elation in Misfortune

The Roots of Schadenfreude: Why We Take Pleasure in Other People's Pain What getting satisfaction from someone's mishaps or failures may say about you. Now a new study finds that people are actually biologically responsive to taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. Schadenfreude roughly means to take joy in the face of someone else's misfortune. Jesse says HELL YES but the Internet says it's bad karma. Schadenfreude: taking pleasure in the misfortune of others: schadenfreude.