Morbidly Curious

Coltan Scrivner, PhD | Penguin Books | 2025

Scrivner, a psychologist at Arizona State University and one of the leading researchers on the psychology of morbid curiosity, makes a counterintuitive argument: our pull toward dangerous, threatening, or disturbing information is not a character flaw. It is an evolved adaptive mechanism, a form of preparation. We are drawn to what could harm us because understanding threat has always been central to survival.

This book covers mobid curiosity across four categories: dangerous minds, physical violence, bodily harm, and the paranormal. What emerges is a picture of curiosity that is broader and more functional than most people assume.