What Makes us Scared of Scary Movies

The complex psychology behind why people like or dislike scary movies, along with some tips on how to overcome your fears of scary movies.

Why Would somebody WANT to be scared

I have never understand why somebody would voluntarily want to watch a truly scary movie. When I say scary movie I’m not talking about “The Walking Dead” or “Jaws”, I’m talking about true horror, like “The Exorcist” or “The Conjuring”.

To me, horror movies are just two hours of me being uncomfortable and wishing the movie would end. However, there are plenty of people that would disagree with my negative outlook on horror films.

Psychology Explains: Horror Lovers

The first reason people like horror films is because people seek stimulants. We are constantly stimulated during our everyday life, whether it be from music, social media, or talking with you friends. Horror films offer those same stimulations that humans are always seeking. Those stimulations can be caused from a jump scare or from the anticipation of something bad happening. This is the same as when people seek a thrill from a roller coaster or from skydiving.

Before you are able to really enjoy a scary movie, researchers suggest you must possess a “protective frame”. A protective frame consists of three categories. First, we need to understand that we are safe. While there may be scary things happening in the movie, those scary things are not actually happening to us and it is all fake. Second we need to be able to detach ourselves from the characters in the movie. If characters in the movie are having a tough time, we need to be able to realize that they are just actors and are not actually experiencing these horrors in real life. Lastly, you need a sense of control. If you are able to watch horror movies and tell yourself that you would be able to manage this situation if it was happening in real life, you will feel much more comfortable watching it all unfold on screen.

An absence of any of these three characteristics may cause someone to view a scary movie as unsettling.

How to Overcome your Fear of Scary Movies

There are many ways that you can overcome your fear of scary movies.

1. Gradually ease into them
   • Try easing your way into scary movies by watching something less scary first, and then slowly watching scarier movies over time.
2. Take breaks during the movie
   • If the movie is too scary for you, trying taking breaks throughout the movie so you can give yourself time to breath and take a break.
3. Watch it with a friend
   • Watching a scary movie alone can make it even tougher to get through. Knowing somebody else is going through the same thing with you may make it easier to get through.
4. Other options
   • There are plenty of other options too, like watching the movie during the day with lights on or reading a summary of the movie before you watch it.