Mallory Pace
Words by Mallory Pace
The tradition of Halloween is, objectively, a weird one. When October rolls around, we decorate our homes with skeletons, cobwebs, ghosts and no one bats an eye … get it? We walk through haunted houses fully aware there’s someone dressed in a terrifying costume waiting around every corner to jump out. Despite knowing none of it’s real and there’s no actual danger awaiting us, we still scream and run out of genuine fear. Even outside of Halloween, we watch disturbing horror movies and murder-packed TV shows that fill our insides with anxiety and disgust. Pondering on this strange American tradition a bit more begs the question of, why do we like to feel terror?
There is no one answer to this question, in fact, there are quite a few explanations depending on whom you ask and in what context. One of the simplest reasons is found in our thrill-seeking nature. Jonathan Bassett, a psychology professor at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina, said these thrill- or sensation-seeking behaviors also explain why people enjoy roller coasters, bungee jumping, skydiving, etc. These activities provide a neurochemical jolt in our brain in ways we don’t typically get in our daily lives. Some people possess this “sensation-seeking” trait more than others, which psychologists use to see how much an individual likes to look for novelty and excitement in their lives. Correlation survey research shows high sensation-seeking predicts greater enjoyment and more frequent watching of horror media, Bassett explained.
“So for these folks, watching murder, blood, gore and horror, gets them kind of the same level of arousal, physiologically, that low sensation seekers might get from more mundane kinds of experiences,” he added.
Another explanation for why we might desire unpleasant feelings is called cultivation appreciation. Bassett explained that like a pungent cigar, a dry wine or spicy food, horror movies and thrill-inducing activities are an acquired taste that can evolve over time.
“Maybe there’s just something enjoyable about overcoming that initial unpleasantness and learning to sort of cultivate an appreciation for it,” Bassett said.
Bassett also argues that horror aficionados might take pride in their ability to regulate their emotions and overcome feelings of fear and disgust. But on a deeper level, they learn to appreciate the technique and artistry that goes into creating a high-quality horror scene or haunted attraction.
A third explanation is called the excitation transfer theory, or simply put, relief. It might not be that we actively enjoy being afraid but more so enjoy the sense of relief we feel when it’s over. Many horror movies use pop-up scenes to induce anxiety via anticipation, but the fear felt during the scene is quickly alleviated when the jump scare is over, the movie continues on and we can breathe again. That feeling might be what we seek and enjoy, not necessarily the agonizing anticipation. Like roller coasters, Bassett explained, we get off the ride and jump with glee and excitement, partly because of the thrill and partly because it’s over. But when you look at the photo of yourself taken halfway through the ride, you might find fear and worry written on everyone’s faces. Same with haunted attractions, at one point you’re being chased with a chainsaw but that glorious walk back to your car is filled with relief and subsided adrenaline.
“The idea is that the more tension we feel in the moment, because of the unpleasantness, the greater the satisfaction we feel when it’s over,” Bassett said.
Another, more complex explanation comes from the just-world theory, which is the innate tendency to believe that the world is a just, fair place and people face deserving fates. Bassett explained horror movies often reinforce traditional values in morality by showing punishments to those who deviate from those values. The themes of many horror movies offer warnings about what might happen if someone diverges from social conventions and typically will try to depict victims as “deserving” of their suffering. This theory, Bassett posits, also considers the unsavory human tendency to take pleasure in the suffering of others, if we view that suffering as deserved. Psychologists use the German word ‘Schadenfreude’ to explain why we take delight in the suffering of others and it’s because it reinforces our notion that the world is a fundamentally fair place.
Many horror films, especially earlier ones, follow in the same tradition of fairy tales and folklores that warn children not to disobey their parents or societal standards. For example, Bassett explained, the popular 1980s slasher movies used certain themes and messages as a reflection of the conservative politics of the time. Teens are punished for experimenting with sex and drugs while being a larger commentary on the perceived loss of family structure and social values that allowed the kids to be alone and in these dangerous situations, Bassett said.
On one side, people argue horror is somewhat innately conservative, meaning it reinforces conservative, traditional American values, but others defend the opposite. Bassett’s final explanation for why both individuals and society value the element of fear is called the societal concerns perspective. The idea is that horror media might allow people a safe, fictional space to consider challenging social issues in a more comfortable way than thinking about it in the realm of reality.
“The supernatural forces and the lack of realism in the horror movie creates this psychological distance that allows viewers to grapple with questions about pressing current events or social issues,” he said.
