kids play games that can make them scared? Why do adults read and listen to content about serial killers? Are individuals who like horror movies less empathetic?
Morbidly Curious is FULL of research to answer so many questions you never knew you had about being morbidly curious.
December 31, 2025
Why do some people love horror movies? Dateline? Haunted houses? Contagion during a global pandemic? Evolution says we're learning how to survive should shit hit the fan. If you've ever felt a little judged for listening to true crime or liking horror books, this one's for you.
January 11, 2026
Very engaging and accessible. I believe that the main value it holds is to open additional paths of analysis and exploration - the references/bibliography is great, and many of the ideas are worth investigating further through adiacent concepts and studies
November 7, 2025
If you consider yourself morbidly curious, this is a must read. I learned about myself and why I'm into what I'm into. I love that there is science behind this.
November 11, 2025
I found this book interesting but definitely not my fav nonfiction of the year, it got a little repetitive at some parts.
November 22, 2025
really a quite informative book which helped me to understand humanity and oddly find more happiness
December 27, 2025
this is a VERY interesting book.
why do we rubberneck at crashes? why are slasher films so popular? why do dead bodies develop the smells they do? why are grievous injuries so repulsive?
oh so many questions are presented and possible answers provided.
this was a weird read for me.
why do we rubberneck at crashes? why are slasher films so popular? why do dead bodies develop the smells they do? why are grievous injuries so repulsive?
oh so many questions are presented and possible answers provided.
this was a weird read for me.
December 29, 2025
I FEEL SEEN 👏
December 29, 2025
Interesting. It low-key makes me think I should try haunted houses again. But then I remember how little I can tolerate horror and I’m like, “…nah. I’m good.”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews