Coltan Scrivner on Morbid Curiosity, Horror Movies & Why We Love Scary Things

Andy McNeill sits down with Coltan Scrivner, author of Morbidly Curious, behavioral scientist, and owner of the Peabody House Bed and Breakfast in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to explore why humans are drawn to horror movies, true crime, and the things that scare us. Coltan holds a PhD in behavioral biology from the University of Chicago, researches at Arizona State University, and once worked on Meta's mental health team before trading Silicon Valley for a Victorian B&B in the Ozarks. They dig into the psychology behind morbid curiosity, why violent video games don't make people violent, what Ötzi the Iceman and 9/11 survivor stories reveal about how we learn from danger, and Coltan's new research on 54,000 stories across 4,000 years. He also shares how he accidentally became an entrepreneur, taking over the Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl, founding the Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival, and opening a horror convenience shop. Topics include: What morbid curiosity is and why we have it Why people love horror movies and true crime Violent video games, Mortal Kombat & the research on media violence Ötzi the Iceman and the world's oldest cold case Why horror fans often score higher on anxiety How Coltan went from Meta researcher to Eureka Springs entrepreneur The Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl and Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival (Oct. 21-24) Coltan's favorite horror films, from "The Thing" to "Alien" #FreeArkansas #ColtanScrivner #MorbidlyCurious #EurekaSprings #HorrorMovies #TrueCrime #NightmareInTheOzarks