Every October, we willingly put ourselves through experiences that would normally send us running in the opposite direction. We pay money to have strangers chase us through haunted houses, curl up and watch movies that will inevitably give us nightmares, and dress up as gruesome serial killers. And somehow, we call this fun. With it being Halloween season, I’ve found myself wondering why we are so obsessed with being scared.
Believe it or not, there’s actually a scientific explanation for why some of us love a good scare. When we experience fear, our bodies activate the fight-or-flight response, which releases adrenaline that increases our heart rate and heightens our senses. It’s the same biological reaction we would experience in a genuinely dangerous situation, except there’s one major difference: we are aware that we are not in any actual danger. Whether you’re sitting in a movie theatre watching the latest horror movie, or walking through a haunted house with friends, our brains can recognize that the danger isn’t real. This allows us to experience the excitement of fear without facing an actual threat. In a way, being scared becomes its own kind of adrenaline rush.
Now this might sound contradictory, but sometimes being scared can actually be comforting. Like when you’re watching a scary movie, you know that eventually the credits will roll. Or you’re walking through a haunted house, you know there’s an exit waiting for you. No matter how terrifying the experience, there’s a sense of control in knowing that it will end. Psychologists sometimes refer to these experiences as recreational fear, which is the enjoyment people find in frightening situations when they know they’re relatively safe. Maybe thats a part of the appeal. In a world filled with unpredictability, there’s something satisfying about experiencing fear on your own terms.
I think the most interesting part of our obsession with fear is that we continue seeking it out, even after promising ourselves we never will again. We’ve all been there: you finish a terrifying movie and convince yourself you’ll never watch another one, then you find yourself scrolling through Netflix for something even scarier. Part of this comes from the satisfaction of making it through something scary. Once the danger is gone, the relief can feel rewarding. What was first terrifying becomes something we can laugh about. Of course, not everyone enjoys being scared, and that’s part of what makes the psychology of being scared so interesting. What’s thrilling to one person might be overwhelming to another.
As Halloween is upon us, maybe our obsession with horror isn’t as strange as it seems. Maybe we don’t love fear itself. Maybe we love the adrenaline and the relief, as a reminder that we can experience something scary and come out on the other side perfectly fine.