The Fright Stuff: UWG Faculty Explain What Makes Us Enjoy Being Scared
We cover our eyes but peek through our fingers. We scream, then laugh. Every Halloween – and in between – we seek out what frightens us most, only to come back again. It’s a curious human quirk: we hate fear in real life yet crave it when we know we’re safe. What makes “fun fear” so irresistible?
It all comes down to how our brains interpret threat, faculty at the University of West Georgia say. Fear activates the same systems that keep us alive. But when we know we’re not actually in danger, that adrenaline rush turns into excitement. In other words, a haunted house is like a rollercoaster for the mind: A safe space to flirt with danger and feel alive.