Especially over the last few decades, horror films have been used as artistic vehicles for a bigger social commentary on current issues like systemic racism, discrimination, inequality, you name it. Jordan Peele’s films — “Get Out,” “Us” and “Nope” — do an excellent job at providing its audiences with an imaginary, yet eerily familiar scenario that plays on the malicious undertones of American values without explicitly saying it. Bassett suggests that horror films like these are particularly effective because the audience can use it as an allegory for the problems of modern and systemic racism without investing their own consciousness into real people in real contexts, like one might by watching the news. Under the societal concerns perspective, people might gravitate toward horror films for any number of reasons, but subconsciously, they’re giving their brains a space to confront uncomfortable social issues that they might not confront otherwise in reality.
I love horror movies. What does this all say about me?
These five explanations for why we seek to be terrorized are simply five possibilities as to why a certain individual might choose — or avoid to — engage in thrill-seeking activities. A combination of factors come into play when trying to determine the why, which might be easily explainable. But do these tendencies determine personality or behavior? Bassett asserts the two biggest predictors for why an individual is more likely to view horror is their level of sensation-seeking and empathy traits. People prone to strongly feeling or reacting to the suffering of others are less likely to be horror fanatics. However, just because someone loves all-things horror doesn’t necessarily mean they have low empathy levels. On the contrary, Bassett suggests the horror genre and its fans get a bad reputation for being sick or violent people, but there’s no real support for that. Psychological research can only really conclude that certain people enjoy thrill-seeking more than others, and they might have lower levels of empathy but they’re not necessarily sociopaths because they enjoy horror films.
There are other speculations about whether the continued exposure to violent media can cause someone to become desensitized to such violence, but Bassett explained little evidence supports such a theory.
“People with high levels of empathy just don’t find watching horror appealing, but does it go the other way? Does watching horror diminish your empathy? It could, but I don’t know that there’s really any robust evidence that establishes that,” he said.
Over five decades of research have yet to confidently conclude whether exposure to violent media has the potential to make an individual violent in nature. Dating back to Aristotle and Freudian models, people used to say that if you could gratify an impulsive fantasy, via watching a murder movie for example, it would drain the likelihood of you acting on it in reality. That idea has been disproved, in fact, the preponderance of evidence points in different directions. Bassett explained that in the act of watching violent media, there is an increase in the extent to which someone is currently having aggressive thoughts. However, determining whether that directly translates to aggressive behavior is difficult to prove. This is due to both ethics and challenges of scientific experiments involving people and the complex nature of the human brain and behavior.
“Whether or not someone acts aggressively in any particular instance, is a really complicated interaction of dozens of variables,” Bassett said. “And exposure to media violence would just be one of those variables.”
Trying to conclude the behavioral effects that horror and violent media has on an individual isn’t that simple. The same goes for the psychological consequences of overexposure to horror; there are varying criticisms and perspectives on the topic. One being the inverse of the just-world theory — the mean-world hypothesis, which is the idea that watching a lot of violence can make people overly paranoid and skeptical of the motives of others. They might come to see the world as a more disturbing, dangerous place than it really is, Bassett explained. But other people make the opposite argument, claiming that watching violent media might be an indicator of adaptive behavior. People might watch scary movies with high-stake scenarios and subconsciously “practice” how they would react in the same environment. Likewise, for some people, watching violent media might help them master their fears and can leave them feeling a greater sense of control on their ability to function in the world.
“Some evolutionary psychologists have argued that, like watching a horror movie or going to a haunted attraction, even though they know they’re safe in that environment, it gives people a chance to mentally rehearse or prepare for what they would do if they were in real danger,” Bassett said.
Above all, exposure to horror has its negatives and positives, but Bassett asserts that viewing or feeling horror is more beneficial than harmful. In his book, “Death on the Small Screen,” Bassett analyzes the appeal of violence by investigating psychological theories surrounding death, anxiety and the defenses we use to manage that anxiety. He claims one positive of horror exposure is it allows us to confront the disturbing reality of mortality in a way that’s typically repressed. The topic of death isn’t something talked about socially or casually, even though we all think about it to some extent. It’s become unspoken, almost taboo in society, and we aren’t all that exposed to death aside from a personal loss or in the media. Bassett argues that horror is one genre able to break through social disguises about what’s polite and what makes us uncomfortable, but in a fictional way.
“It kind of allows us to look behind the curtain, to stare into the abyss and see the reality of that thing we typically repress,” he said.
Bassett’s advice to readers this Halloween season is to go out there, unabashed and unashamed, and enjoy the scary activities, horror movies and haunted attractions because at best, there’s a potential to raise your social consciousness by interacting with these issues. You might gain a new sense of mastery or control over your life, or at the very least, it’s an opportunity to confront your inner fears in a safe, controlled environment. But if none of those things happen, Bassett said, it’s still just fun.
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