Who needs horror when you can read or watch the news? Just when we think it can’t get any worse, the world proves us wrong and serves up some or other disturbing story, leaving many of us wondering where we all went wrong.
We are indeed living in strange and scary times. If you needed any further proof, creep over to a dark corner of the internet called Oddly News. With more than 1,6 million followers, it’s a wall of unsettling true crime, facts and news: A Texas man in a diaper arrested after yelling “Goo Goo Ga Ga” at young girls, and asking them to “change” him… A mother serving time for beating her kid with a broom because he didn’t do his chores… A UAE diplomat who allegedly offered her 13-year-old sister to Jeffrey Epstein. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.
Bored Panda has put together some posts from the page for anyone who dares to delve into the more sinister side of the world.
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Many of us complain that the world is a terrible place and that there’s way too much negative news. Yet, here we are, scrolling through another batch of shocking, scary and bizarre posts featuring facts, true crime and news stories that defy logic.
Experts say it’s human nature to be drawn to the darker side of life, even if we say we hate it. That’s why the true crime genre has taken off the way it has. Edison’s 2024 True Crime Consumer Report revealed that that 84% of the U.S. population age 13+ are true crime consumers, meaning they watch or listen to true crime through any medium.
Call us suckers for punishment but we love a good (bad) true crime story and here’s why…
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“As humans, we are always looking for something new and novel. Whether it’s good or bad, we need something that creates an element of excitement,” says Dean Fido, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Derby Online Learning. “When we mix this desire with insight and solving a puzzle, it can give us a short, sharp shock of adrenaline, but in a relatively safe environment.”
But is it really good to indulge in such bad things? Some argue that consuming true crime can desensitise us and turn horrifying acts into a form of bingeworthy entertainment.
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Dean believes that desensitization has definitely happened because of “the frequency the media is presenting these crimes to us.” He says that true crime also normalises these events and makes us think that we could be potential victims, even though it’s statistically unlikely.
“However,” he adds. “We also become less frightened the more we know – so maybe that’s a positive aspect of our true crime obsession?”
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Experts are divided, though. Sarah Ward is the author of the DC Childs series, a set of four British crime thriller novels. She doesn’t think that true crime has desensitized us.
“I think when a crime happens, it is still shocking,” she explains. “People are very good at compartmentalising what’s real, what’s happened in the past and what’s fiction.”
Another crime novel author, Roz Watkins says that true stories teach us about other people and about how to keep ourselves safe in the world. “They allow us to experience and learn from terrible things without ever being in real danger.”
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Some of those championing the true crime genre argue that it’s a valuable weapon in the fight for justice.
“Podcasting is transforming True Crime, helping to solve cases and to bring in donations for nonprofits at a higher rate. It’s a movement that listeners associate with not just their favorite hosts but advertisers on these shows as well,” said Edison Research’s Senior Director of Research, Gabriel Soto.
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Edison Research’s True society/”>Crime Consumer Report seems to back this up.
“Compared to True Crime consumers who have never listened to a podcast, True Crime podcast listeners are 3.6 times more likely to donate money directly to a specific cause or organization and 3.3 times more likely to donate money directly to victims and their loved ones,” it notes.
The findings were based on online interviews conducted with 3,148 U.S. individuals age 13 and older in May 2024.
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The report also found that true crime podcast listeners are 4.4 times more likely to provide a tip or other information to help solve a case, 3.3 times more likely to sign a petition related to a cause from a case, and 1.8 times more likely to promote awareness of case with others.
When asked why they enjoy true crime podcasts, the respondents’ top answers included liking the psychology behind criminal events, the forensic science behind criminal events, the suspense and thrill, and the challenge of solving mysteries.
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