Sholeh: Scared witless (and happy about it)

I’ve never understood the thrill in being scared. What’s so great about a chest-smacking roller coaster drop, or seeing people torn to pieces in a gory movie? One makes me regret lunch. The other is simply depressing.

Under other circumstances, people generally don’t look forward to cardiac events, sweaty palms or borderline nausea. Healthy people don’t enjoy other people’s pain and smart ones avoid major risks.

So why revel in fear?

Purdue University professor Glenn Sparks has spent years studying the way people respond to terrifying images. He says scary images and experiences are fascinating because they’re different.

"Some people have a need to expose themselves to sensations that are different from the routine," wrote Dr. Sparks. "While experiencing a frightening movie may have some negatives, individuals often derive gratification because the experience is different."

"Different" doesn't fully explain it. Individual exceptions aside, men are more likely than women to enjoy the scary stuff. Sparks believes that's due to some sense of satisfaction in conquering a threat. They're wired differently.

Frank Farley, former president of the American Psychological Association, studied people who have what he calls "type T" (thrill-seeking) personalities. They thrive on the physical intensity of things like skydiving and bungee jumping. 

Adrenaline increases, the heart races and perspiration produce a sensory overload thrill-seekers love, while others don’t get the same endorphin effect.

Most people who actually “enjoy” horror, who represent a minority of people in Sparks’ research, feel pleasure not so much from the horror itself as from the emotional release they get afterward — like the comedown after an adrenaline rush. But, he says, it can leave lingering effects in the brain.

“Research shows that when people watch these films, they may run the risk of experiencing what we call a ‘lingering emotional reaction,’ or a fright reaction that might persist sometimes long after the film is over,” said Sparks in an Oct. 17, 2018, article on Purdue’s website. “For example, one study reports that about a half-dozen people had to seek clinical help after seeing ‘The Exorcist’ because the lingering fear was so intense.”

There's also the appeal of the forbidden. Some scare lovers are attracted to the horror genre because it’s a safe venue for exploring their dark side. Among those well-behaved in real life, what's forbidden may be just tempting enough for some to explore it in fantasy, where no one actually gets hurt.

University of Memphis professor and former Texas Psychology Association chair David Rudd believes people don’t actually enjoy fear. It's the risk-free anticipation that turns them on. 

Getting that autonomic response — the same adrenaline rush as actual danger, but without the risk to his or her life, is what appeals in scary movies or fantasy-only experiences, he says.

“It’s all about how you label the experience in your head,” explained Rudd.

Some heads seem to need an extreme. For a few thousand bucks, some “entertainment” companies will arrange to have clients abducted, tied up, gagged, stripped, slapped and confined for hours or days to instill as much fear as possible. It’s called “extreme kidnapping.” Let’s hope there’s a safe-word.

Hard to believe a market for this exists, isn’t it? Even Stephen King couldn’t make that up.

• • •

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Send G-rated email to sholeh@cdapress.com.