There are not many of us that enjoy a good horror movie whether that is one of the classics like Dracula or a slasher such as Halloween, it seems we are delighted and entertained by monsters, insanity, gore and let’s not forget the supernatural.
But what is it with horror movies with their sinister settings, eerie musical scores and altogether nasty characters that draws us so much? Do we actually love to feel fear and perhaps the violence that these types of movies offer us?
“Fear has physical manifestations…”
One thing is for sure, and that is the horror industry is very much alive and screaming with new releases receiving good amounts of traffic. Not only is it the movie industry that is thriving – the gaming industry is also enjoying heavy traffic to its horror themed slots games.
Perhaps they are so popular because these games are a collaboration between the games developers and movie producers incorporating authentic audio and video clips as well as using main characters from the movie as symbols allowing players to enjoy the film once again but in another medium.
“…people are attracted to scary plays and stories because it gave them the opportunity to rid themselves of their negative emotions…”
Fear has physical manifestations. Palms become sweaty, and our skin temperature drops as our blood pressure rises and our muscles tense up. The more we experience these physical reactions, the more fear we will experience – and for some, the more the movie will be enjoyed.
A long time ago The Greek Philosopher Aristotle had the idea that people are attracted to scary plays and stories because it gave them the opportunity to rid themselves of their negative emotions – this he called catharsis – and it might just be we play violent games or watch scary movies to release pent up feelings of aggression.
We are also a curious species and being scared with its associated physical manifestations piques our interest. Even when we were young many of us loved to be read to – and those fairy stories are all full of fear and targeted to make the child scared.
Of course, there are some of us that cannot bear to be scared and actively avoid movies that will do so, but whether you love them or hate them horror movies and all off the other offshoot industries to do with the horror genre are here to stay feeding that primal need to become scared.
