Why we like to watch scary movies and is it okay

There have been quite a few horror films over the past few years that have become commercially successful. The directors willingly take on cult stories and shoot remakes, sequels, prequels and spin-offs of legendary horror films. Some of them are praised by the audience, others are scolded, but they are still watching.

The life hacker decided to figure out why people are so attracted to scary films, and asked psychologists about it.

Lack of emotion in real life

Larisa Milova is a family psychologist, a process psychotherapist, a genetic psychologist and a trauma therapist.

There is only one reason why people watch scary movies, everything is individual: some get addicted to adrenaline, for others it is a way to get thrills, others want to escape from problems. By the way, sensitive people prone to empathy tend to avoid such films.

When there are not enough emotions in life, a person begins to look for them. Someone jumps with a parachute, is engaged in extreme sports, and someone finds them in horror films. A person receives a portion of adrenaline, comes into a state of excitement, which remains with him for some time after watching. And he likes it.

Oleg Ivanov psychologist, conflictologist, head of the Center for Settlement of Social Conflicts

In general, love of horror films is not a mental disorder.

As the expert explains, frightening situations attract people in real life. Many people tend to be interested in unexplained phenomena, mysticism, catastrophes, natural disasters. And a horror movie is a treasure trove of such situations.

Fighting your fears

Very often horrors are watched by people who are already afraid of so much, as well as people with increased anxiety. So they escape from real fears to fictional ones - those that will end with the screening of the film.

Larisa Milova

A person feels control over fear and knows that in an hour and a half everything will be over, and he will feel relief that cannot be achieved in real life. However, watching documentaries about horrible events, as opposed to fictional ones, triggers Why Do We Like Watching Scary Films? more discomfort. The reality of the events taking place on the screen does not give the viewer a sense of control and does not allow establishing a psychological distance between themselves and terrible situations.

When you watch a scary movie at home, in a relaxed environment, you sort of conquer your fears. At the same time, you understand that you are completely safe, and all screen situations are not happening to you.

But by conquering some fears, you can get new ones. Therefore, you need to approach your hobby with horror films with caution.

Oleg Ivanov

If nightmares, nervous breakdowns and new phobias appear due to horror films, you need to stop watching them. After a movie about plane crashes, you risk turning into an aerophobe. Or you will be afraid of the sea because of horror stories about man-eating sharks - there are many options. And these are not all the pitfalls.

Fragments from horror films remain in memory and come to life if a person finds himself in an environment similar to the one he saw on the screen. This can provoke negative emotions and anxiety, although a person will not find an obvious connection between his experience and the film.

People who watch horror regularly may have difficulty falling asleep. This is partly due to overexcitement and increased anxiety.

Larisa Milova

And those endowed with a rich imagination are likely to embellish life situations and look for negativity where it does not exist and cannot be.

Trying on images of an aggressor, victim or savior

Yana Fedulova Ph. D. in Psychology, Head of the online clinic "Freedom from Addiction"

Each person has such subpersonalities as the aggressor, victim and savior. In scary films, as a rule, there are always roles for the first two.

The expert explains that while watching a horror movie, a person unconsciously experiences each of the roles, and then, again unconsciously, stops at one.

People who perceive life as a constant struggle most often choose the role of the aggressor. Others, following moral principles, settle for the victim. However, this position can also cause problems.

Hidden aggression

For some, watching horror films is a way to let off steam and aggression: a person associates himself with a villain, it is these images that attract him. This is not a pathology as long as it does not interfere with his life and the lives of those around him.

Larisa Milova

Interest in horror films is not in itself a deviation. But if people with obvious mental problems are addicted to the genre, this can cause even more damage to their mental health. A normal person looks at violence with disgust and physical stress. But if the suffering of the hero gives the viewer pleasure, this is an alarming sign.

Tatyana Kharaburova is the chief physician of a private psychotherapeutic hospital, psychiatrist and family psychotherapist of the Premium Practice clinic.

There is a so-called projection mechanism. For example, a weak person likes to watch boxing because he himself does not dare to hit the person.

Another reason that lies in the unconscious. An unconscious psychological defense is triggered: the viewer finds in the horror film something that appeals to his hidden desires.

Crimes, aggression and cruelty from horror films affect the dark area of the unconscious, and a person involuntarily experiences emotions that he does not dare to receive in reality. This can be beneficial: a person will get what he wanted without doing anything wrong.

Gender socialization

There are more men than women among the fans of the genre. Scientists explain Why Some People Love Horror Movies While Others Hate Them is a desire to be brave: men are satisfied when a horror movie does not make them fear. And for these reasons, they sometimes invite their soul mate to the cinema for a horror movie: when a woman is scared, she is more likely to seek physical contact, and a man will be able to show courage and "protect" her.

Interestingly, men even like horror movies more when they watch them with a scared woman. And women, in turn, get more pleasure from a scary movie if they watch it with a man who is not afraid.

Interest in the topic of death

The theme of death, which is often found in horror films, has always attracted a person. We can say that the sight of someone else's death sharpens the sense of one's own life.

Oleg Ivanov

Horror movies help some people to feel the taste for life to the fullest. A person realizes that death is inevitable, and life is finite, and this rule works for everyone. In horror movies, death often comes quickly and unexpectedly, which encourages us to appreciate every minute of the time allotted to us.

If watching horror movies does not become an obsession, then it is a harmless hobby that can even be beneficial. However, you shouldn't abuse it: you don't need new phobias, insomnia and anxiety disorders.