Now - you know that we’ve kind of made it a habit to be the fine purveyors of all things
fear inducing over here at Top 5 Scary Videos - but as the old adage goes, the only thing
to fear is fear itself.
Wait, does that work?
As in, that thing inside us - that quiet internal voice that irrevocably gets louder whenever
feces hits the proverbial fan - and tells us to get the hell out of that alleyway, or
not linger too long in a dark forest - or to not stroke that massive python, because
- well, you get the picture.
Well - we’ve already covered part one of this video, way back when I still had hair
and a quiff - but it’s about time that we revisited the cornucopia of terrifying human
instincts, because - hey, there’s a lot of them.
Hello horror fans and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube, Top 5 Scary Videos
- as per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch - as today, we tuck back into our
copy of Human Survival for Dummies - and take a look at the Top 5 Scary Human Instincts
- Part 2.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that scene was from the year 2000 action-adventure-thriller,
Vertical Limit - which was actually the first film that I ever owned on DVD.
So, for nostalgia’s sake - it makes today’s clip - and also, there are some pretty nerve
wracking human instincts on display.
Kind of comes with the territory when you climb K2, really.
Kicking off at Number 5 - Poisonous Predators
Since the dawn of time, our species has been afraid of snakes - and for good reason really.
Indiana Jones WAS on to something after all.
Thanks to evolution, we know that ancient humans were tree dwelling mammals - and our
species quickly learned that those very same trees were shared with some pretty terrifying
serpents, and we quickly learned that the importance of telling the difference between
a tree branch and a snakes tail was literally a matter of life and death.
Because of this, our eyes gradually evolved to see colours much more vividly - down to
the fact that the most opportunistic of our ancestral mammal ancestors would be better
enabled to avoid the tree-sharing snakes and not end up, well - dead.
Well, in a 2011 Japanese study proved that humans are extremely sensitive to biologically
threatening stimuli, and researchers found that children were intrinsically rapid at
detecting pictures of snakes hidden in flowers.
It’s not just snakes though, because spiders also factor into this portion of our brain
power - and it is widely considered that Arachnophobia is so much more prevalent in women due to
the fact that during our hunter-gatherer days, if a woman were bit by a spider, her offspring
would likely die without her.
Coming in at Number 4 - Public Speaking
And perhaps Ross wouldn’t have been laughed at if everyone knew that deep down he was
just acting on an instinctual fear.
Nah, just kidding - that scene is hilarious.
Of course they’d still laugh at him.
But the fear of public speaking isn’t just reserved for nervous fictional characters
- because it’s a universal fear felt by people across the planet.
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve got to give a presentation, but the night
before you just can’t seem to get any sleep.
The next day you’ve got butterflies in your stomach - and you’re drenched in sweat.
Well, the answer - is that the root of this fear is actually built into our DNA.
The fear of Public Speaking actually comes from our amygdala - the part of our brain
that regulates emotion, which is then hypersenstionalised by the reactions of each and every face in
an audience - subconsciously picking them apart to see which, if any people - pose a
genuine threat to our survival.
Oftentimes, this results in a crippling stage fright - where some people when faced with
the terrifying reality of public speaking, simply just stare blankly in the crowd.
The continued perception of threat overloads their instinctual brain - and it results in
a primitive level staring contest, much like when a deer is - literally - caught in the
headlights.
Swinging in Next at Number 3 - The Dark
Have you ever been lying in bed, in complete darkness at an unholy hour, just wondering
why the hell you can’t get off to sleep?
Is it because enemies are nearby?
Cannot Save your Progress?
Well, kind of - but there’s actually a little bit more to it.
Fear of the dark - whilst also being an incredible Iron Maiden track - is actually one of the
most intrinsic instincts that humanity possesses.
Nearly all children, and some adults - maintain a completely founded physiological trauma
of the things that go bump in the night.
Why?
Because - well, the grinding anxiety that a fear of the dark generates, acts as a check
and limiting mechanism against reckless behaviour - that would have otherwise ended up with
our ancestors roaming out into the Serengeti and getting eaten by a big bad scary predator.
