Psychology and Pop Culture | Why do we enjoy horror?

We’re deep into spooky season. As a certified horror lover, I always look forward to October as an excuse to cozy up with a hot beverage and a scary book. And I’m not alone! From haunted houses to video games to horror movies, people will pay good money to be creeped out, spooked, or generally have the crap scared out of them. 

We often go to great lengths to avoid scary situations in real life, and for good reason: It’s an evolutionary survival mechanism. So what accounts for the lasting popularity of horror?

Horror allows us to explore the darker side of the human experience.

As humans, we’re driven to understand and make meaning. When we’re faced with things we struggle to wrap our heads around, we often create stories to help us understand them.

Horror gives us space and permission to safely explore darker themes—like the fragility of our bodies, grief and loss, the cruel and depraved parts of human nature, or our mortality and questions about what happens after we die. Monsters (whether human or supernatural) represent these things that we fear. In horror, they’re often—but not always—overcome. Sometimes, horror is paired with comedy, a fun and potent way to ‘defang’ the intensity of fear.

Having a container for that exploration helps explain horror’s popularity among the general public. For some survivors, it can even be a tool to confront and process trauma. Horror can be a vehicle for catharsis and help people to rewrite their own traumatic narratives.