I've never been a massive fan of the horror genre. I used to get horrible nightmares whenever I watched something remotely scary or suspenseful. Even now, if I watch something suspenseful or scary, I have to watch or read something lighthearted and funny before I sleep, or things start jumping out of the seemingly benevolent shadows in my room. I've never understood why people would actively seek out and watch or read something explicitly made to frighten them. Since October is the month of all things spooky, I decided to challenge myself by reading a few horror books and exploring the psychology behind why people enjoy horror movies and books.
Oxford Languages defined horror as "an intense feeling of fear, shock or disgust." So, what makes horror so alluring? Three main factors are regularly credited: tension, which provides "a sense of suspense or mystery, terror, shock, or fear"; relevance, which creates "a cultural or personal connection, tapping into an inbuilt fear such as death," and unrealism, which is the "element that separates the viewer from what they are watching and reality, allowing for distance from the events seen." (Gifford, 2019). Tension keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, enthralled with the storyline through uncertainties, ambiguity, unexpected twists, slow burns, and sensory details, and in horror movies, through special effects, ominous music, and jump scares. Relevance further engages the audience by depicting universal fears to evoke an emotional response. Unrealism allows readers or viewers to experience these fears while remaining detached from the situation, using exaggeration or implausibility to create a story that is unlikely to happen in our reality. All of these elements create a compelling, frightening, unforgettable horror story.
Film scholar Søren Birkvard theorizes that "our enjoyment of all things horror and attraction to the darker side of horror cinema could come from our need to understand the concept of what is evil." (Gifford, 2019). Birkvard says, "Through genres like horror, we can gain the reassurance that the acts we are watching aren't rational or thought out - they often aren't even human. They're the cause of an otherworldly force, a safe 'evil' that we can explain away and separate from the harsh realities of the light of day." Horror movies and books allow people to live out their fears, explore their reactions to fear, and learn how they would handle certain frightening situations, in a "safe" environment that allows them to walk away and separate the experience from reality. Solf Zillmann proposes a slightly different theory, his "Snuggle Theory," that says "viewing horror films together could not only act as a right of passage but could allow us to fulfill 'traditional gender roles.'" (Gifford, 2019). In other words, his research said that men enjoyed horror more "when the woman showed distress during the course of the film, whilst women enjoyed the film more if their male companion remained calm or showed courage." (Gifford, 2019). Zillmann's Snuggle Theory is plausible and might make up some percentage of horror fans, but I'm more inclined to believe that the attraction to horror is more along the lines of Birkvard's theory that horror exposes us to evil and allows us to explore fear while remaining in an environment where we can walk away if it becomes too much for us to handle.
According to fear researcher Coltan Scrivner, there are three kinds of horror fans, the adrenaline junkies who enjoy the thrill, the white knuckles who use horror movies or books to "push their boundaries and learn the limits of their fear and really learn, like how they respond when their afraid," and the "dark copers," who use horror and other dark themes "to deal with existential problems or dark emotional states." (Scrivner, NPR Interview, 2022).
The adrenaline junkie survey responses aren't very surprising to me. They enjoy the suspense and the thrill that comes with horror. Interestingly, the white knucklers continue to watch/read horror even after the physical stress and fear. They continue to watch because horror helps them explore and cope with their reactions to fear. It's also possible that they experience the "freeze" in flight/fight/freeze stress response trio, and they expose themselves to fear to either overcome that fear or act despite the fear when they are faced with real-world events that they fear. The dark copers are the most fascinating of horror fans. They use horror to explore darker emotions and deal with existential problems. Horror can put certain life events in perspective for them, or perhaps give them a sense of control because they are willingly putting themselves in a position to experience fear, or even allow them to explore their reactions to certain themes that are a bit taboo to explore in the real world (like torture in the above chart).
While I may still shy away from the horror genre depending on how my October book challenge goes, my overall understanding of the genre and its devoted fans is forever changed. The thrill of the tension, the exploration and depiction of universal fears, and the unrealism create an unforgettable and fascinating experience for the audience. Birkvard says that horror allows us to explore evil and fear in a controlled setting and that really resonates with me. I've never thought about horror that way, as I've (wrongly) assumed that most people watch horror because they enjoy the thrill. Scrivner's research suggests that horror fans come in many forms, and each person finds their own unique benefits. While I'm fairly sure I'm a white knuckler horror fan, I look forward to seeing what benefits I will reap from exploring this thrilling genre. Whether you're an adrenaline junkie, a white knuckler like myself, or a dark coper, there's something fascinating about horror and it's allure.
Sources:
NPR Interview – Ayesha Rascoe and fear researcher Coltan Scrivner “Why do we like horror” October 30, 2022 - https://www.npr.org/2022/10/30/1132658607/why-do-we-like-horror
Happiful - “Why Do We Love Horror? The Psychology Behind Scary Entertainment” by Bonnie Evie Gifford - December 6, 2019 - https://happiful.com/why-do-we-love-horror-the-psychology-behind-scary-entertainment
Stat Significant - Why Do People Like Horror Films? A Statistical Analysis” by Daniel Parris - May 15, 2024 - https://www.statsignificant.com/p/why-do-people-like-horror-films-a
Comments