Why We Like to Be Scared

 

Scary movies, tales of ghosts, witches and goblins, and haunted houses dominate this time of year. It’s Halloween and time for all things scary – including scary novels, better known as Horror Fiction.

A quick Google Search indicates one of the first scary stories can be traced back as far back as ancient Mesopotamia to the Epic of Gilgamesh. Since then scary stories have only gained in popularity over time. Some of the most well-known scary stories include Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, a tale she started writing in 1816 at the age of 18. Another classic horror novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was published in 1897. Edgar Allan Poe, who is often referred to as the “father of horror” with his eerie and gothic poems and stories such as The Raven, Annabel Lee, and others, also made a mark in the horror genre. And then, current horror and bestselling author, Stephen King, with his hits like Pet Sematary, The Shining, It and many others have held readers’ interest in the horror genre.

In fact, the website bookinfluencers.com in the article dated July 2024, The Rise of Horror, states that according to Nielsen data,  the sale of books in the horror genre experienced a significant increase of about 54% in 2023, and a number of subgenres such as gothic, vampire, paranormal, dark fantasy, just to name a few, have been created to help readers narrow down their selections based on their chilling, thrilling, creepy or terrifying reading preferences.

So why is it that we like to be scared?

A Forbes.com article from Oct. 22, 2023 entitled The Science of Scared: Why We Love the Thrill of Being Afraid by Nicole F. Roberts says it’s not just one thing, but a number of things such as the adrenaline rush, escapism, a shared experience with others, and more, that allows humans to experience and enjoy the emotion of fear in a controlled environment.  

And a healthessentials article on the Cleveland Clinic website entitled Why Do We Like to Get Scared? states that “Our brains are hardwired to enjoy being scared,” but also adds, “as long as there’s no real danger.” Fear is an emotion that can cause a number of simultaneous processes to occur in our bodies when we’re frightened. Those processes can include the Flight or Fight response, an increased heart rate and blood pressure, goose bumps, and more.

Unlike films and haunted houses, if a horror story in the form of a book gets to be too much, the reader can always put it down to put some time and space between themselves and the story and then pick it back up when they’re ready. But we don’t suggest putting a book in the freezer like Joey Tribbiani did with his copy of The Shining in the hit sitcom Friends. A cold book is just that…a cold book.

Eagle Eye Book Shop has a number of horror titles and more. Visit eagleeyebooks.com online or visit us at the store for your next spooky read.

Enjoy the scare and Happy Halloween!