See, here’s the thing - because for a large portion of humanity's early days - we weren’t
exactly the tip-tip-top apex predators that we are today, we had to earn it by capitalising
on our evolutionary advantages - but back in the day, our ancestors quickly learned
that many predators prefer the cover of darkness to hunt - and in that, we developed a shared,
clearly signposted consciousness - that said, stay out of the dark, because that’s where
all the crazy monsters that will eat us are.
So, the next time someone laughs at you for being scared of the dark - tell them that
you’ve got your ancestors to thank - because they were the smart ones.
Next up at Number 2 - Heights
Oh Hans Gruber, you sorely misguided man.
As my editor Dylan pointed out - Alan Rickman actually had his own massive fear of heights
- and when filming that scene, the crew lied to him about the timing of his harness release.
So what you’re actually seeing is the one-take face of betrayal.
Poor guy.
But Alan Rickman wasn’t alone with his fear of heights - because we all feel it, in some
ways or another at varying degrees.
In actual fact - an instinctual reaction to heights is triggered when your inner ear feels
an exaggerated gravitational pull and tells your other senses about it.
It immediately alerts the rest of your body of the distance that exists between you and
the ground.
And - well - if that distance exceeds say, 30 feet or so - your body will instinctually
go into a panic mode, triggered by the fear of falling from such a height.
The thing is though, this fear is fascinating - because unlike other similar fears, while
our body is hardwired to experience a shift in gravitational pull, we don’t develop
this fear at birth.
It isn’t ancestrally ingrained in our brains - despite having the faculties to do so.
In actual fact, this fear is developed AFTER a baby begins to learn locomotive skills - and
it has been found that people only learn to be scared of heights after they begin to perceive
space and movement.
So basically, we got far too used to swimming upside down in the womb.
And finally - coming in at our Number 1 spot - Death
It goes with the territory really.
We’re all on a pretty level playing field when it comes to evacuating this mortal coil,
and as my buddy Ben Franklin said way back in 1789 - in this world, nothing can be said
to be certain - except death and taxes.
And while everyone’s kind of indifferent about fearing taxes, death takes the top spot.
Humanity instinctively seek to preserve ourselves - as in, we are hardwired to survive - just
take a look at Fight or Flight and the lengths that people like Aron Ralston will go to survive.
Any threat that humanity perceives is stoked by the eternal furnace of the fear of dying.
But there is one modicum of the Instinctual Fear of Death that kind of takes the cake.
Existential death anxiety - which while also being an awesome band name, is a fear found
exclusively in humans.
It is both the blessing and the curse of our existence, the double edged sword of humanity
- the fear of what happens when life ends - and one of the reasons that has driven our
species to often do equal parts crazy and equal parts amazing things.
Because when our species climbed down from the trees and banged their science homework
between two rocks to start a fire, we began a chain reaction that inevitably resulted
in us asking the scariest question of them all.
What happens when the lights go out?
*click*
Well, unfortunately folks, that’s all we’ve got time for in today's video - cheers for
sticking around all the way until the end.
Before we depart though, let’s read out some of your more creative comments from over
the past few days.
First up, The Real Thanos says -- I shall use the reality stone to have a beard like
you Jack.
-- Well Thanos, you’re such a flatterer - bless you.
But if you’ve got the reality stone, wouldn’t you want something a little bit more like
this?
http://belljarmelissa.blogspot.com/2011/05/engraving-of-blake.html
The old cat in the beard.
My favourite.
Next up, Ebony Gaffney says -- hello jack, what is your favourite vampire movie and which
one do you think is the most believable?
Do they match?
-- Oooh!
That is a GREAT question Ebony Gaffney, and the world of vampire cinema is much wider
than the Twilight Saga.
My favourite HAS to be 1994’s Interview With The Vampire - just because it’s awesome
- but a close second is 1987’s The Lost Boys - both of which are pretty believable
in their own rights.
Great question Ebony, thanks!
On that note, unfortunately that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video - cheers for
sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, make sure to hit that thumbs up button - as well as
that subscribe bell, and we’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5
Scary Videos - and until next time, you take it easy.