Witches, goblins, and zombies — beware! The Halloween season brings out the mystical, gruesome, and eerie celebrations of the macabre. From decor to costumes, movies, and haunted house experiences, Killian Rainey Hughes, PhD, a psychologist with UT Physicians Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic – BBSB, explains why frights and scares are embraced each year.
“People think just because you fear something that you don’t enjoy it, but research shows that’s not true,” said Hughes, an assistant professor at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.
The science of fright
The science of fright boils down to biology. Experiencing a hair-raising situation activates the sympathetic nervous system — think fight or flight.
Being chased through a haunted house or watching the masked killer hide in the shadows during a slasher film brings on stress and excitement, releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Heart rates increase and breathing becomes shallow.
“There’s the initial hormone activation, and then there is the release of endorphins when the terror ends or the problem is solved,” Hughes explained. “You’re going from activation to enjoyment.”
That huge sense of relief at the end, when the killer is caught or when you’ve made it out of the corn maze safely (with all limbs intact), is the feeling that keeps us coming back for more fear, year after year.
Social aspect of spooky season
Halloween is a social celebration. From trick-or-treating to costume parties, partaking in spooky season almost always involves gathering together. And facing ghostly, ghoulish fears is easier in groups.
“Experiencing fear together can create social connectedness and social bonding,” Hughes said. “Sharing a terror experience together is another positive piece of embracing horror.”
Safety in fiction
Embracing yearly frights is only fun because it’s fictional.
“There is a degree of separation, allowing us to enjoy horror when we know it’s contrived,” Hughes said.
Encountering horror through a controlled setting allows you to feel entertained by the scare without consequence.
Who enjoys fear the most?
Chances are, if you enjoy the panic-stricken feeling of being chased by a fake chainsaw, you also enjoy other adrenaline-inducing activities like sky diving, bungee jumping, and roller coasters.
“Research shows people who are sensation seeking tend to be the ones who are more interested in being scared,” Hughes said.
Finding enjoyment in a bone-chilling plot twist doesn’t make you a cold-hearted grinch, though.
“People who enjoy horror do not have less empathy,” Hughes said.
The biggest predictor of who enjoys horror is gender. Men partake in fictional fear much more than women. But when it comes to true crime, women consume more real-life crime stories than men.
“For women, there is a satisfaction in the lessons learned from watching a true crime show. Women want to know how to avoid becoming a victim,” Hughes said.
Keeping the tradition alive
Ultimately, the science of fright comes down to biology, social connection, and safety. A fictional horror experience triggers our senses, making us feel more alert. Finding comfort in a shared experience connects us and knowing that it’s all fake provides the safety we need to return and replay again and again.
