Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Why are people irresistibly drawn to horror films, violent video games, and true crime? In his scattershot debut treatise, Scrivner, a behavioral psychologist and horror film producer, frames such "morbid curiosity" as an evolutionary advantage--it lets people use relatively risk-free environments (like movie theaters) to learn about threats from which they might need to protect themselves. To support his thesis, Scrivner pulls evidence from psychology, anthropology, cinema studies, and evolutionary biology, citing everything from Nightmare on Elm Street villain Freddy Krueger's razor-claw glove (especially terrifying because claws trigger "deeply rooted fears" that prime the brain to escape predators) to zoological studies of interactions between cheetahs and gazelles, dream theory, haunted hotels, and violent sports. While many of these disparate accounts intrigue, Scrivner's conclusions can feel selective or open to alternative interpretation. for example, the fact that kids remember stories about predators, like lions or tigers, better than accounts of what animals eat, as one study showed, doesn't necessarily indicate an evolutionary predisposition to coping with fear. The impression readers will be left with is that of an author throwing a lot of ideas against the wall to see what sticks. There are plenty of insights, but Scrivner leaves copious room for doubt. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
A remarkable journey that delves into why humans can't seem to look away from the things that some would refer to as unhealthy, shocking, or fearsome. A leading expert on morbid curiosity and the human preoccupation with the macabre, behavioral scientist Scrivner (Arizona State Univ.) argues, in myriad ways, that the human need to see what is feared or unknown is not merely curious inquiry but rather an innate quality of the human mind to prepare for survival and evolutionary success. He believes that morbid curiosity is not something to fear or feel embarrassed by, nor should curious people be guilted into feeling they lack empathy. Instead, morbid curiosity is a hereditary tool that helps people prepare for and be safe from potential threats. This book is a must-read for those who can't help looking at the scene of an accident, gazing cautiously at a menacing-looking animal hiding behind a bush, watching horror movies or combat sports with unfiltered fixation, or cautiously walking through a dark house to find the source of a random sound. VERDICT Scrivner's book is a refreshing read for those who would like to feel better about their own morbid curiosity.--Thomas O'Brien
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The dark side of life--and its allure. Scrivner is a behavioral scientist and a horror entertainment producer interested in why we're drawn to scenes of carnage and disaster. His book defines the term "morbid curiosity" as interest in things that are threatening or potentially dangerous. This curiosity is a fine thing, he says, because "when the costs of learning about a threat are low, it's advantageous to pay attention and gather information." It's a way of putting us into situations where we can safely learn about the dangers of the world and how we might respond in times of fear and uncertainty. That's the concept behind training pilots with flight simulators and conducting fire drills in schools and office buildings; you learn how to manage a threat in a nonthreatening environment. Research suggests that prey animals have evolved to do this information gathering, watching predators from a distance to look for clues that indicate that the animal is hungry or hunting, saving their energy to flee only when warranted. "Responding half a second faster to potential danger won't determine your fate 99 percent of the time. But that 1 percent of the time that it does can be life or death." Watching horror movies, reading suspense novels and true-crime stories, and participating in creepy events such as Halloween shows can mentally prepare us to recognize a threatening situation early on, Scrivner says. While most of us will never encounter a masked assassin wielding a chainsaw, the fictional experience can mean quicker recognition and response when and if danger occurs. Viewing scary depictions "gives us the push we sometimes need to play with fear and explore our anxieties. In doing this, we develop confidence that we can overcome the challenges that life throws at us, and we prepare our mind for the bad times that we will inevitably face." A science-based romp through horror, terror, gross-outs, and other things that go bump in the night. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
