There are many books that probe the murky psyches of deviant individuals-they often top America's bestseller lists-but in The Lust for Blood, psychologist Jeffrey Kottler focuses on the average, everyday consumers of those true-crime tales, and so much more. Kottler spent over a decade interviewing a wide spectrum of the public, from emergency room personnel and secret lovers of slasher films to hit men and even infamous serial killers on death row. Based on those interviews, a survey of professional research, and his own personal experience in mapping the macabre, Kottler considers the many reasons why we are attracted to violence and scaring ourselves half to death with horrific stories and movies