From horror movies and haunted houses to true crime documentaries, we’ve certainly found plenty of ways to give ourselves a good scare. Some people even go as far as jumping out of planes or off bridges just to get that rush of adrenaline.
We’ve practically turned fear into a form of entertainment, which is rather strange when you think about it. After all, we’re naturally wired to avoid danger, yet we willingly seek out situations that make our hearts race.
To understand this, it helps to know what actually happens when we get scared. Fear is one of our oldest survival mechanisms, designed to protect us from potential danger.
According to the American Brain Foundation, when our brain senses a threat, a small region called the amygdala plays an important role in setting off our fight-or-flight response. This triggers the release of stress hormones, including adrenaline, which prepare our bodies to react quickly.
As a result, our hearts start beating faster, our breathing speeds up, and our senses become sharper. Our pupils may even dilate to help us see better, while more blood flows to our muscles in case we need to run.
All of this can happen within seconds, sometimes before we’ve even had the chance to fully understand what frightened us. Interestingly, the amygdala is so important to this process that damage to it can dramatically change how someone experiences fear.
In fact, researchers once studied a woman who had extensive damage to both sides of her amygdala. In a 2011 study published in Current Biology, they took her to a haunted house and exposed her to snakes and spiders to see how she would react.
Surprisingly, she showed almost no fear, even attempting to touch a tarantula despite knowing it could be dangerous. However, later research found that she could still experience panic when exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide, suggesting that fear involves more than one brain pathway.
Of course, most of us have a perfectly functioning fear response, which brings us back to why we sometimes enjoy triggering it on purpose. Part of the explanation lies in the chemicals our brains release when we’re frightened.
Along with adrenaline, dopamine and endorphins can contribute to the excitement and pleasure associated with a controlled scare. When we know we’re safe, that intense physical reaction can feel quite enjoyable.
However, there’s a limit to how much fear we find entertaining. In a 2020 study published in Psychological Science, researchers monitored 110 people visiting a haunted house, measuring their heart rates and asking how frightened they felt.
They discovered that enjoyment tended to peak when participants experienced a moderate level of fear. Too little excitement could become boring, while too much made the activity less enjoyable.
