The allure of fear is especially evident with all the ghosts and ghouls about on Halloween. With Halloween approaching, it's hard to avoid ghosts, goblins and other spooky decorations. But some people go even further, seeking out horror movies and convoluted haunted houses that are designed to scare the living daylights out of them. What possesses people to seek out experiences that make them tremble with fear? Enjoyment likely comes not from the fear itself, experts say, but from the physical and emotional release that follows scary situations. NEWS: The No-Fear Woman (And What Her Brain Reveals)For some people, the urge to feel fear also represents one manifestation of a sensation-seeking personality drawn to adrenaline-pumping activities like skydiving, rollercoasters or even drugs. Horror may even give people an opportunity to identify with or wage battle against their own psychological monsters. "Fear is a negative emotion that comes about when people are under siege or threat, and that is not pleasant," said Glenn Sparks, a professor of communication who studies the media's effects on people at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. "After researching this as long as I have, I have not seen any empirical evidence that people actually enjoy the emotional experience of fright," he added. "Instead, I see evidence that people are enjoying other things that go along with this experience." The desire to be afraid is far from universal. In surveys, Sparks said, only about a third of people said they seek out scary entertainment. A third actively avoid it. And the rest occupy a middle ground where they can accept some fear if it's not too extreme and if the overall nature of the experience is interesting to them. Even for people who like horror movies, the habit causes negative emotions that often linger. Because distressing feelings are stored in the brain's amygdala, which is particularly resistant to letting go, the scariest films can continue to spook people for a long time. After seeing the movie Jaws for the first time, for example, many people refused to swim in the ocean. After watching Psycho, a lot of viewers couldn't take a shower without peeking behind the curtain first. And The Exorcist scared people so badly that they had to be hospitalized for psychological fall-out. And yet, dedicated horror fans keep coming back for more. One reason is a phenomenon known as "excitation transfer." When scared, the body undergoes spikes in heart rate, breathing rate and muscle tension, among other involuntary responses. And that kind of arousal is not necessarily pleasant. But when the extreme sense of excitement wears off, it is replaced by an equally intense sense of relief, and those positive feelings are stronger than they would have been otherwise. A sense of mastery can also come from enduring a frightening situation and emerging triumphant. "People may remember a haunted house at Halloween or a scary movie and they think, 'I really felt good after that,'" Sparks said. "They're remembering the intense positive emotions they had afterwards, not necessarily that the enjoyed the feeling of fear at all. There was something about the experience they remember as good, even though they know there were negative things, too." Horror also incorporates an element of sex. In a 1986 experiment, teenage boys and girls watched scary videos in pairs. Unbeknownst to the other person, one member of the pair was instructed to follow a certain script that either conformed to or rejected stereotypical gender roles. When girls acted scared, the boys they were with found them more attractive than if they talked about how lame the movie was, the researchers found. Likewise, girls were more attracted to boys who acted brave and unfazed by frightening imagery." "Horror movies are very huggable movies because people sit there and grab each other," said Stuart Fischcoff, a retired psychologist and screenwriter who is now the senior editor of the Journal of Media Psychology. "Boys can role-play being a man and girls can role-play being a damsel in distress." BLOG: A History of 'Real' ZombiesThere are other theories, too, for why people seek out situations that scare them. One is that we can project our own sense of evil onto whatever bad guys are represented in fearsome entertainment, which helps us enjoy watching as they are defeated. Another is the idea that intense experiences remove us from our normal lives, offering something unusual to look at that can be hard to resist, much like a car wreck on the side of the road. Whatever the underlying reasons, there's not usually any harm in pursuing good, scary fun on Halloween, Sparks said -- as long as that's what you want to do. Despite some research showing that scary films and video games can affect aggressive and hostile behaviors, the vast majority of people won't do terrible things after viewing an occasional horror flick or visiting a seasonal haunted house. "I think people should follow their instincts on this," Sparks said. "People should feel perfectly OK saying, 'You know what, I don't really enjoy this, and I'm not going to partake.'" "On the other hand, if people find it enjoyable and want to do it, that's perfectly fine, too," he added. Halloween is a time for scary movies, ghost stories, and visits to haunted houses, but why do we enjoy these activities? Surely fear and pleasure are contrasting emotions? But look beneath the surface, and fear and fun have more in common than you might think. Medical News Today investigates why we like to be scared.
