The Scary Fact has 1.2 million followers and counting, all of whom share a fascination for real-life horror stories. But what exactly drives this interest?
According to Dr. Barna Donovan, the director of the MA in Communications and Public Relations at Saint Peter University, one reason can be traced back to our evolutionary roots, where our ancestors had to keep a lookout for potential danger.
“Keeping an eye out for threats, constantly imagining how deadly threats could strike, kept them alive and allowed them to reproduce,” he told Bored Panda.
“This morbid curiosity, this fascination with everything deadly, was, therefore, passed on to their offspring. Essentially, it was the survival of the ones most curious about the horrific and deadly.”
Dr. Donovan also mentioned what psychologists refer to as the “arousal jag.” In a nutshell, it’s the sensation viewers experience when tension and anxiety build up, followed by a resolution. Ultimately, he says it’s about enjoying violence and terror without the actual risk.
Santa Clara University professor and licensed psychologist Dr. Thomas Plante shared a similar statement.
“Many people are counterphobic in that they want to experience, in a safe way, what they most fear to ultimately develop mastery over it. It is a bit like flooding and exposure therapy in a safe and controllable way,” he explained.
But why do some people steer clear of any unsettling content? What about them makes them unable to handle it? Trauma-informed clinician Dr. Laura A. Fierro says they may have a more fragile nervous system, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
However, they will still feel the effects even after reading or watching, and may prefer quieter narratives over those with more adrenaline.
“Sometimes that decision, made privately and quietly, connects to earlier abuse, deep empathy for characters in trouble, or even the shared trauma of headlines that refuse to stay in the past,” she said.
People often say that “Too much of a good thing is bad.” However, does this saying also apply to consuming disturbing content? Dr. Donovan doesn’t think so, specifically when it comes to promoting aggressive behavior.
“If violent people had been shaped by the media, then the most violent criminals locked up in maximum security prisons should have been the heaviest media users among the population.”
However, licensed professional counselor Katie Lear believes otherwise. According to her, children, most especially, may be subjected to trauma, especially if the story glorifies a violent individual rather than merely telling a story.
“It is possible to experience something called vicarious trauma (absorbing another person’s distressing experience) from viewing violent or disturbing things happening to others, even on a screen.”
Now, we’d like to hear from you, readers. What scary and unsettling fact lives rent-free in your head? What about it do you find so compelling that you couldn’t forget about it? Share with us in the comments below!
