Dark DNA

Why is it that people like to read the dark, sad, sometimes twisted stories so much?  Myself included.  There are a lot of blogs out there..  But for some reason, when I come across a title, or an intro that sounds like it's going to be a tale of sorrow or struggle, or craziness, I have to stop and read it?   I can skip over dozens of blogs or newspaper articles, books about happy go lucky lives.

Is it because it makes us feel more grateful for what we have?  Is it because it helps us to get in touch with our inner darkness that is usually mandated to stay in the background of our psyches as well as in the background of our everyday conversations and personalities?  It certainly is therapeutic to reach into our own darkness once in a while to get it out.  A cleansing of sorts.

There is, of course, a third possibility.  Do we all, as humans, have that dark side that enjoys reading about other people's struggles and sadness?  In some deep dark buried part of our dna?   Is that why some people are able to be mean, able to act inhumane?  And in extreme cases, torture or kill? 

I sure hope it's one of the first two reasons.. or a forth that I just haven't thought of.  I'd like to think that the reason I enjoy reading them is because it brings out a co-misery that helps me face and deal with my own demons. . But why do people enjoy reading some of my darker or scarier posts?  I don't want to believe that it's because there are people out there that enjoy my misery.  But I suppose that there's probably some percent that does.