Humans are weird animals. Sure we're terrified of ghosts, monsters, snakes, spiders and all kinds of other things; both real and imagined. That's normal. Healthy, even. So why do we actually ENJOY being afraid by experiencing these things on purpose. There is a science of fear that explains why being frightened can be fun, at least for some people.
Enjoying fear seems like a contradiction, but horror movies are a billion dollar business. And throw in horror TV, and horror gaming? That's billions more.
Halloween spending is about 8 billion a year. And roller coasters? The scarier the ride, the longer the line. So we are definitely fascinated by being afraid.
Let's find out why.
Why We Like to be Scared
The Why Files · Season 2 · Episode 4
Humans are weird animals. Sure we're terrified of ghosts, monsters, snakes, spiders and all kinds of other things; both real and imagined. That's normal. Healthy, even. So why do we actually ENJOY being afraid by experiencing these things on purpose. There is a science of fear that explains why being frightened can be fun, at least for some people.
Enjoying fear seems like a contradiction, but horror movies are a billion dollar business. And throw in horror TV, and horror gaming? That's billions more.
Halloween spending is about 8 billion a year. And roller coasters? The scarier the ride, the longer the line. So we are definitely fascinated by being afraid.
Let's find out why.
Enjoying fear seems like a contradiction, but horror movies are a billion dollar business. And throw in horror TV, and horror gaming? That's billions more.
Halloween spending is about 8 billion a year. And roller coasters? The scarier the ride, the longer the line. So we are definitely fascinated by being afraid.
Let's find out why.
Episode Details
Air date, runtime, timezone, and episode position.
Season
2
Episode
4
Air Date
31/Jan/2021
Air Time
—
Runtime
12 min
Overview
Episode summary.
Episode Navigation
Move between previous and next episodes.