Love horror movies? This is what psychology has to say about it

Do you love horror movies but aren't sure why you do? Why do we get scared? Why do we push ourselves to go to movies that will give us a jump or choose to watch them alone?

Looking through the lens of psychology, and being a psychology major myself, I’ve always been fascinated with the reasons behind why things make us change our behaviors. 

But in order to answer these questions, we have to understand how fear works on a neurological level. Fear starts in the part of the brain known as the amygdala. The amygdala is the core of the neural system, and processes fearful and threatening stimuli.

The brain experiences the nature of fear in three different stages: freeze when an overwhelming stimuli presents itself, run, (also know as "flight,") which is when your drive to get away from the thing that causes the fear kicks in, and fight, when the adrenaline rush allows you to fight back against the stimuli.

So, how does this help us understand why we watch horror movies?

When we watch scary films and "force" ourselves to feel scared, we feel a rush of adrenaline, and this releases chemical substances like endorphins and dopamine. The release of these chemicals can result in a sense of euphoria. As a result, the negative effects of fear are subsided with a sense of relief and well-being. 

Additionally, horror is a genre full of suspense, jump scares and tension, and this tension is exactly what keeps viewers engaged with the film. It triggers our fight-or-flight response, but we know there's no real threat when we watch horror films, so we can feel the rush without worrying about our own safety because we know nothing is going to hurt us in the end. 

In fact, 10 percent of the population enjoys this feeling. “Some people are energized by high fear arousal,” said author Gemma Cockrell, "Despite knowing what we are watching is fictional, our heart rates and breathing rates still increase.” 

Excitation transfer theory also plays a role. This idea supports the hypothesis that “residual excitement from one stimulus can amplify the excitatory response created by (another) stimulus.” This leads to a situation where anger or fear can resolve itself.

This also ties into the element of individual empathy, which is the capacity that one has to understand someone’s emotions. Therefore, people who are less empathetic are more prone to liking horror films and people who are empathetic will not because they get attached and feel the emotions of the characters. 

Other studies have found that men are more likely to align themselves with violence, which in turn can lead to aggression and violent behaviors. According to author Lindsey Holmes, childhood experiences can also view the way that we see horror movies. People who had "positive” experiences as children aren't as scared by being startled, whereas children with negative past experiences are more likely to be affected by horror movies.

In essence, everyone experiences horror films differently. Whether you jump, hide your face or laugh, it still requires the same dopamine rush that you feel at the beginning. Mostly, it doesn’t hurt to try new things, but if you're an empath — stay away from them. But I personally love horror movies, and I can’t wait to kick off the Halloween season with them!