Why Is Being Scared So Much Fun? 

    You’re in a pitch-dark room. Your heart pounds. Your palms are sweaty. Suddenly, there’s a flash of light. In that split second, you see a zombie in the corner. You can’t hold it in any longer. You scream. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

    This is the scene at Dystopia Haunted House. You’re not just here for fun—you’re here for science. Cameras record your every move. A device strapped to your chest measures your heart rate.  

    Hopefully your scream will teach scientists about why we love being scared.

    You’re in a dark room. Your heart pounds. Your palms sweat. Suddenly, there’s a flash of light. You see a zombie. You can’t help it. You scream. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! 

    You’re at Dystopia Haunted House. You’re not here just for fun. You’re here for science. Cameras record your actions. A device on your chest measures your heart rate.  

    You’re helping scientists learn about why we love being scared.

    You’re in a pitch-dark room. Your heart pounds, and your palms are sweaty. Suddenly, there’s a flash of light. In that split second, you see a zombie in the corner. You can’t hold it in any longer. You scream. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! 

    This is the scene at Dystopia Haunted House. You’re not here only for fun—you’re also here for science. Cameras record your every move, and a device strapped to your chest measures your heart rate.  

    Hopefully your scream will teach scientists about why we love being scared.

    The scientists at Dystopia are part of the world’s only Recreational Fear Lab. This lab is located at Aarhus University in Denmark, a country in northern Europe.

    What is recreational fear? It’s getting scared for fun. From an early age, most humans enjoy it. Babies are happily spooked in games of peekaboo. Kids love climbing high on jungle gyms. Teens get a rush riding roller coasters.

    Fear is an emotion that has always kept us safe. It tells us danger is near. Think about early humans gathering food in the woods. Being scared of tigers and snakes helped them survive. 

    Today we might not come across tigers that often. But fear still protects us. It’s why we don’t cross a busy highway or pet a growling dog. 

    But why do we sometimes enjoy being scared? That’s what the Fear Lab is trying to figure out.

    Dystopia is part of the world’s only Recreational Fear Lab. This lab is located at Aarhus University in Denmark, a country in northern Europe.

    What is recreational fear? It’s getting scared for fun. Most people like it. Babies like being spooked in games of peekaboo. Kids love climbing high on jungle gyms. Teens get a rush riding roller coasters.

    Fear keeps us safe. It tells us danger is near. Think about early humans gathering food in the woods. Their fear of tigers and snakes helped them stay alive.

    Today we don’t come across many tigers. But fear still protects us. It’s why we don’t cross busy highways or pet growling dogs.

    But why do we sometimes enjoy being scared? The Fear Lab is trying to figure that out.

    The scientists at Dystopia are part of the world’s only Recreational Fear Lab. This lab is located at Aarhus University in Denmark, a country in northern Europe.

    Recreational fear means getting scared for fun. From an early age, most humans enjoy it. Babies are happily spooked in games of peekaboo, kids love climbing high on jungle gyms, and teenagers get a rush riding roller coasters.

    Throughout history, fear has kept humans safe by making us aware of danger. When early humans were gathering food in the woods, their fear of tigers and snakes helped them survive.

    Although we don’t come across tigers very often these days, fear still protects us. It prevents us from crossing a busy highway or petting a growling dog.

    But why do we sometimes enjoy being scared? That’s what the Fear Lab is trying to figure out.

    So far, the Fear Lab’s scientists have made some exciting discoveries. They’ve learned that fear is most fun when we’re in control. (You can always decide to leave a haunted house, after all.) There’s also a sweet spot for fear. Too little is boring. Too much and it stops being fun. 

    Still, there’s way more to learn. Mathias Clasen started the Fear Lab. He thinks that playing with fear prepares us for the real thing. The Fear Lab did a study about people who watch horror movies. It found that these people felt less scared during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Now the lab’s scientists are studying children. They think that kids who try scary things—like climbing tall trees or watching frightening movies—might be less anxious later in life. 

    So this Halloween, don’t be afraid to get scared. It might just be good for you. 

    What have the scientists learned? They’ve learned that fear is most fun when we’re in control. You can always leave a haunted house, after all. They’ve also learned that there’s a sweet spot for fear. Too little is boring. Too much and it stops being fun.

    Still, there’s more to learn. Mathias Clasen started the Fear Lab. He thinks playing with fear is good for us. It prepares us for real fear. The Fear Lab did a study about people who watch horror movies. It found that these people felt less fear during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Now the scientists are studying kids. Why? They think kids who do scary things—like climbing tall trees or watching spooky movies—might be less anxious later in life.

    So this Halloween, don’t be afraid to get scared. It might be good for you. 

    So far, the Fear Lab’s scientists have made some exciting discoveries. They’ve learned that fear is most enjoyable when we’re in control. You can always decide to leave a haunted house, for example. There’s also a sweet spot for fear: too little and it’s boring, too much and it stops being fun.

    Still, there’s plenty more to learn. Mathias Clasen, who started the Fear Lab, believes that playing with fear prepares us for the real thing. In one study, the Fear Lab found that people who tended to watch horror movies felt less afraid during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Now the lab’s scientists are studying children. They think that kids who try scary things—like climbing a tall tree or watching spooky movies—might be less anxious later in life.

    So this Halloween, don’t be afraid to get scared. It might just be good for you. 

Psst! Want to learn more about the science of fear? Check out this Mini Read with “scream scientist,” Margee Kerr!

Psst! Want to learn more about the science of fear? Check out this Mini Read with “scream scientist,” Margee Kerr!

Psst! Want to learn more about the science of fear? Check out this Mini Read with “scream scientist,” Margee Kerr!