Coltan Scrivner Journalist Profile

Articles

The False Attacks of Slashers

Jan 16, 2025 | morbidlycuriousthoughts.com | Coltan Scrivner

Horror villains spend a lot of time lurking, taunting, and chasing their victims. At first glance, their tactics seem inefficient. However, they might be playing a deeper game. Psychological manipulation and strategic intimidation are common tools used to capture prey in the animal kingdom. Predators and prey have evolved together in a delicate balance of strategies and counterstrategies. Predators rely on stealth, speed, and intimidation to capture their prey.
Premium Content: 6 reasons why people enjoy horror movies

Oct 30, 2024 | brooklyneagle.com | Shane Rogers |Coltan Scrivner |Shannon Muir

This image released by Cineverse Entertainment shows David Howard Thornton in a scene from "Terrifier 3." Photo: Jesse Korman/Cineverse Entertainment via AP The creeping shadows and haunting decorations transform the everyday into something eerie at Halloween. And you might be thinking about scaring yourself with a good horror movie.
6 reasons why people enjoy horror movies

Oct 28, 2024 | theconversation.com | Shane Rogers |Coltan Scrivner |Shannon Muir

The creeping shadows and haunting decorations transform the everyday into something eerie at Halloween. And you might be thinking about scaring yourself with a good horror movie. Grotesque imagery, extreme violence, startling jump scares and menacing characters are common elements, making viewers feel fear, dread and disgust. We generally aim to avoid these negative emotions in our everyday lives. So why would some people seek them out, and enjoy them, in horror movies? 1.
A Scary Date Can Help You Find a Good Mate

Aug 25, 2024 | morbidlycuriousthoughts.com | Coltan Scrivner

The popularity of scary entertainment has presented a puzzle to philosophers and scientists for quite some time. Why would we intentionally seek out fearful experiences for recreation and entertainment? My own take on this problem — which comprises most of my research — is that scary entertainment is a good testing ground for yourself. By safely simulating a dangerous scenario, like a masked killer chasing you through the woods, you learn your own reactions to fearful situations.
Why (some) women want to date serial killers

May 30, 2024 | morbidlycuriousthoughts.com | Coltan Scrivner

Perhaps the most common question I’m asked is, “why do women love true crime?” A close second is, “why do some women find serial killers attractive?” This post will answer both of those questions, and the answer will be almost the same for each one. Morbidly Curious Thoughts is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. It’s a common misconception that men are much more morbidly curious than women.
Bleeding-Heart Horror Fans

Jan 5, 2024 | econtent.hogrefe.com | Coltan Scrivner

References (2011). On monsters: An unnatural history of our worst fears. Oxford University Press. (2009). These things called empathy: Eight related but distinct phenomena. In J. DecetyW. IckesEds., The social neuroscience of empathy (pp. 3–15). MIT Press.
Finding the Dead

Sep 5, 2023 | coltanscrivner.substack.com | Coltan Scrivner

Imagine I put you in a room with someone and asked you, “Is this person dead?” You would probably be able to tell me whether or not the person was dead with a pretty high degree of accuracy. If I gave you access to certain medical instruments, the question could be answered an even greater degree of accuracy. At the most advanced level, we can check for brain activity to determine if someone is alive or dead.
A Healthy, Morbid Curiosity: An Interview with Coltan Scrivner

Apr 27, 2023 | profectusmag.com | Coltan Scrivner

The following is an interview conducted by Archbridge Vice President of Research and Director of the Human Flourishing Lab Clay Routledge with Coltan Scrivner, a research scientist at the Recreational Fear Lab. We discuss his research on the psychology of horror, true crime, and people’s morbid curiosity. Clay Routledge: What is morbid curiosity, and what made you interested in studying it?
Why We're Interested in Serial Killer Manifestos

Apr 7, 2023 | psychologytoday.com | Coltan Scrivner

Each time a mass shooting is covered by the news, the first question people ask is: why? They don’t want to know why for legal culpability. There’s no legal loophole for a school shooter by which they can be found innocent. People also don’t want to know why for reasons of moral culpability. Nobody would find a reasonable excuse for someone who marched through a school and shot innocent children. Yet, people still want to know why the killer did what they did.
Dark Minds, Soft Hearts

Jan 31, 2023 | coltanscrivner.substack.com | Coltan Scrivner

This is Part 1 of a series I’m writing on the personality of horror fans. One of the most common questions I get is, “what kind of person likes horror?”Most people have intuitions about what certain groups of people are like. Software engineers are smart, politicians are untrustworthy, and club-goers are extraverted. Our mind creates these generalizations based on statistical averages of what we see (or, what we think we see). Sometimes they are accurate, and sometimes they aren’t.