About a 3-minute read
This isn’t judgment. I’m genuinely curious:
How did murder become entertainment?
My husband and I were talking about this while doing something that sometimes takes us longer than actually watching a movie—trying to decide what to watch. 😂
Think about how much entertainment revolves around someone dying. Crime shows, murder mysteries, documentaries, podcasts, movies and YouTube videos all start with some version of:
Someone died. Now let’s find out what happened.
And people LOVE them.
I’ve even heard people say they put crime shows on to fall asleep.
That one really got me thinking.
I’m more of a Hallmark, Lifetime, same-story-different-actors kind of girl. I loved shows like Drop Dead Diva. Give me a little mystery, courtroom drama or crime to solve—but I don’t need to actually watch someone being murdered, tortured or kidnapped.
And yet…
I’ll be scrolling YouTube and see:
“Police entered the house and couldn’t believe what they found…”
Well, great.
Now I need to know what’s in the house. 😂
I’ll click. I’ll watch the investigation. I’ll wonder what happened.
Then sometimes I get my answer and immediately think:
Okay. That’s enough internet for today.
Give me a cartoon, some history or a Bible discussion. I need to reset my brain. 😂
And that’s when I realized something.
Maybe It’s Not the Murder We’re Interested In
There’s actually a term called morbid curiosity—our curiosity about disturbing, dangerous or even frightening things.
That doesn’t necessarily mean we enjoy seeing someone suffer.
Sometimes we simply want the unanswered question answered.
What happened? Who did it? Why did they do it? How did the police figure it out? Did they catch the person?
That’s exactly what gets me with those police videos.
My curiosity pulls me in.
The reality sometimes pushes me right back out.
And suddenly murder mysteries make a little more sense to me.
A crime gives our brain a puzzle. There are suspects, clues, interviews and pieces that don’t quite fit.
Maybe the entertainment isn’t actually watching someone die.
Maybe it’s figuring out what happened.
I can understand that.
I like a mystery too.
I just prefer mine without watching someone get tortured first. 😂
But Sleeping to Crime Shows?!
Okay.
This is still the one I need y’all to explain to me.
I’ve heard people say they put crime shows on at night and fall asleep listening to them.
Meanwhile, if somebody just spent 45 minutes explaining how they found a body in someone’s basement, my brain is NOT thinking:
Perfect. Goodnight. 😂
But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if the comfort has nothing to do with the crime.
Maybe it’s the familiarity.
If someone watches the same kinds of shows regularly, they know the voices, the pacing and usually the formula: something happens, investigators arrive, evidence is uncovered and eventually we get an answer.
It becomes familiar background television.
And when I look at it that way…
Okay.
I kind of get it.
I’m perfectly happy watching another predictable Hallmark movie when I already know she’s probably going to fall in love with the hometown guy before the credits roll. 😂
Different stories.
Same comfort in knowing the rhythm.
Now I Want to Hear From the Crime-Show People
I started this conversation wondering why people enjoy watching murder happen.
Now I’m realizing that might not actually be what people are enjoying at all.
Maybe it’s the mystery.
Maybe it’s psychology.
Maybe it’s understanding how investigators solve something that seemed impossible.
Maybe it’s seeing justice happen.
Maybe it’s simply curiosity about something we’d never want to experience ourselves.
And some of us apparently just NEED TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN THE HOUSE. 😂
So I’m handing this Couch Talk over to you:
Do you watch true crime, police shows or murder mysteries? What part keeps you watching?
And I especially want to hear from you if you’re one of those people who puts crime shows on to go to sleep.
What about it is relaxing to you?!
The narrator? The familiar show? Knowing the mystery eventually gets solved?
No judgment whatsoever.
I’m genuinely curious.
Maybe your answer will give my husband and me something else to talk about the next time we’re sitting on the couch for 45 minutes trying to pick a movie. 😂
🕵🏽♀️ Turn It Into a Mystery Night
If you’re like me and enjoy figuring out what happened more than actually watching the gruesome part, why not turn it into a game instead?
Here are a few fun mystery-night finds you can try from the comfort of your own couch:
🕵🏽♀️ Host a Murder Mystery Night
Honestly, this sounds more my speed. Give me the evidence, let me interrogate everybody from the safety of my couch, and nobody actually has to die. 😂
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Couch Talk
Random conversations that somehow turn into rabbit holes.
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