Does Reading About Evil Make You Evil?

I love dark fiction. I’ve always been fascinated by the problem of evil, and literature that grapples with diabolical themes gives me an opportunity to explore this very difficult subject in all of its many facets. I get to enter into the minds and souls of those who do evil, and am able to witness first hand the torment and destruction wrought by their wicked hands. Is there something wrong with me? Is my fascination with evil the sign of a disturbed and demented mind?

Critics of dark fiction...