Why do we love to be scared?
And How Haunted Stories are a Reflection of our Culture
And How Haunted Stories are a Reflection of our Culture
People who are fond of adventures don’t just crave the adrenaline, they also crave the slight dip in their stomach which is induced by a tinge of fear.
But why fear? What’s fun about being afraid?
Well, there’s hidden psychology that has roots in our caveman history.
Currently, we live in a civilized world, we don’t have bears running after us, no life and death situation happening every day (for most of us)
So we satisfy our feeling of wanting to be scared and feeling powerless in other ways.
Fear Inducing Adventures
If you’re on a roller coaster ride or walking through a haunted house, your brain knows you are safe no matter what may ‘threaten your life’ during that time. So our body does something really fascinating, it hijacks our flight response and starts enjoying it.
It’s similar to a high arousal state our body goes into when we’re excited or surprised.
I remember standing in front of the first haunted house I was going to experience, people were coming out and laughing like crazy. I couldn’t understand why but it turns out,
You’ll often hear people laughing after a big scare because the body releases dopamine when we’re afraid, a hormone that creates a high state of arousal (not sexual) similar to what we feel when we’re excited or happy.
Since we have this added factor of knowing that nothing will happen to us, challenging that fear becomes slightly easy and it can lead to a sense of accomplishment that’s similar to running a marathon or climbing a mountain.
I did this really stressful thing and I because I chose to do it, I can own this sense of accomplishment.
Your emotions also take on a roller coaster ride when you do something scary. In the moment your emotions are so heightened that you start to feel more.
And when you share that experience with your friends, it makes you feel closer to them.
This is what being naturally high feels like.
Some of the attraction of being scared comes from the deviation of having a new experience that we know is safe.
Haunted Stories
Many cultures have used stories about ghosts and monsters to shape personal identities and systems of morality in society.
Fear-inducing tales were useful in early societies as a way to teach children about natural predators like bears and wolves. But as people started to think about the meaning of life and death, their stories began to reflect that self-recognition and struggle with inner demons.
“The monsters are us, in a sense, they are that very dangerous part of us.
And it’s good to recognize and be afraid of those evil parts of yourself.”
A good example of ethical guidance embedded in a scary story can be found in the Latin American tale of La Llorona. The spirit of a mother who drowned her children in a fit of jealous rage, La Llorona wails as she regretfully searches for their bodies, bringing misfortune to those who hear her cries.
La Llorona subverts the societal norm of mothers as loving and protective, becoming a cautionary lesson for others to consider when they get angry with their children.
Scary stories reflect a culture’s hidden demons
There’s an interesting role these monsters play in shaping our cultures.
People constantly reinvent the haunted stories to talk about what they fear and are haunted by.
Nowadays, newer themes often deal with science & technology, particularly the potential for technology to turn against its creator.
Evil robots and smart devices that turn against humans, like the computer Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
When the new monsters come up, they show that people aren’t too sure about some of the new technologies and that maybe there is something to be frightened about.
Fear may be as old as life on Earth. It is a fundamental, deeply wired reaction, evolved over the history of biology, to protect organisms against perceived threats to their integrity or existence.
Fear may be as simple as a cringe of an antenna in a snail that is touched, or as complex as existential anxiety in a human.
Some people enjoy “pushing the envelope,” seeking thrills, and seeing how much fear can be tolerated. If they are able to endure the barrage of anxiety, suspense, and fear. They get a sense of self-satisfaction from this.
Some people crave feeling powerless and they model this into their sexual fantasies. Fear gets them off.
A common piece of dating advice for young men years ago was to take their date to a scary movie.
The tip was based on the idea that when their date got frightened, they would curl in for “protection”, and a bond will form.
This advice might sound misogynistic, but there is some truth to it — applying to both people on the date.
Being frightened releases a biochemical flood that can yield a pleasurable outcome, which often misattributes the arousal (i.e. the pleasurable outcomes of fear) to the individual with whom we’re spending that time;
— that is, the two people on the date like each other more now because of the pleasurable feeling experienced during their time together — not necessarily because of each other’s company, but because of the outcomes of fear.
Taking risks makes you feel free because then you let go of the fear that’s holding you back. And we have seen enough evidence of how getting one over your fear feels exciting.
Would love to hear your what’s your take on Fear. Feel free to drop a comment and start a conversation.