The Science Of Scary: 10 Reasons Why You Love Being Scared

5. Why We Love To Be Scared

It is this "fear from a distance" effect that makes us love horror movies so much.

The brain is a complex organ but the body is relatively simple. Exciting and stressful situations release the same chemicals, namely adrenaline, dopamine and endorphins, it is the context in which these are released that dictates whether or not we enjoy them.

When there is a high risk of harm, for example falling from an aeroplane or being chased by a murderer, then you will obviously not enjoy yourself quite so much. However, when the brain knows that the risk of harm is lowered, for example, when you have a parachute or are watching a fictional murderer, then it allows you to enjoy the adrenaline rush.

There is even some argument that enjoying fear is an evolutionary boon. Being able to assess risks and enjoy taking them would allow humans to explore new possibilities and push new boundaries, perhaps giving them the evolutionary edge in terms of access to better resources.

Obviously the ability to gauge the level of risk involved (like we do with horror movies) would be quickly honed by the fact that those who are bad at assessing risks quickly remove themselves from the gene pool (for further, hilarious, reading, see the Darwin Awards).