Fascination with Fright

There is something about horror that speaks directly and instictively to the human animal. Millions of years of evolutionary psychology have ingrained in our minds certains fear triggers - a survival instinct. 

Yet, brain scan research in 2010 (Thomas Straube) showed that the scary films dont't actually activate fear responses in the right amaygdala (part of the brain responsible for the associated with fear learning). Therefore, we aren't being scared at the films in terms of brain chemistry, so what is the psychological attraction?

Dr Glenn Walters stated there are 3 primary factors that make horror attractive;

• Tension - created by suspense, terror and gore
• Relevance - the audience may relate to personal relevance, cultural meaningfulness and fear of death
• Unrealism - this creates a way for the audience to escape 

Essentially, although the images are disturbing, the audience has the ability to pay attention and control what affect it has on them - and therefore they can create a psychological distance from the horror. Yet, there is not one single, simple universal explanation - due to the complexity of the brain and variation in peoples tastes. The motivation to watch horror can further be categorised into 4 reasons;

• Gore watching - charaterised by low empathy, high sensation seeking, and in males; a strong identification with the killer
• Thrill watching - high empathy and high sensation seeking. Motivated by the suspense of the film, and more identification with the victims 
• Independent watching - high empathy for the victim with a high positive effect of overcoming fear
•  Problem watching - high empathy for the victim, but is characterised by a negative effect - sense of helplessness.

However, motivations may chanage from day to day or from film to film.  The most common explanation as to why we watch horror may be that they create a way to escape. This escapism theory may perhaps be applied to horror in the sense that they are a distraction. Consequently, the sensory experience of a film can be compared to dreaming - and so perhaps film watching is somehwere between being awake and being in a dream state. Therefore, films can provided a safe place where we can sort through stuff - learn skills to apply in everyday life. 

Essentially, horror films require us to  face the unknown - to understand it and make it less scary. This means that they allow us to see our fears and put them into context; and in doing so shaping our belief systems. They are a safe place to explore and also for fanatics - entertaining and fun to watch. 

Aurther Conan Doyle said "Where there is no imagination - there is no horror". Perhaps this can explain why the younger generation are more likely to gain more gratification from horror, and are more affected by it. Even so, regardless of age - there is an unmistakeable attaction to horror films, something that may never change.