All of us are captivated by thriller, mystery, horror novels due to our compulsion to analyze deviant behavior patterns and experience an adrenaline rush through the genre’s twists and turns.
Psychological thrillers and horror novels have become the most popular genres for both books and films.
The NYT Bestsellers list often has a high proportion of thrillers, and a significant portion of Netflix and Amazon’s TV and film offerings are likewise in the crime and thriller category, often based on some of the best horror books.
For some of us, nothing compares to the anticipation of reading scary books
or watching an excellent psychological thriller.
What’s this fascination with thrillers and scary stories to tell in the dark? Why do we have an insatiable desire to become familiar with cold-blooded murderers, such as mothers who murder their children, men who live double lives, and abused youngsters who grow up to be emotionless serial killers?
There’s skepticism among those who confess to being fans of scary books or the thriller genre. Their preoccupation with the genre frightens them, and they worry if something is amiss with them.
But that is not the case.
Psychiatrists believe that the majority of people who read good horror books or about crime have a strong empathy factor and are not tempted to commit crimes.
Violence and disaster have always held a sick attraction and curiosity for humans. We are all accustomed to certain rhythms of life and human behavior and become distressed when these patterns are disrupted.
This drives our need to comprehend what lurks beneath broken minds and morally ambiguous individuals, who have no hesitation about breaching the boundaries we define, the ones we read about in horror novels.
While reading horror novels or viewing mystery/thriller fiction, we invariably and unconsciously affiliate ourselves with one side or the other.
In most cases, we identify with both the victim and the perpetrator. It relies entirely on how the author chooses to tell the story. If the story is recounted from the murderer’s perspective and we can comprehend and empathize with the factors and tragedies in his or her life that led to the crimes, we may sympathize with the murderer as a victim of circumstance. Such a view can be endlessly fascinating and brings up new insights in the realm of human studies.
Scary books and thrillers also involve the intellect. Horror authors lay the foundation for the murder, introduce the characters, and build the plot to a climax. Then, they begin plotting hints that we discover as the story progresses. We all enjoy playing detective, and as a story progresses, we play a guessing game based on accumulating clues and gaining a sense of accomplishment if we correctly deduce.
Apart from a deeper understanding of what makes the human mind function, soar, click, or break, the allure of scariest books of all time and crime thrillers stems from the pleasure of the vicarious entertainment and the cerebral rush of partaking in a mystery that you almost feel you have helped unravel.