Morbid Curiosity (magazine)

Morbid Curiosity was a monthly magazine published in San Francisco. Helmed by editor and publisher Loren Rhoads, the magazine was devoted to first-person nonfiction essays. Morbid Curiosity explored "the unsavory, unwise, unorthodox, and unusual: all the dark elements that make life truly worth living."^[1][2]

In September 2009, Scribner published a book titled Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues. The book is a collection of Rhoads', who was the creator and editor of the magazine, favorite stories from all ten issues.^[3][4]

History

The cult magazine debuted in May 1997, but took a while to settle into a purely first-person vein. Early issues included straight nonfiction, such as the history of auto-erotic strangulation, and interviews. Eventually, editor Rhoads realized that what interested her most were survivor narratives: "There is an undiluted power in reporting what you experienced and testifying about how it changed you. Those are the stories that I like best: the authors' records of When Life Changed. They provide mirrors so that we — voyeurs and survivors in our own rights — can examine our own lives."^[5]

Contributors

Contributors to the magazine included Loren Rhoads, Michael Arnzen, M. Christian, Aaron Cometbus, Ray Garton, T.M. Gray, Michael Hemmingson, Brian Hodge, Charlee Jacob, Brian Keene, Jasmine Sailing, Julia Solis, Jill Tracy, Don Webb, David Niall Wilson.

Press and notices

• A Morbid Curiosity Open Mic was held at the Death Equinox '99 convention. Editor Loren Rhoads hosted it, and contributors to the magazine told "improvised true stories about past morbid curiosity episodes in their lives".^[6]
• In 2005, Morbid Curiosity was a finalist for the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction.

References