The Psychology of Horror Movies: Why We Enjoy a Good Scare

While fear, shock, and disgust are typically seen as negative emotions that we want to avoid, experiencing them can also be enjoyable in certain situations.

Horror movies are one of the best examples of this. When you’re watching a horror movie about ghosts, serial killers, or monsters, your nervous system naturally kicks into gear as if you’re experiencing a real threat.

This fight, flight, or freeze response can produce a biochemical rush of excitement that feels like a “natural high.”

However, while your body responds to the danger on screen, your brain knows that you’re completely safe.

One early study published in Motivation and Emotion explored a similar puzzle: why people enjoy eating chili peppers. People who like spicy foods still feel the burn, but they come to enjoy the sensation. The researchers suggested that part of the enjoyment may come from recognizing that the body’s “warning system” has been activated without any actual danger.

This type of positive thrill-seeking can be found in other activities such as riding rollercoasters, participating in extreme sports, skydiving, doing an intense workout, or playing competitive video games.

Beyond the temporary thrill, research suggests that deliberately scaring ourselves in a controlled setting can sometimes improve our mood.

One study published in Emotion explored what researchers call “voluntary arousing negative experiences” (VANE): intense, unpleasant experiences we deliberately choose, such as watching a horror movie or visiting a haunted house.

The researchers followed people attending an “extreme haunted house” designed to provoke anxiety, fear, shock, and disgust. Afterward, participants generally reported improved mood and feelings of euphoria, especially those who had felt tired, bored, or stressed beforehand.

Since participants had already chosen to visit a haunted house, the findings may not apply to everyone.

Participants whose moods improved also showed reduced brain reactivity during subsequent cognitive and emotional tasks.

Researchers suggest that these experiences may help us cope with future stress and anxiety.

A related principle is used in exposure therapy, where a person gradually faces something they fear so they can learn to manage their response to it. For example, a person scared of flying may be asked by a therapist to visualize each step of getting on a plane until they learn to manage their fear better.

By actively exposing ourselves to fear, shock, or disgust in a safe and controlled way, we get to practice regulating these emotions in the moment, which is an important pillar of emotional intelligence.

Horror movies simulate extraordinary experiences that we normally wouldn’t have in the real world. When we watch a horror movie, we put ourselves in the protagonist’s position and ask ourselves, “What would I do in this situation?”

Research suggests that horror fans may even be better equipped to cope with real-world crises.

One study published in Personality and Individual Differences found that horror fans reported greater psychological resilience during the COVID pandemic. Fans of “prepper” genres in particular – alien-invasion, apocalyptic, and zombie films – reported both greater resilience and preparedness. The study was correlational, so it doesn’t establish whether watching horror helped people cope better or whether people who cope better are more drawn to horror.

This may be one reason why “pandemic” movies such as Contagion and 28 Days Later attracted so much interest during COVID: they offered a way to explore a frightening situation through fiction.

Ultimately, horror movies give us a chance to face our fears and mentally rehearse how we would respond in extremely intense situations.

Tips for Enjoying Horror Movies

If you’re completely new to horror movies, here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• Find a type of horror movie that fits you – There are many different types of horror movies out there, so it’s important you find a sub-genre that works for you. Some horror movies can be suspenseful, serious, and dramatic (The Silence of the Lambs), while others can be silly, action-packed, and fun (Shaun of the Dead). What interests you most: ghosts, zombies, serial killers, aliens, monsters, sci-fi, or psychological thrillers?
• Start with something light if you’re squeamish – If you get easily frightened or you don’t like the sight of gore, you can find horror movies with a “PG” or “PG-13” rating rather than going right into a heavy “R”-rated movie. There are also many family-friendly and comedy-oriented options out there, such as Ghostbusters, Hocus Pocus, or Beetlejuice. If you grew up with these movies, rewatching a childhood favorite can add a layer of nostalgia to the experience. And if there are any specific topics you are sensitive to, you can always ask about a movie or do some quick research before viewing it.
• Watch with family, friends, or a loved one – Horror movies are fun to watch as a couple or in a group, since we often feed off each other’s emotions. There’s some wisdom in the classic horror-movie date: getting scared together can make for a memorable shared experience. However, there are certain horror movies that are scarier and more enjoyable to watch alone too, so it depends.
• Turn it into a game – Horror movies can often be turned into a fun social game or team-building exercise. You can create a “horror bingo card,” or take bets on who will die first, or play out hypothetical scenarios like “What would you do in this situation?” I’ve written before about the zombie apocalypse test, a playful way to explore how you and the people close to you might handle an imagined crisis.
• Gradually expand your tastes – It’s healthy to challenge yourself and expand your tastes. Horror movies provide a safe way to bring yourself out of your comfort zone and experience new things. Once you’re feeling brave enough, you can start going through lists of the scariest or most disturbing movies on the internet. You can also explore different styles, older classics, or horror movies from other countries.

Horror Movie Recommendations

Here are some of my personal favorite horror and thriller movies, with a range of styles depending on what interests you:

• Psycho (1960) — Psychological suspense centered on a mysterious roadside motel.
• The Exorcist (1973) — Demonic possession, religious dread, and disturbing supernatural horror.
• Halloween (1978) — Classic slasher suspense with a masked killer stalking a suburban neighborhood.
• Alien (1979) — Claustrophobic sci-fi horror about a spaceship crew hunted by a deadly creature.
• The Shining (1980) — Haunted-hotel horror mixing isolation, psychological dread, and family breakdown.
• The Thing (1982) — Sci-fi paranoia and grotesque creature effects at an isolated Antarctic research station.
• The Fly (1986) — Tragic body horror about a scientist’s horrifying physical transformation.
• Scream (1996) — A slasher mystery with dark humor and playful twists on horror clichés.
• The Sixth Sense (1999) — An emotional ghost story with eerie encounters and psychological suspense.
• Saw (2004) — A horror-thriller with sadistic traps, gore, and desperate choices.
• Shaun of the Dead (2004) — A British zombie comedy that balances laughs with genuine horror.
• Let the Right One In (2008) — A wintry Swedish vampire story about loneliness and an unusual childhood bond.
• Get Out (2017) — Social satire and psychological horror built around an unsettling family visit.