Why We’re Drawn to Death, Crime, & Danger - Coltan Scrivner

Go see Chris live in America - https://chriswilliamson.live Coltan Scrivner is a behavioral scientist, an expert on morbid curiosity in horror and true‑crime media, and an author. Why are humans so curious about death? From car accidents to scary stories, roller coasters, and horror movies, some people are fascinated while others are repulsed. What draws us toward the very things we should naturally want to avoid? Expect to learn why humans are drawn to dark or morbid content and the evolutionary logic behind watching something that disturbs us, why there is a gender gap of who is more interested in morbid curiosity, why some people find serial killers fascinating while others are repulsed, the biggest differences between terror and horror & the connection between disgust and fascination, what horror can teach us about emotional self-regulation, and much more… 0:00 Why are We Drawn to Dark Content? 7:20 The 4 Domains of Morbid Curiosity 15:25 Morbid Curiosity in Evolution 22:51 Individual Difference in Morbid Curiosity 34:05 What is So Attractive About Serial Killers? 37:46 Why are Certain Groups Attracted to Certain Types of Morbid Content? 47:17 The Perfect Ingredients for a Horror Movie 57:14 Why is There Increasing Desensitisation to Morbid Content? 01:02:59 Find Out More About Colton - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostColtan Scrivnerguest

Aug 22, 20251h 3mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Why Morbid Curiosity Helps Us Learn From Danger, Not Just Gawk

Coltan Scrivner explains how he became a researcher of morbid curiosity and why humans are uniquely drawn to threats, violence, and dark content from a safe distance.
He outlines four domains of morbid curiosity—violence, minds of dangerous people, bodily injury, and the paranormal—and argues they all serve an evolutionary function: threat learning and preparation.
Scrivner discusses individual differences (age, gender, personality, psychopathy, disgust sensitivity) and how morbid curiosity can be linked to psychological resilience, as seen during COVID-19.
The conversation extends into horror films, zombies, true crime, children’s play, and serial-killer fandoms, showing how modern media tap into ancient threat-detection systems without real-world risk.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Morbid curiosity evolved to help us learn about threats safely.

Humans, like other animals, benefit from observing predators and dangerous situations, but our capacity for stories, films, and dreams lets us ‘inspect’ threats without direct risk, turning fear into a learning sandbox.

Morbid curiosity comprises distinct but related domains.

Scrivner’s research identifies four domains—witnessing violence, understanding dangerous people, examining bodily injuries, and engaging with paranormal dangers—all united by interest in what can harm us and how to avoid it.

Individual differences only partly explain morbid curiosity.

Traits like psychopathy (especially rebelliousness), age (younger higher than older), and modest gender effects (men more into violence, women more into dangerous minds) predict some variance, but personality and disgust explain only about half, meaning morbid curiosity is a distinct construct.

Morbid curiosity can enhance psychological resilience in crises.

During early COVID, people higher in morbid curiosity and interest in horror/true crime reported greater resilience and lower relative anxiety and depression, suggesting prior engagement with simulated threats may buffer real-world stress.

True crime for women and war stories for men reflect sex-specific threat profiles.

Women’s real-world threat landscape skews toward intimate-partner and interpersonal male violence (mirrored in true crime), while men’s historic threats are more intergroup and combat-based (mirrored in war stories and UFC).

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Any animal that exists in the world should know something about potential threats around. Humans are no different—we just get to do it through stories.

— Coltan Scrivner

Morbid curiosity is really about threat learning—what can hurt me, and what do I not yet know about it?

— Coltan Scrivner

Evolution kind of imbues curiosity with a positive feeling, otherwise we would just avoid dangerous things altogether and never learn from them.

— Coltan Scrivner

A dangerous person is only dangerous to you if they don’t like you. If they like you, they become a huge asset.

— Coltan Scrivner

People assume horror fans are less empathetic because they can enjoy these things, but empirically that just isn’t true.

— Coltan Scrivner

Scrivner’s path into studying morbid curiosity and recreational fearEvolutionary function of morbid curiosity as threat learning and preparationFour domains of morbid curiosity: violence, dangerous minds, bodily violations, paranormalIndividual differences: age, gender, personality, psychopathy, disgust sensitivityTrue crime, war stories, serial killers, and gendered patterns of morbid interestsHorror, zombies, and narrative structure (vulnerable protagonists vs powerful antagonists)Media exposure, empathy, desensitization, and the psychology of horror audiences

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