Psychology · 60 s
Why pay to get scared?
Why pay to get scared?
You’d think. It’s just stress. In the moment, it is. Your heart races and your body gets ready to run.
Actually. In a 2018 Pittsburgh survey of 262 haunted-house visitors, about half left in a better mood. The researchers’ best guess is relief, a bit like a runner’s high.
The twist. In Denmark, heart monitors on 110 visitors showed the most fun came from a medium scare. Too little was boring, too much stopped being fun.
How sure? All three studies are small (110–310 people). The 2021 horror-fan survey in the video shows a link, not proof.
Sources
- Why haunted houses can make you feel good (2018), TIME
- Playing with fear (2020), APS Observer
- Horror fans during the pandemic (2021), ScienceDaily
What the video says
Why do people pay money just to get scared?
You'd think it's just stress. In the moment, it is. Your heart races and your body gets ready to run.
In 2018, researchers in Pittsburgh surveyed 262 people before and after an extreme haunted house. About half left in a better mood, and fewer felt tired or anxious.
Their best guess is relief. Once your brain works out the threat was fake, the stress falls away, a bit like a runner's high.
In Denmark, scientists put heart monitors on 110 visitors to a haunted house. The most fun came from a medium scare. Too little was boring, and too much stopped being fun.
Horror fans may get a bonus. In a 2021 survey, people who watched more outbreak movies coped better with the pandemic.
So this Halloween, get scared on purpose. Your heart will forgive you.