Pretty much everyone I know (me included) is anxiously counting down to Halloween. It's the one night out of the year that everyone—grownups and kids alike—is allowed to get just a *little* out-of-control. Kids get to eat copious amounts of candy, dress up in costumes, and scare adults for fun. Adults get to drink copious amounts of Halloween-themed beverages, dress up in costumes, and scare kids for fun. 

Some of us love Halloween for the 24/7 bombardment of TV and movie nightmare fuel. And don’t forget the sophisticated, no-nonsense haunted houses that emerge from the shadows, designed to scare the crap out of the self-described “un-scareable.” 

But why do some people live for haunted houses while others can’t go within 50 yards of one? How come some sleep like a baby after watching a horror movie, but others are plagued with insomnia for weeks? Not only do we vary in how much we can tolerate fear, but we also vary in the sort of things that scare us. So, do our unique fears reveal something about our inner selves? 

It’s a lot of questions. Unsurprisingly, experts have developed some fascinating theories to go with them. Also, unsurprisingly, you’ll probably see a little of your own inner workings in what they’ve found. 

Scratching that itch: Why are some humans drawn to terrifying things?

Oh man, there is so, so much conversation around this topic. To understand our relationship with fear, it might help to establish what it actually is and how it differs from anxiety. 

While often used interchangeably, psychologists make a distinct difference between the two:

• Fear is a response to an immediate, specific, identifiable threat leading to changes in the body that trigger the fight, flight, or freeze reaction. It’s typically short-lived, with the intense physical symptoms subsiding once the danger has passed.

• Anxiety is a more general, persistent state of worry about a potential or uncertain future threat. While it shares many of the same physiological symptoms as fear, it is not always tied to a clearly defined trigger. For example, a healthy fear can prevent someone from approaching a cliff's edge, while anxiety might be a persistent worry about an upcoming deadline. 

It appears that humans are drawn to scary things because of a combination of what it does for us psychologically, our neurological responses, and, of course, our individual personality traits: 

Your brain on fear

In controlled, low-stakes environments—such as watching a horror movie or navigating a haunted house—many people enjoy the natural high caused by that fear-induced rush of adrenaline, dopamine, and endorphins. Some people are particularly susceptible to that pleasure. People whose brains contain fewer dopamine auto receptors typically respond more enthusiastically to the release of this "feel-good" hormone. (Studies are ongoing, but fewer dopamine receptors have been linked with specific gene variants as well as conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).) 

Fear, confidence, and empowerment

Beyond biology, there may be psychological reasons why some enjoy being scared. For example, experiencing fear in a safe, controlled setting might give us a sense of accomplishment and mastery over a simulated threat. This can boost self-confidence and maybe even help us to practice dealing with anxiety-provoking situations in real life. Experiencing fear might also serve as a sort of emotional cleanse—you scream, you jump, then you laugh when it’s over. That release can feel good, like shaking off tension and walking away lighter.

Fear as a bonding experience

Sharing a scary experience with friends or a date can create sturdier bonds. Indeed, studies show that being in a state of high arousal together can lead to increased feelings of closeness. When people get scared together (say, in a haunted house or while watching a horror movie), their bodies tend to synchronize. Heart rates rise, they gasp or scream at the same time—essentially, we take on a "we’re gonna get out of this alive together” mentality. That doesn’t seem to be the case in a lot of horror movie tropes, but whatever. 

Getting in touch with our dark side

For some, watching horror is a safe way to explore the "dark side" of the human psyche and understand morbid topics like death and evil. Perhaps it's because our ancestors needed to be aware of the kinds of threats they might face. Even though we may no longer need to be as vigilant about things like predators or being ostracized by our tribe, people still seem to be naturally drawn to mysteries, monsters, darkness, and the supernatural. We want to read about that serial killer or slow down to get a glimpse of that car wreck (as respectfully as possible, of course). It’s scary and unpleasant, but irresistibly fascinating. 

What are you afraid of? Our outer fears may reveal a great deal about our inner selves.

Whether you’re a “white-knuckler,” “adrenaline junkie,” or “dark coper,” what we find scary can be pretty revealing. See, fears aren’t just responses to external threats, but also mirrors of our personal vulnerabilities.

From a cognitive-behavioral perspective, fear can reveal a person’s emotional “default settings.” For example, individuals high in traits of neuroticism are often more prone to fears of uncertainty or loss of control, suggesting their inner world is tuned toward threat detection and emotional reactivity. Introverted people might be more apprehensive about public speaking, rejection, or judgment more than their extroverted counterparts. Those with anxious attachment styles might fear loneliness and abandonment. In contrast, those with avoidant attachment styles might fear closeness, dependence, or being “trapped” in relationships. Fear, here, is like a flashlight that shows us where our default settings are most active.

