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Why are we so fascinated by true crime stories?

Some time ago, when I was employed in a job that was completely boring, I discovered a website that contained a repository of these fascinating true crime stories that appealed to me. For almost a year after that, my life was not the same. Whenever I found myself with little to do, I would visit that site and literally spend hours reading true crime stories. I must admit, even now, that every once in a while I feel like a good read and a reminder of how humanity can be so utterly inhuman to each other, I go there and pick up a story or two.

Why is the human mind so fascinated by a true crime story? Everyone remembers the case of OJ Simpson: he broke records on many fronts, one of which was watched by millions and millions of people for endless days. It didn’t matter what race they came from, religious affiliation, social background, we were all spellbound. Why? What makes the human mind seek and hold on to the facts about a gruesome murder or rape or ritual murder so tenaciously that they can’t seem to let it go? It is interesting that such stories are talked about for so long that they end up as legends; it shows that no matter how old a true crime story is, it does not lose its flavor.

For years, psychologists and criminologists have tried to explore it: why something so gruesome is still so fascinating, but until now, no one has given solid reasons. They end up with the best guess and speculation, and some of those guesses are explored here:

1. Most people live a relatively mundane existence. Once something happens outside of that existence that is not only gruesome but violent, they accept it and become attached to it because it is something that comes out of their otherwise boring lives. You may or may not agree with this, but it rings true up to a point. Take for example a poor neighborhood in a poor country where violence is a way of existence. The fascination with crime is much less than in a quiet rural community that sees a crime once every 10 years.

2. It is normal human psychology to want to know how someone did something criminal, and immediately afterwards the question arises why. Some criminals will speak up and say why they did it, but this is rarely. Most of the time, the crime story becomes more and more fascinating as people continue to speculate on why a crime was committed.

3. Some experts say that humanity as a whole seeks justice; in seeking justice, they seek to know all the details of a crime that in itself leads to a great fascination for the crime itself.

4. There have been some arguments that people are fascinated to see how far others will go, because it makes them feel good about themselves; they know they could never do something like that.

5. Some argue that there is a genuine fear in people that the same crime could happen to them, so they want to arm their minds with the details of subconscious preparation in case something similar happens. The argument against this, however, is that in most violent crimes, victims can do little or nothing to protect themselves, therefore this fascination cannot prepare them for defense in the event of being attacked.

6. And finally, of course, the media. Like everything else, the media exaggerates criminal events. It chases down every bite and shows you gory scenes, chases, and even bodies. Listen or watch the news broadcasts for a day, and you will most likely hear of 3 or 4 crimes. No matter where you are, you will see on television how someone massacred your wife 5,000 miles away. If the media highlighted crime less, perhaps society would be less aware of it and its fascination would diminish in some way.

Whatever justifications are given for our true fascination with crime, we must admit that, being humans, we want to know what is going on, the gory details, and we will pursue them until we get the last information we can.

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