Do you know why some people love getting scared? Have you ever heard presidential ghost story? Looking for a reason to ring and run? Learn something new while you count down the days to Halloween with this set of spooky visual stories:
Zombies, chainsaw-wielding psychopaths and maniacal clowns popping out around dark corners in a creepy haunted house can leave some quivering in fright. But for thrill-seekers, being scared is one of the highlights of Halloween. Whether it's a horror movie or a haunted house, some people look forward to this rush of adrenaline, a hormone that can make one feel excited, alert and responsive.
Pupils dilate, breathing accelerates, heart rate and blood pressure rise. It all happens within fractions of a second - even before you’ve fully processed what happened. Your body is preparing for fight-or-flight. When the amygdala takes the reins, other parts of your brain receive less blood flow and become impaired - it’s difficult to make good decisions or think clearly. That’s why you might scream during a scary movie or throw your hands up at an actor in a haunted house, unable to see that the threat is not real. A moment later, “thinking” circuitry of the brain kicks in and reassures our “emotional” areas that we are, in fact, OK.
Intense fear plus a shot of adrenaline create a potent drug. Scientists have shown that stress alone can increase the release of dopamine in the brain’s reward pathway, leading to the same brain changes seen with addictive drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine. To really enjoy a scary situation, we have to know we’re in a safe environment. When we get scared in a haunted house or a movie theater, our brains usually quickly evaluate the situation and tell us that we’re free from risk. It’s all about triggering the fight-or-flight response to experience the flood of adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine, but in a completely safe space.