Behavioral theories also suggest that fear can be acquired by associating a neutral stimulus with a fearful event (classical conditioning). For example, someone who has been in a bad car wreck might develop a fear of driving. Direct conditioning isn’t the only pathway to fear constructed by outside influences; people may also develop fears by observing others' behavior (vicarious learning) or receiving information about dangers. 

Those things might seem kind of obvious, right? Well, cue the psychoanalysts. 

According to psychoanalytic and depth psychology, fears can point to those bits of ourselves we haven't yet integrated or reconciled. In other words, they're still repressed or unconscious. Back in the day, Freud saw fear and phobias as a way of displacing inner conflicts onto outer objects. For example, a fear of dogs may symbolize more profound anxieties about aggression and violence. He suggested that many fears, especially phobias, are not about external threats but are rooted in unconscious impulses or conflicts between the id, ego, and superego. 

Jung viewed fears as symbolic of repressed aspects of the “shadow self”—what we fear “out there” often mirrors what we reject or hide “in here.” He saw fear as a signpost put forth by the unconscious to point the way toward areas of our lives where we need to grow, heal, and develop. Confronting our fears means getting to know and integrating the shadow, a process he cited as critical for achieving psychological wholeness. 

Everyday horror tropes and you

We all have certain horror themes that freak us out more than others. For example, I hate zombies. Like re-occurring-nightmares-hate-them. Every other member of my family, however, is obsessed with zombie horror. So, what does that say about me? I’m almost embarrassed to say that I’m not entirely sure, but I do have a couple of notions:

1. I can’t stand the idea that zombies are predators that just never stop coming for you. They’re relentless, contagious, and you can’t reason with dead things. 

2. Not only does the zombie apocalypse signal societal collapse—which is terrifying in itself—it also puts us in a situation where all we’re left with are mindless hordes. No individuality, no discourse, no improvement. Just undead predators and human nature at its worst. And cannibalism. Don’t forget the cannibalism. 

But enough about me, I'm nosy 

What scares the crap out of you? Only you can answer that one, of course, but the horror tropes that keep you up at night might just reveal something about your inner conflicts or deeper psychological issues. Or they might not. Either way, it’s kind of fun to explore, no? Here are some of my personal all-time fave horror movies that fit into those themes:

• The Babadook and The Witch: Do monsters, vampires, demons, werewolves, aliens, and witches freak you out? They might  bring to light the repressed shadow side of humanity with all its primal urges, hunger, violence, and sexuality. 

• Us and The Exorcist: Possession, split personalities, and doppelgängers may signal a fear of losing one’s identity, inner conflict, or confronting the darker self. 

• The Ring and Poltergeist: How about haunted houses or cursed objects? These may symbolize a fear of the return of the repressed—past trauma, guilt, or history that refuses to stay buried. 

• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Scream: The serial murderer or masked killer may represent a fear of being hunted or loss of safety in familiar spaces.

• The Thing and Videodrome: The gore behind body horror (mutation, infection, parasites, mutilation, etc.) may reveal a fear of losing bodily control, contamination, or an erosion of identity.

• Hereditary and The Sixth Sense: Ghosts, curses, and omens may signal anxiety about death, the afterlife, and forces beyond our comprehension

• Annabelle and The Omen: Creepy kids, toys, and dolls might spotlight fears over the subversion of purity or innocence, masking evil

• 28 Days Later and Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Plagues, invasion, nuclear war, and climate collapse might tap into our collective fears of annihilation, collapse of order, and being reduced to pure survival. 

• The Shining and Misery: The descent into insanity, untrustworthy narrators, and characters trapped alone may represent the mind turning against itself or fears of alienation. 

• The Conjuring and Cannibal Holocaust: Stuff like necromancy, the occult, and cannibalism often play into our fascinations with breaking cultural taboos, and the terror of confronting the most unacceptable parts of human nature

Let’s embrace the shadows of Halloween, shall we? 

At the end of the day, do what makes you happy this Halloween. Enjoy watching the little ghoulies run around the neighborhood as they stock up on candy. Or host a fun party and invite everyone to show up in costume. Even if you don’t care for horror movies, haunted houses, or being scared, Halloween can be super fun. 

But if you do happen to enjoy the art of having the crap scared out of you, I invite you to take a deeper look at what really scares you this Halloween. Not only can it teach us a lot about our inner struggles, but facing the stuff that scares us on the outside may help us overcome the stuff that scares us on the inside—leading to transformation and growth. So, embrace and explore your inner shadows. Maybe I'll even try to confront my fear of flesh-eating zombies this year. Or maybe next year. One day. 

Thanks for reading, and have an awesome Halloween!

Laura 🧟‍♀️

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541120/#:~:text=A%20stressful%20situation%2C%20whether%20environmental,body%20returns%20to%20basal%20levels.

https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo20169

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39619336/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40720311/#:~:text=Abstract,APA%2C%20all%20rights%20reserved).

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-90782-001