Forget cat videos and baking shows — true crime is the internet’s reigning champion of our attention:For some, winding down after a long day at work means settling into the couch with a fun snack and the most disturbing and graphic account of murder you can find. A Pew Research study found that almost a quarter of all the top-ranked podcasts in the US focused on true crime stories. But fascination with the genre isn’t limited to retellings of past horrors narrated by a silky-voiced host. A survey published by The Criminal Law Practitioner found that 76% of American adults were fans of the genre.

People really like playing detective: Investigation Discovery, a network dedicated to true crime documentaries, debuted in 2008 and became so popular that it created a true crime convention called IDCon, informally known as Murderchella, which ran up until 2021. It has been succeeded by CrimeCon, which organizes panels with true-crime personalities, sets up interactive exhibits of real crime scenes, and is even setting sail on their third CrimeCruise this year.

There is a seemingly inexhaustible supply of true crime content — documentaries, shows, and podcasts to consume. The more horrific, the better. But when our phones display news of horrifying and deliberate loss of life, our hearts wrench and we look away.

That begs the question: If most people avoid news of tragic events, why do they consume them for entertainment? It may feel counterintuitive to enjoy stories of acts of evil while reacting differently (read: appropriately) in the face of tragic events happening in real time.

In a nutshell, we’re naturally curious about disasters and tragedy — but want to maintain a safe distance from them.People who consume true crime material may experience the rush and intrigue of danger vicariously without suffering the consequences, Cynthia Hoffner, a communication professor at Georgia State University who studies media and mental health, tells the Washington Post. It’s a lot like riding a rollercoaster — you expose yourself to an extreme situation in a controlled environment, experiencing the physical and emotional responses of danger under secure circumstances.

Consuming this genre of content may provide us with a feeling of control over extremely anxiety-inducing issues: This may be a subconscious evolutionary strategy for survival — humans are designed to gather information that can be useful to us later on, especially when it comes to safety.While it may heighten anxiety for some people, it helps others confront their fears. Another reason people seek true crime out is exposure therapy, which is a common treatment for phobias, Hoffner says.

We’re really just trying to understand the bad things out there: Curiosity about death is expected and normal. And true crime lets us observe people who have committed what criminal forensic psychologist Paul Mattiuzzi calls the “most fundamental taboo,” and spookily, “the most fundamental human impulse.” Every case is an assessment of “the enormity of evil,” Mattiuzzi writes. And since concepts of good and evil have been fed to us since childhood, true crime exercises that fascination.

We try to figure out what drives people to those behavioral extremes: Part of it, Pulitzer-nominated investigative journalist Caitlin Rother says, is that we can learn how to protect ourselves and our families. Behavioral scientist Coltan Scrivner agreed, adding that this material may make us feel prepared for dangerous situations. “Your mind is still like, Okay, this is really important. I should pay attention, because what if?”

This may explain why so many women find true crime podcasts comforting. Women are twice as likely to indulge in true crime content, but it may be about control and preparation, not sadomasochism. Around 60% of those murdered by a familiar person are women, as are 70% of serial killer victims. Many women find these podcasts educational, and believe that by learning the pitfalls that lead to victimhood, they might be able to stop it from happening to themselves, psychologists suggest.

That’s not to say that consuming large amounts of true crime content doesn’t have its downsides, including raising ethical questions: True crime as a genre operates largely without the consent of those at the center of those tragedies, Time says, and often ends up glamorizing the criminals, according to Dazed. Movies and series about serial killers (think Netflix’s series on Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer) tend to depict the criminals as complex, intelligent, and interesting, purposefully making them appealing and interesting characters to viewers, a psychology lecturer tells Dazed.

These portrayals have created (rather disturbing) fanbases for some criminals: Last year, Evan Peters received a Golden Globe for his role as Dahmer, a serial killer who murdered 17 people and engaged in cannibalism and necrophilia. The portrayal set off mns of fan edits of Peters as Dahmer, and garnered the real killer a vocal fanclub. Many online marketplaces also have murder-themed merchandise, ranging from candles, clothes, and accessories, recipe books for cocktails inspired by serial killers, serial killer playing cards, to mugs that read “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ve watched enough crime shows, they’ll never find you.”

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