Are you eagerly awaiting the new Candyman film slated to come out later this year? Me too. It seems like all I can watch recently is horror films, new and old. I’m also a sucker for horror games, my current favorite is Phasmaphobia, a ghost-hunting game for the PC. But I recently found out that not only is this normal for turbulent times, but it’s actually beneficial for your brain.
It sounds counter-intuitive, but if you’ve been binging horror movies all quarantine long, you might actually be better prepared to deal with the stress of pandemic life. If you’re a fan of zombie or contagion horror, that’s even better for your brain’s stored reactions. The secret lies in something called morbid curiosity. Simply put, it’s the phenomenon that occurs when you can’t look away from something gruesome or have a strong curiosity about content that includes horrific imagery/description.
According to Psychologist Colton Scrivner, people who score higher on a morbid curiosity scale are more mentally resilient to stressful situations. This is because our minds store response information when watching frightening media, which can then be used to inform our later responses in similarly frightening situations.
It’s hard to believe, but horror movie streams have been higher than average during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially contagion and zombie horror films. Older films like Contagion have climbed streaming charts as consumers look for entertainment that reflects the current times. Host, which was filmed in COVID-compliancy with the actors doing their own wardrobe, filming and stunts, released to rave reviews this past summer. The premise of a Zoom-like horror film attracted people who are all too familiar with their laptop’s video-chat software.
The horror themes of technology and contagion aren’t likely to go anywhere soon, according to Michigan State University professor Dr. Kinitra Brooks, speaking to TIME Magazine. “[There is] the idea that there’s something out there that can spread and is, at the moment, beyond our science, beyond our social systems and beyond our ability to contain, is very scary.” Brooks says about the pandemic’s influence on horror media. “As we’re moving toward more contemporary types of horror, we’re seeing different folks’ anxieties on screen.”
Horror media might actually be the cure to current anxieties, because they provide a distraction from the stressful events going on in our world. Partly because the media can be paused at any time, giving us some amount of control over our emotional landscape. And if you’re a horror buff, your brain recognizes the information already stored, which can be comforting. So, next movie night, consider trying a horror flick. Your brain may thank you later.