Here’s what it means if you love and what if you hate watching horror movies

You might think that someone who loves horror movies is a strange and mysterious person, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Of course, on the other hand, there are those who hate them and who are afraid of them and don’t like to watch them. What does that say about us? What are we like if we like to watch horror movies, and what are we like if we hate them? 

Watching horror movies stimulates an instinctive, primordial instinct for survival also known as ‘fight or flight’ which emerges as a trigger in situations where we feel fear. If, for example, you imagine that you are in a haunted house, you will feel fear, but at the same time know that you are safe because it is not a real situation. But even though you will feel real fear, your body will not secrete the stress hormone, but the happiness hormone also known as dopamine.

1. They attract our attention

Scary horror movies can capture our attention. In them, we see what we do not see every day and thus we are amazed by what we see (in a terrible way of course) and we are interested in every scene waiting to see what will happen. A scarier book or movie allows us to get lost in it, explains the psychologist. 

For those few hours, we experience a rush of mental and physical focus that Mother Nature gives us in order to one day deal with real threats. Since films like this occupy our attention, at that moment we take a break from everyday worries that otherwise eat away at us. 

On the other hand, if we 'enjoy' the film too much and start thinking too much about scary scenes in real life, fear of it could arise - for example, fear of burglary, fear of the dark, fear of being home alone, and similar situations. 

2. They turn us on

Scary movies intensify our arousal so our heart starts beating faster, which actually prepares us for sexual arousal. In fact, the neurological circuits that make us shiver and sweat from fear overlap with the neurological and bodily circuits that are activated when we shiver and sweat from sexual arousal.

This is probably why horror movies are often a popular choice for a date with a partner. 

- We know that the connections we create when we are 'under stress' can be stronger than others. And so, if you spend time with friends when you’re doing something exciting or even scary, it creates richer and more intense memories, ”Kerr says.

3. People who love horror react differently to stress and are more likely to look for excitement

Sociologist Margee Kerr argues that individuals who enjoy watching horror movies choose that genre because their body seeks excitement. When watching scary movies, the heart beats faster, and there is a need to expand the amount of energy in the body. 

- Some people draw positive experiences from it, because of that energy they feel alive, like after intense yoga classes and similar activities - Kerr explains.

4. Empathy and compassion for the characters we identify with

Disposition theory explains that after the first scenes of seeing characters on screen, we very quickly make moral judgments of ‘who is a good guy’ and ‘who is a villain’. This way we can assign roles to actions and organize roles. It is clear to us that the characters are valued positively, adversity will begin to happen to them, thus creating compassion for them, empathy, and identification. In this way we act as ‘moral observers’ throughout the film, assessing whether ‘facts are good or bad’ and if they happen to ‘good or bad people’, creating what are called affective dispositions.

Remember, each person and individual situation is different, and we change over time. Fear reactions are also based on our personal histories. That person who has experienced some kind of trauma will have a ‘shorter fuse’ and will probably not be able to enjoy horror movies. At least not to the extent that someone who has not had such experiences. That person will need a much smaller stimulus to cause an undesirable experience of fear.

Some people will easily indulge in the feeling that what they see in horror movies simply looks scary and will not be able to control that feeling or have the ability to rationalize a perceived danger that is not real. The same scene of a horror movie can be perceived by one person as very scary and another as boring or even funny writes Mind Body Green.

By: Olivia J. - Gossip Whispers