A tourist walks up to a 2,000-year-old Maratha fort in Maharashtra.
He doesn't ask about the history.
He doesn't ask about the Scorpion's Tail cliff view.
He asks the guide one thing:
"Where is the Siya spot?"
👉 That's the exact cliff where realtor Ketan Agarwal was allegedly pushed to his death by his fiancée Siya Goyal and her lover in June.
And suddenly, Lohagad Fort's footfall jumped 25%.
Not for the history.
For the murder.
Police had to temporarily shut it down.
The term was coined by researchers John Lennon and Malcolm Foley.
Travel to sites of death, tragedy, suffering.
And it is massive.
Tragedy, it turns out, is one of the world's most reliable tourist magnets.
Here's the twist. Psychologists say it's rarely about loving violence.
A 2016 study found direct "interest in death" was the least common reason people visit these sites.
The real drivers are stranger:
It's survival psychology dressed up as sightseeing.
Over 50% of Americans say they enjoy true crime.
73% of true-crime podcast listeners are women — researchers say it's subconscious survival training. Learn the red flags. Spot the villain early.
In India, the appetite is even wilder.
Ormax data shows the Action-Crime-Thriller cluster is 43–47% of ALL new OTT content. Netflix, Prime, JioHotstar are pouring money into it.
Burari Deaths. Delhi Crime. Dahaad. Raakh.
Subscriber magnets, every single one.
As psychiatrist Dr Makhan Shakya put it — people don't rush to crime spots because they love violence.
They rush because of curiosity.
But when a grieving family's tragedy becomes your weekend selfie backdrop…
something quieter is being lost.
George Santayana said those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.
Dark tourism ensures we remember.
The question is whether we're still remembering respectfully — or just posting through it.
That's all for now!
