The Evolutionary Reasons We Are Drawn to Horror Movies and Haunted Houses
Scary play lets people—and other animals—rehearse coping skills for disturbing challenges in the real world
Stories by Coltan Scrivner
Coltan Scrivner is a behavioral scientist at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark and in the psychology department at Arizona State University. His forthcoming book is Dark Minds, Soft Hearts: The Science Behind Our Fascination with the Dark Side of Life (Penguin, 2024).
Morbid Curiosity Is Linked to Conspiracy Theories
Those fascinated with true crime podcasts may be more vulnerable to conspiratorial beliefs