I mean what kind of a weirdo thinks
sitting down in a dark room and stressing out while watching a horror film
or playing a horror game is a fun way to unwind
well me apparently
I'm one of those weirdos that loves horror films
even though they freak me out
it all started with this little fella right here
the original Dracula from 1931 on VHS
it was the first horror film I ever watched and
from the moment Dracula came on the screen
I was hooked
so let's get into the mood a bit here
okay, so it's pretty goofy by today's standards
but back then it blew my mind and started my mind and started my obssession with horror
there's plenty to love about horror films
interesting stories
iconic characters
amazing visuals
even the terrible ones can be a lot of fun
but when you think about it
a lot of these qualities
can be found in other less stressful
kinds of films
so why do I keep on coming back to horror
to figure that out I decided I needed to chat to an expert
Sociologist Dr. Margee Kerr
literally wrote the book on fear
well she wrote A book on fear
it's something she's been studying
for more than a decade
while most people think of fear
as a negative emotion
Dr Kerr says it can actually be a good thing
Specifically Dr. Kerr says there are three main reasons
the first one is the natural high people talk about
so the threat response
or what people think of as 'fight-or-flight'
the fight-or-flight response is something that happens in our body when
our brain thinks we're under threat
basically what it means is that
chemicals are released to help us to either
fight our way out
or take flight
obviously not flying away but running away
that means
kicking our metabolism into high gear
so adrenaline, endorphins
serotonin, oxytocin
all of these different neuro chemicals and hormones
are working to to make us
strong and fast
when our body releases these chemicals
it can feel pretty great
not only that but our focus turns to survival
instead of other things that might be stressing us out
like if we're having a bad day
or we're worried about something in the future
it can feel good to just kind of check out
to just press pause
and be in the moment
okay so what's reason #2
even though we know
we're not really going to be hurt
we still feel a sense of accomplishment
so people report feeling like they've
challenged their fears
and learn about themselves
it might seem a bit weird
but simply watching a movie
can give you the same feeling
as completing something difficult
like a 5km run
and finally reason number #3
horror films can actually be
a really positive social experience
that helps to bring people together
they're serving to create an experience
that is bonding us more closely
to people that we trust
with friends and family
it really does create those memories
that you talk about years later
it's kind of the stuff of nostalgia
if watching horror films is so great
enjoying fear is a very individualised thing
a lot of people have
specific types of content
that they really enjoy engaging with
that could be physically engaging stuff like roller coasters
or extreme sports
or something a bit more passive
like simply watching a scary movie
but some people don't like either
and that can be based on
a combination of their genes and their experience
research has shown that some people are just more
stress sensitive
they essentially are experiencing
either a more intense or just more uncomfortable
physical experience
that is just not pleasant
this leads me to my final question
why do our brains have such strong reactions to things
that obviously aren't real?
when I watch a horror movie
I know I'm not under threat
it's not like the monsters gonna reach out of the TV
and pull me in
so why is my fight-or-flight
response still kicking in
our brains are amazing
I mean our ability to think ourselves into different states
it's just
it's incredible
we can
think ourselves into a state of fear
thinking like "oh my gosh there could be somebody out there"
and then it starts snowballing
and our imagination starts
building this narrative
so our body is going to prepare
as though there is a real threat
right at the at the front door