People love horror movies for the thrilling rush of adrenaline and dopamine, the satisfaction of a final emotional release, the safe exploration of dark themes, and the intellectual stimulation of confronting fears in a controlled environment, often linked to personality traits like sensation-seeking and openness to experience. This enjoyment comes from experiencing intense fear and tension, knowing you're ultimately safe, and processing complex emotions cathartically.
Not surprisingly, some research indicates that people with a higher sensation-seeking trait and those who are more open to new experiences tend to seek out and enjoy horror-related experiences more. Additionally, if you have more empathy, you tend to react more negatively to what happens in horror shows.
People high in sensation-seeking or low in empathy tend to prefer slasher/gore-heavy films. Those high in openness and interest in ideas prefer psychological, cosmic, or folk-horror with ambiguity and atmosphere. Social viewers often choose mainstream, jump-scare-driven films for communal thrills.
Some believe that someone must be cruel, cold, or selfish in order to enjoy horror films and TV shows. New research suggests there is no difference between fans and non-fans when it comes to prosocial traits. There was even evidence that horror fans might have more empathy, and be more prosocial, than is average.
Flanagan responded ``People who love horror have an outlet for a lot of... darkness. And so, by and large, horror fans are among the most well-rounded and sympathetic and empathetic human beings. And (they're the) kindest human beings and happiest human beings that I meet.''
Emotional Processing and Catharsis
Horror movies and video games often evoke strong emotional responses, ranging from fear and anxiety to relief and exhilaration. This emotional rollercoaster can serve as a form of catharsis, helping individuals process complex emotions associated with their trauma.
Horror fans can be classified along three dimensions: Adrenaline Junkies, White Knucklers, and Dark Copers. Dark copers are a newly-identified type of horror fans, who use horror to cope with problems like feelings of anxiety. Adrenaline junkies get a mood boost from the intense experiences of horror.
Horror's rehearsal value directly translates onto experienced uncertainty for a generation that has grown up with political unpredictability, economic precarity, and climate worry; whereas romance asks you to invest in an imagined future, horror allows you to practise surviving the present and the unpredictable.
While there is no chapter and verse in Scripture saying horror movies are sinful for Christians to watch; it would be incredibly unwise and even dangerous for believers to partake in films that make light of the demonic and make it look entertaining.
Our bodies produce the hormone adrenaline during the 'flight, fight or fright' situation. Released by the adrenal glands, adrenaline increases our breathing and heart rate as well as the flow of blood to our muscles. It's preparing us for the flight, fight or fright reaction.
The top 3 rarest personality types are consistently identified as INFJ (The Advocate), ENTJ (The Commander), and INTJ (The Architect), with INFJ usually being the absolute rarest (around 1.5%), followed by ENTJ (around 1.8%), and INTJ (around 2-3%) of the general population, according to Psych Central, Redeemed Mental Health, and Reddit.
An article by Drs. Coltan Scrivner and Kara Christensen found that those with higher anxiety disclosed greater enjoyment of horror than those with less anxiety through the provision of a safe space to practice resilience, and with the content providing a resolution to the anxiety-inducing situation.
Some research indicates that people with a higher sensation-seeking trait (i.e., a stronger need for experiencing thrill and excitement) tend to seek out and enjoy horror-related experiences more. Those with a lower sensation-seeking trait may find those experiences unpleasant and avoid them.
Some individuals with sensation seeking personalities enjoy the horror genre because the jolt of horror is exhilarating and invigorating for them. These individuals seek out horror movies because of the thrill they experience from the fear crafted by the movies is enjoyable and satisfying.
Horror entertainment can trigger the fight-or-flight response, which comes with a boost in adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine. The brain can then process surroundings and conclude that the experience is not a genuine threat. This knowledge of personal safety is one reason horror fans habitually watch scary movies.
We asked Americans whether they love, like, dislike, or hate 10 movie genres. Of these, horror has the smallest share of people who collectively love or like it (50%) as well as the largest share of people who hate or dislike it (46%).
The biggest unforgivable sin varies by faith, but in Christianity, it's often seen as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, a persistent rejection of God's grace, while in Islam, the gravest unforgivable sin is shirk, or associating partners with God, if not repented. Pride is also considered a foundational, serious sin across many faiths, linked to the downfall of figures like Satan.
These scary scenes trigger your "fight-or-flight" mechanism, resulting in a quickened heartbeat, rapid breathing and a rush of adrenaline. Physical symptoms: Intense scary movie scenes can make your muscles tighten, cause that knot-in-the-stomach feeling or even spark chills and goosebumps.
Adam Scovell, writing for the British Film Institute, describes three films from the late 1960s and early 1970s as the "Unholy Trinity" of Folk Horror: Blood on Satan's Claw, Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man.
So for example, people who enjoy horror movies tend to be a little bit higher in openness, sometimes also higher in neuroticism, so they're a bit more anxious, maybe experience negative feelings a bit more.
This theory is supported by the findings of Zillman and Weaver, 18 who discovered that women prefer to watch films in which characters master the horror. Alternatively, males are more interested in seeing the suffering and brutality of the horror.
For Gen Z, many of these fears stem from a combination of things: economic uncertainty and financial insecurity, climate concerns, student debt, job market instability, social media, rapid change and an overall loss of hope and purpose.
A recent psychology study suggests that people who enjoy watching horror movies and can fall asleep easily afterward might show higher scores on traits linked to psychopathy.
There's no single "number one" horror movie, as it depends on the criteria (scariest, highest-grossing, critic's choice), but top contenders often include The Exorcist (scariest/influential), It (2017) (highest-grossing), and classics like Jaws, Halloween, and The Shining for their impact and scares.
The "Big 3 Slashers" universally refer to the iconic horror franchises centered around Michael Myers (Halloween), Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th), and Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), representing the peak of the 1980s slasher boom with their distinct masked/iconic killers, enduring legacies, and numerous sequels. While other slashers like Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) or Ghostface (Scream) are significant, these three form the core group known for shaping the genre.