Editorial ( March 2026 )

When Darkness Becomes Entertaining

Ever taken stock of today’s entertainment? What once shocked, disturbed and demanded discernment now entertains, feels normal and arrives wrapped in glamour, humour, and virality. Darkness no longer knocks at the door – it streams into our homes, auto-plays on our screens, and trends on our feeds. Fascination quietly replaces discernment. This is not accidental. 

The fascination with darkness is not new. What is new is its scale, speed, and subtlety. Horror franchises, occult themes, morally ambiguous heroes, and immersive storytelling have moved from the margins to the mainstream, especially among the young. Evil is rarely portrayed today as destructive. It is misunderstood, justified, aestheticised, even heroic. Sacred symbols are distorted for shock. Fear is sold as excitement. Repetition dulls the conscience. 

Parents sense it. Animators/pastors encounter it. Youth ministers walk daily with its consequences. Anxiety, fear, disturbed sleep, confusion about good and evil, spiritual curiosity without grounding, and a loss of reverence are becoming common experiences. The danger is not that young people encounter evil, but that they are left alone to interpret it. The Church has always been for art, creativity, and recreation, but with discernment, because the senses are gateways to the soul. What we repeatedly consume eventually shapes what we desire.

The rise of dark entertainment, occult curiosity, and alternative spiritualities is not merely rebellion; it is a search – for meaning, power, transcendence, and hope in an anxious world. When faith is reduced to routine, people look elsewhere for mystery. When worship fades, substitutes rise. When the living God is removed from the picture, humanity does not believe in nothing; it begins to believe in anything. But substitutes cannot save.

Christian discernment is not fear-driven withdrawal from culture. It is courageously clear. It asks honest questions: Does this draw me closer to Christ, or quietly distance me from Him? Does this sharpen my conscience, or numb it? Does this leave me peaceful, or restless? Does this honour human dignity, or distort it? Discernment is not the skill of the sheltered; it is the discipline of the free.

As youth and families living in a hyper-mediated world, the call before us is clear. We are called to guard the heart – our own and those entrusted to us. We are called to speak openly about what we watch, follow, and admire, refusing fascination without reflection. We are called to support and create media that reflects truth, beauty, and hope, and to return often to prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, and silence, where clarity is restored. In an age where darkness is marketed as entertainment, choosing discernment is an act of quiet courage. In a world that profits from confusion, choosing Christ is radical freedom. As Scripture reminds us, Test everything; hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). May we be a generation that learns to see clearly, and chooses the light, on purpose.