“A Fascinating examination of a feature of human nature.”—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature.
"I can't look away from this book. Dr. Scrivner doesn't shy away from explaining some of the darkest recesses of our curious mind, and as a result we learn so much more about humans."—Scott Barry Kaufman, Director of the Center for Human Potential, and author of Wired to Create.
"Morbidly Curious is a smart, surprising, and even uplifting look at why we're drawn to true crime and horror. Scrivner uses cutting-edge science to show that our fascination with fear isn't something to hide from—it's a powerful instinct that keeps us safe and makes us human."—Kurt Gray, Professor of Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill, Director of the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding.
Psychologist, Speaker, and Horror Entertainment Producer
Dr. Coltan Scrivner is a psychologist at Arizona State University and a research fellow at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University. He is an internationally recognized expert on morbid curiosity and the psychology of horror and true crime.
He is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival, and the author of Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can’t Look Away.
A frequent speaker and media guest, he has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, TIME Magazine, National Geographic, Scientific American, Forbes, and dozens of other television programs, newspapers, magazines, radio shows, and podcasts.
Featured Writing
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![Room with red lighting, brick floor, wooden chair, and curtain]()
The Ghost Experiment
Why ghosts give us chills even if we don't believe in them
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![A diagram illustrating the relationships between four traits: Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, and Antisocial, each linked to specific characteristics and correlation values. Interpersonal is associated with traits like glibness and pathological lying; Affective with lack of remorse and shallow affect; Lifestyle with impulsivity and irresponsibility; Antisocial with poor behavior controls and criminal versatility.]()
We Are Wrong About Psychopaths
A new “Switch Theory” of Psychopathy
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![Newspaper headline featuring a controversial statement from a woman expressing infatuation with Jeffrey Dahmer, described as 'Milwaukee cannibal'. The text includes the woman's photo and her quote about Dahmer being the man of her dreams.]()
Why (Some) Women Want to Date Serial Killers
And why they love true crime
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![Close-up of a man with intense expression, next to text about first principles and quoting Marcus Aurelius.]()
The Horror Formula
A science-based formula for creating horror
Contact
Interested in working with Coltan, having him speak at your event, or interviewing him? Please fill out this form.