This seems to be a common phenomenon — lots of people report being unable to avert their eyes from a wound or dead body or even the mess after they blow their nose! But is there a single word for it? I found some related terms like "rubbernecking", but that seems to be the act of looking rather than the urge to look (or inability to look away).
Learn English – Word for being disgusted by but unable to stop looking at something
single-word-requests
Best Answer
One might exhibit morbidity, or possess a morbid curiosity, morbid fixation, or morbid fascination with such things:
Note that morbidity means something quite different in medical jargon.