Contrary to the belief that people seek escapism during turbulent times, research shows a surge of interest in scary entertainment following real-life traumatic events. For example, after a campus murder, students in the victim's dorm were most likely to choose to watch a violent movie, suggesting a need to process and understand the threat.
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Evidence suggests that much of what people claim as post-traumatic growth is an imaginary coping mechanism. It's a way to rationalize suffering and reduce cognitive dissonance, rather than a true, observable transformation in thinking, feeling, or action.
Trauma is not an objective property of an event but a subjective experience created by the relationship between a present situation and past memories. Because experience is a combination of sensory input and remembered past, changing the meaning or narrative of past events can change the experience of trauma itself.
The horror genre's record 17.2% box office share is fueled by polarization. Despite being the most hated film category, this strong division between fans and critics creates a passionate niche audience, a phenomenon the podcast calls the "divisive dividend."
Our fascination with danger isn't a flaw but a survival mechanism. Like animals that observe predators from a safe distance to learn their habits, humans consume stories about threats to understand and prepare for them. This 'morbid curiosity' is a safe way to gather crucial information about potential dangers without facing direct risk.
Engaging with scary entertainment like haunted houses is not just for thrills; it's a social tool for evaluating relationships. Observing how a friend or partner reacts in a simulated fearful environment provides clues about their reliability and cooperativeness in a real crisis. It's a low-stakes test of a person's character under pressure.
Horror can act as a tool for managing generalized anxiety. It hijacks the mind's vigilance cycle, which looks for a threat but can't find one, and provides a specific, identifiable, and controllable fictional threat on screen. Once the movie ends, the threat disappears, triggering the body's relaxation response and calming the nervous system.
People watched the movie 'Contagion' during the pandemic rather than reading scientific papers because the human brain is wired to learn through first-person stories, not lists of facts. Narratives provide a simulated, experiential perspective that taps into ancient brain mechanisms, making the information more memorable, understandable, and emotionally resonant.
Contrary to stereotypes that horror fans are depraved, research indicates they often possess higher-than-average cognitive empathy. To experience fear while watching a scary movie, a viewer must be able to adopt the perspective of the protagonist. The fear is generated not by the monster itself, but by empathizing with someone like us who is in danger.
Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that horror fans exhibited greater psychological resilience and less distress than non-fans. Regularly engaging with frightening fictional scenarios appears to serve as a form of emotional regulation practice, equipping individuals to better handle real-world stress and anxiety.
Modern advertising weaponizes fear to generate sales. By creating or amplifying insecurities about health, social status, or safety, companies manufacture a problem that their product can conveniently solve, contributing to a baseline level of societal anxiety for commercial gain.
