In one study, Kerr and her team surveyed 262 visitors at an extreme haunted attraction outside Pittsburgh.
They found that the more scared people were, the better they felt once they made it out. Guests walked away in a noticeably better mood and felt less anxious and tired than they did before going in.
The researchers also looked at the brain activity of 100 participants before and after the attraction. Those whose mood improved showed an overall drop in how reactive their brains were.
This kind of “shutting down” is similar to what’s been observed in people who practice mindfulness meditation.
So if you can’t stop reading about eerie facts and unsolved mysteries, there’s no need to worry about yourself. It might actually be good for you, and who knows, it could even help you survive a zombie apocalypse one day.
Of course, not everyone enjoys being scared, even when they’re perfectly safe. Whichever camp you fall into, it’s completely fine to feed your curiosity at your own pace.