Nothing could induce me to watch a horror movie. I cannot see the pleasure in being, by turn, disgusted and terrified. But I am almost certainly in the minority. Many people actively seek out situations that frighten them — particularly at this time of year — and thoroughly enjoy the experience. Fear and survival have had close links throughout evolution. If the early hunters did not run from danger, they were unlikely to last long enough to procreate. So those whose fear response helped them avoid being eaten by a predator would have passed on the genes that promoted those behaviors. In a truly dangerous situation, the fight-or-flight response can save your life. But many situations that we find frightening are not life threatening. Indeed, we often seek out “safe” frightening experiences, such as scary movies, rollercoasters, or bungee jumps, to enjoy the experience of being scared. In an acute stress situation, the autonomic nervous system causes familiar physiological changes, such as raised breathing and heart rate, flushed or pale skin, butterflies in the stomach, tense muscles, dilated pupils, and a dry mouth. And when the fear subsides, we are often left with feelings of pleasure. Is this just the relief of having survived, or is there more to it? The amygdala, a small structure deep in the center of the brain, controls the fear response. The amygdala is part of the limbic system, which plays a key role in behavior. In a fearful situation, the amygdala stimulates the hypothalamus, which, in turn, activates the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the blood. The sympathetic nervous system, the part of the autonomic nervous system responsible for fight-or-flight, tells the adrenal glands to release the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. Once epinephrine is in the bloodstream, it speeds up the heart rate, constricts the peripheral blood vessels, and diverts blood from the core to the muscles needed for movement. It also tightens the muscles at the base of each hair follicle (piloerection), causing hairs to stand on end — useful if you are a furry animal trying to convince a predator you are bigger than you really are — and, for humans, giving “goosebumps.” ACTH release causes the secretion of cortisol, often called the “stress hormone.” This raises blood pressure and increases blood glucose levels to keep the body ready for action. There are many reasons why we might enjoy a good scare — and it is all down to chemicals. First is the feeling of relaxation after the epinephrine rush. Once the prefrontal cortex of the brain realizes the danger is not real, the response dampens down. The “thinking brain” tells us to relax, and there is, according to Lee Chambers, psychologist and workplace well-being specialist: “a biochemical rush of neurotransmitters that make you feel amazing.” It is this post-rush relief and sense of well-being that keeps thrill-seekers going back for more.
Then there is the social aspect — if you are in a frightening situation with others, there is the shared bonding experience of knowing that you got through it. Once again, a hormone is responsible, this time oxytocin. Oxytocin influences social behavior and is involved in the creation of group memories and bonding. Some people know it as the “love hormone” because the body releases it during hugging, childbirth, and sexual activity. Lee Chambers feels that bonding is an integral part of the enjoyment: “When you watch scary entertainment together, and the biochemical rush is peaking, you feel amazing, and think everyone with you is amazing. You think it’s due to the people around you rather than the experience.” But is there a physiological reason for the link between fear and fun? It all comes back to the amygdala. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have recently discovered that this tiny structure in the brain not only contains neurons that control the fear response but is also closely involved in pleasure and reward. The gene associated with the reward neurons in the amygdala is involved in dopamine signaling — and dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure. It is not just dopamine and oxytocin that contribute to the post-scare high. People also experience a rush of endorphins following a scare. Endorphins, the feel-good chemicals released after exercise, are often referred to as natural opioids. So that is why a scary experience can give you the same feelings of euphoria as a 10-mile run. Finally, the body releases serotonin, another neurotransmitter that regulates many human behaviors, among them mood. A lack of serotonin has associations with depression, so a boost in levels can help to lift the spirits. It is unusual to enjoy a genuinely life-threatening situation. A person will likely feel relief once it is over, but it is unlikely that they will desire to repeat the experience. The pleasure for most comes in a frightening situation that is controlled — fear without real danger is key to enjoyment.
A safe scare can also be a way of practicing your responses, of building self-knowledge and resilience. As there is no real danger in a scary movie or haunted house experience, you can experience your body’s reactions and gain greater insight into yourself. Dr. Mendez added: “Risk takers anticipate that they are going to conquer. They gain huge satisfaction from conquering a situation.” A study in Pittsburgh assessed participants at an “extreme” haunted house. Most reported “significantly higher mood” after the experience. Dr. Margee Kerr, one of the study authors, who is a sociologist and part-time faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, notes: “Highly intense and scary activities — at least in a controlled environment like this haunted attraction — may ‘shut down’ the brain to an extent, and that in turn is associated with feeling better.” She compares the relaxation after the stressful experience to the effect of mindfulness meditation, where the aim is to empty the mind of unwanted thoughts. Taking time to “switch off” the brain by making it focus on a scary experience can reduce anxiety levels. Another recent study of participants in a haunted house identified an optimum level of fear for maximum enjoyment. Too scary or not scary enough, and enjoyment levels decreased. Motivation was important, too — those who chose to go to the haunted house reported much greater enjoyment levels than those who went along because others wanted to. Personality definitely plays a part. “Some people naturally seek out risk in a relatively risk averse world,” Lee Chambers told us. “They feel pride at being able to navigate fear and face fear.” There may be more reasons for enjoying a good scare. Studies have pinpointed the potential psychological and health benefits of fear. While long-term fear has adverse effects, such as increased blood pressure and defensive behavior, short-term fear can have psychological benefits. It can allow a person to practice controlling their body’s response to fear in a safe space.
That scary movie might even have physical benefits. A 2009 study showed that fear can boost the immune system. Researchers got a group of volunteers to watch a horror movie then measured their leukocyte count. When the researchers compared them with a control group who had spent the same time sitting quietly in a room, they found that those who watched the horror movie had significantly higher numbers of white blood cells responsible for immunity than those who had not. And it might be useful in the current pandemic. A recent study found those who regularly enjoy horror movies to be more psychologically resilient during COVID-19. So scary experiences may help you practice effective coping strategies that can be beneficial in real-world situations.
So, perhaps this Halloween, even the risk averse among us might try a bit of controlled fright — the gain might well be worth the short-term pain. |