This essay is part of a series called The Big Ideas, in which writers respond to a single question: What do we fear? You can read more by visiting The Big Ideas series page.
Most people associate fear with something rather unpleasant, a primal response best avoided. Fear is what you feel when you perceive a threat to life and limb: when a rabid dog is on the loose and on your tail; when your car spins out on a sheet of black ice, sending you into a harrowing slide; or when a loud crash echoes from the kitchen in the dead of night. But fear may be more complex than a single, uniform feeling. It manifests in endless varieties, ranging from the paralyzing terror of a life-threatening situation to the prickling unease of walking alone in a dark alley.
While research is still untangling those nuances, most scientists agree that this complex response has evolved as a powerful survival tool that serves a vital purpose: keeping us safe from harm. Fear is believed to trigger the so-called “fight-or-flight” response, a cascade of physiological changes designed for immediate action. Your heart starts pounding, pumping blood faster to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. Your pupils dilate to take in more light, sharpening your vision. Sweat beads on your forehead, perhaps a pre-emptive measure to cool you down after the expected burst of activity. This heightened state of awareness allows you to react swiftly and decisively when faced with danger.
Yet, paradoxically, fear is not always something that people avoid. In fact, many people actively seek out fear in a variety of recreational forms. From heart-stopping horror movies and stomach-churning roller coasters to adrenaline-pumping skydiving and nerve-racking haunted houses, recreational fear is an extremely widespread human phenomenon, spanning both historical and cross-cultural spheres. It is also a highly lucrative industry, with horror movies grossing more than $900 million during 2023 in the United States alone. But the desire to be scared goes beyond the realm of entertainment. Recreational fear can be a powerful motivator in several areas in our lives, and science suggests it may even benefit our well-being.
Research suggests that the appeal of spine-tingling, spooky and exhilarating activities emerges at a very young age. Infants shriek and giggle at the thrill of their caregivers disappearing then reappearing during bouts of peek-a-boo; toddlers squeal with a mixture of fear and delight as a beloved caregiver playfully chases them around the living room, pretending to be a bloodthirsty monster; and teenagers scream and laugh their way through haunted houses, bonding over the shared adrenaline rush. Ongoing research from our lab indicates that more than 95 percent of children ages 1 to 17 enjoy some activities that make them scared — from getting tossed into to the air by Mom or Dad to climbing just a bit too high up a tree, playing a scary computer game or watching a slasher film with a crush.
One reason children (and adults!) might find enjoyment in being scared is that it can be a form of play. As such, children in particular may actually learn a great deal from frightening situations. Researchers believe controlled exposure to fear-provoking scenarios creates opportunities for crucial development, like learning about what fear feels like, how to navigate uncertain situations and how to cope with them. Some researchers argue that such learning may protect children from developing anxiety disorders. The key, of course, is keeping it fun. Scary activities shouldn’t become too frightening. Developmental scientists often talk about children being guided by the so-called Goldilocks principle: Children prefer stimuli that are “just right” — not too simple, not too complex. The same goes for fear. They’re drawn to challenges that excite them, but don’t overwhelm them. As one child perfectly phrased it, “I like things that give me chills, but not nightmares.” It’s all about finding that sweet spot of enjoyable fear.
Research from our lab shows that adults have a sweet spot when it comes to fear as well. In one study, we asked participants inside a haunted house wearing heart rate monitors to report on their enjoyment and fear levels as they came rushing out of the nightmarish venue, chainsaw-wielding maniacs hot on their heels. Results revealed a so-called “inverted-U-shaped” relationship between fear and enjoyment. Too little fear was associated with diminishing enjoyment, but so was too much fear. In other words, enjoyment seemed to peak at a sweet spot somewhere in the middle. Interestingly, we found a similar pattern in participants’ heart rate signatures, suggesting enjoyment is related to “just-right” deviations from a person’s normal physiological state.
It seems adults, much like children, may also benefit from engaging with recreational fear. For example, in one study from our lab, we found people who watched horror movies regularly coped better with the stress of the first Covid-19 lockdown over those who skipped the scares. One explanation for this is that horror enthusiasts, through their exposure to on-screen scares, may have unwittingly trained themselves to cope with real-life stress, fear and anxiety. This aligns with another finding from our lab: Horror fans report not only mood boosts but also personal growth and self-insight from engaging with scary content. All those sweat-drenched movie marathons might actually pay off.
So, the next time you find yourself drawn to a creepy movie or a hair-raising roller coaster ride — or you feel inclined to stop a child from climbing too high up a tree or biking too fast down a hill — remember: The desire for recreational fear is surprisingly widespread, and it may even be good for us, too. Fear can be a thrilling form of play, a tool for personal growth and possibly even a way to build resilience in the face of real-world challenges.
Marc Malmdorf Andersen and Mathias Clasen are co-directors of the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark.
