Haunted houses, ghost stories, horror movies, skydiving, and roller coasters. Many of us find enjoyment in being scared! But why? What is it that makes feeling fear fun? We explain.

To understand the answer to that question, it’s important to first understand what fear is, and why we experience it.

Understanding Fear

Fear is the body’s physical response to potential threats. When we encounter something that might be harmful—a bear in the woods for instance—our brains respond by flooding the bloodstream with adrenaline and the stress hormone cortisol.

It doesn’t matter whether the threat is real or pretend because the brain’s reaction time is so fast that it has already released the hormones before we even become consciously aware of the threat.

How Does Fear Affect The Body?

These hormones have many effects on our bodies. Heart rate increases, and so does blood pressure. Senses sharpen. Muscles tighten. In addition, adrenaline signals our brains to release opioids, which dull our response to pain, and endorphins, which produce feelings of pleasure. These effects are very useful in a fight or flight scenario because they allow the body to run farther or fight longer.

Feeling afraid isn’t always pleasurable when there is a genuine threat, of course. But, because the fear response is triggered without input from our conscious minds, we can trick our brains into producing the fear response even in the relative comfort of a campfire circle or darkened movie theater. If the threat is controlled—either because it’s only on a movie screen, or because we are protected by safety equipment—we can experience the pleasurable side effects of fear without any real danger.

Join The Discussion!

Do you love scary movies? How about rollercoasters?

What is your favorite way to be thrilled?

Let us know in the comments below!

Jaime McLeod is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV.com. She enjoys the outdoors, growing and eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.

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