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Morbid Curiosity Scale

Morbid Curiosity Scale

Want to know why you have such a tolerance for the gory and grotesque? Find out through this free test.

Mark Travers, Ph.D.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D.

September 29, 2023

Mark Travers, Ph.D., is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, responsible for new client intake and placement. Mark received his B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. His academic research has been published in leading psychology journals and has been featured in The New York Times and The New Yorker, among other popular publications. He is a regular contributor for Forbes and Psychology Today, where he writes about psycho-educational topics such as happiness, relationships, personality, and life meaning. Click here to schedule an initial consultation with Mark or another member of the Awake Therapy team. Or, you can drop him a note here.

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The Morbid Curiosity Scale is a test that allows you to easily assess how strong your interest is in all things dark, scary and disturbing. The scale measures four different factors that are found to pique morbid curiosity, which are interests in:

The Morbid Curiosity Scale consists of 24 different statements, each designed to measure your interest in the four aforementioned factors of morbid curiosity.

It's important to know that having a high score doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you or that you are a bad person for being interested in these matters. Morbid curiosity is a natural and normal phenomenon, and is arguably a useful trait to have in order to avoid ignorance about the dangerous aspects of the world around you.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

References: Scrivner, C. (2021). The psychology of morbid curiosity: Development and initial validation of the morbid curiosity scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 183, 111139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111139

Step 1: Rate the following statements based on how much you agree with them on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1. If I lived in medieval Europe, I would be interested in attending a public execution.

2. If a head transplant were possible, I would want to watch the procedure.

3. I am curious about crime and enjoy reading detailed news accounts about murders and other violent crimes.

4. I think the supernatural is an interesting topic.

5. If I lived in ancient Rome, I would be interested in attending a gladiatorial fight.

6. I would be curious to see how an autopsy is performed.

7. I would be interested in watching a documentary on motives behind real murders.

8. I would be interested in attending or watching a video of an exorcism.

9. If I saw a street fight break out, and knew I could not intervene, I would try to watch it.

10. I am interested in seeing how limb amputation works.

11. My favorite part of a crime show is learning about why the killer did what he did.

12. I find the occult interesting.

13. I would be curious enough to watch a duel if I lived in the Wild West.

14. I would like to see how bodies are prepared for funerals.

15. I would be interested in watching an interview with an imprisoned serial killer talking about his crimes.

16. A documentary on Voodoo would interest me.

17. I prefer violent movies and TV shows to be uncensored.

18. I think the preservation of bodies, like in taxidermy or mummification, is interesting.

19. Being a criminal profiler who studies the personality of murderers would be an interesting job.

20. I am curious how a Ouija board works.

21. I am curious what a battle looked like in the Middle Ages.

22. I am curious what the deadliest toxin in the world would do to the body.

23. I am curious about the minds of violent people.

24. I think witchcraft would be an interesting topic to learn about.

0 of 0 questions answered

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores with people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.