Why Do We Love Being Scared?

There is money being spent to terrify folks. Movies, haunted houses, murder mystery podcasts, ghost tours. They scream, close their eyes and return for more.

Why do we love being scared? And what is going on in our brains when we do?

In this guide, we explore the odd appeal of horror and examine how a good scare can be fun for some people, useful, and even safe.

What Happens in Your Body When You’re Scared?

Fear starts in the brain. We see something scary, and our lights go up. That’s where threats are perceived in the brain. It is to the rest of your body what a “do not enter” sign is to someone from another country who does not speak your language. Heart rate goes up. Muscles tense. Breathing gets faster. You become alert. This is known as fight-or-flight.

Heart rate goes up. Muscles tense. Breathing gets faster. You become alert. This is known as fight-or-flight.

But not really.”But when you are at a horror movie or walking through a haunted house, you’re not actually at risk. This your brain knows, though, so it lets you thrill well, without risk.

One Finnish study, for example, found that watching horror movies adds to the dose of adrenaline and dopamine (those same feel-good chemicals associated with excitement and pleasure) that courses under his skin when we share the story, in detail, with great pleasure, of the thing that scared us to death, what, in brief, we did to feel afraid. The scarier the film, the more it had an impact.

Why Does Horror Work So Well?

Horror plays with your expectations. It makes you feel unsafe when you are safe.

In movies, sound, lighting and pacing are manipulated to keep you on edge. All of a sudden, what was a creaking door, a scream was to be heard and the shadow behind the curtain. These are the tiniest little details, but they stimulate genuine responses.

In Melbourne, a filmmaker said, “We filmed a scene with just a torch and a corridor. No monster. No jump scare. But people still freaked out. The silence was what scared me the most.”

Fear is best when filled in by your imagination.

Different Kinds of Horror

Horror isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some people love slasher films. Others prefer slow-burn ghost stories. Here are a few common types:

Psychological Horror

Focuses on the mind. Think The Babadook or Hereditary. You have no idea what’s real and what’s not.

Supernatural Horror

Ghosts, demons, curses. These tales frequently evoke cultural anxieties and folklore. “As an example, there’s the Conjuring series.

Body Horror

Imagine mutations, disease, or a gruelling transformation. These are the stories that turn you against your own body. The Fly and Tusk fall here.

Found Footage

Experience becomes rape. It seems more real with a jiggling camera.

Survival Horror

Individuals fleeing danger. Zombies, killers, isolation. The Walking Dead and A Quiet Place belong in this category.

Each plays on fears in different ways. That’s what makes horror so appealing to people in general.

Is Fear Good for You?

Yes. A little bit of fear is good.

Horror is good for teaching people how to cope with anxiety. You’re terrified, but you are in control. This is partly so your brain can practice staying calm in a stressful situation.

One Chicago therapist explained, “I had a teenage client who would socialise through watching horror films. “It offered her a safe place to be afraid and feel stronger in her everyday life.”

Horror can draw people together as well. People who watch horror movies together become friends more quickly. Exchanging a jump scare or grabbing someone’s arm creates a bond.

Study finds that horror fans may be better at coping with the stresses of COVID-19 than others. People who say they are easily bored were far more likely to report a fear of horror films in the study, which was published in 2019 in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, and this line of research underscores how those differences can influence our experiences of the horror genre across our very long lives.

Why Does Horror Work So Well Online?

The internet made horror and horror content more accessible. Short films, creepypastas, and real-life stories. People can ingest horror swiftly and frequently.

Horror communities also thrive on YouTube, TikTok and Reddit. Some have more to do with telling ghost stories. Scary games are generally rated by the rest, or they react to new movies.

“I posted a two-minute horror short filmed in my garage,” said a content creator in Sydney. It racked up 1.2 million views in a week. The internet loves bite-sized horror.”

But there’s a dark side too. Some frightening material is over the top. Urban legends mix with misinformation. Fake threats become real panic. One ugly story can go viral and ruin somebody’s reputation.

Enter tools such as online reputation management services. And, in the way that horror creators construct fear by design, these tools also help clean up fear when it’s misused or harmful.

Can Horror Be Too Much?

Yes. Not everyone enjoys being scared. And some of that content does cross a line. If you don’t like being scared or horror leaves you too scared to sleep for a night or two after you watch it, this is not the genre for you.

Then there are the parents who have to monitor what their kids are watching. Horror that is adult-oriented isn’t always appropriately marked on the internet. Kids who are unable to process certain challenges can get mired in them.

How Can You Get Into Horror If You’re New?

Start slow. Don’t go right into the scariest films.

Choose a Subgenre

Choose a style that excites you. Perhaps haunted houses, thrillers with less gore.

Watch with Friends

It’s less scary with the company. And you’ll get to talk to someone after.

Try Horror Games or Podcasts

Nothing has to be visual, however. Other people like listening to horror stories or playing interactive horror games. 

Final Thoughts

In its place, sometimes, it’s excitement, intimacy and storytelling. We’ve got somewhere to be scared, and then to laugh, to breathe in terror. Not torture or trauma. This is about surprise and suspense, the thrill of the unknown. 

So if you’ve ever heard an explanation for why people love to be scared and it didn’t quite add up for you, well, it’s probably because running around in circles to the sound of synthesizers around a fluorescent tube sculpture is just about as rational as standing in front of a sentient lava lamp to ask why TV is the way it is. It reminds us we’re alive. 

As it turns out, only the bad horror movie endings stay with us. So whether you’re tucked in by a blanket or prepared to hit the play button on your next horror podcast, know you’re not alone. So fear is scary, but it’s as old as we are as a species. And it can be weirdly fun when you’re good at it.