As counter-intuitive as it may sound, horror movies are good for you- or at least they can be. Obviously, anyone with heart conditions shouldn’t be lining up for an hour and a half (give or take) of any adrenaline pumping, heart thumping, activity. But for your average thrill seeker, not only do horror films have all those glorious chemical reactions brought on by things like roller coasters and skydiving, but there are other benefits for the mind and body as well.
Horror movies help you physiologically and psychologically, even the scariest and the most brutal movies make well-adjusted audiences (assuming said audience members weren’t psychos in the first place). We turn to movies, literature, and even video games for cognitive stimulation without any real-world actions or consequences. That being said, collected here are some reasons why horror movies are good for your mental health and overall physical well being.
Watching Horror Can Be A Healthy Outlet For Stress & Anger
One of the more obvious physiological benefits to watching horror movies actually comes from one of the biggest complaints. People have worried horror was warping young minds, creating psychos, and glorifying violence. When really, these films can serve as an outlet and help cut back on aggressive and violent behavior. Unless someone was already a violent, sociopaths, cannibal, to begin with, watching a movie isn’t going to magically morph them into Hannibal Lecter.
Horror films can be as mentally rewarding as exercising. Both offer a way for the mind to release stress, frustrations, and perhaps even some thoughts of violence. They serve as a healthy outlet in a controlled environment where no real physical harm is done. Anyone who has ever plowed into a punching bag while picturing it as an ex can understand that concept.
They Have Educational Value As Cautionary Tales
Now, some horror movies have truly off the wall premises, like Sharknado. There are others, however, that are realistic and can really smack the naivety out of some people. For most folks, it’s just common sense to not pick up hitchhikers, or taunt truckers over the CB, or open the door to strangers after dark (especially while alone). But a lot of people simply are not programmed that way.
They’ll pull over in the middle of the night to give Leatherface directions. They’ll invite black-eyed children in for tea and be none the wiser, and they probably wouldn’t think twice about going outside to investigate a strange noise-weaponless. Some people need these cautionary tales, they need to see just how horribly things could play out. This is why folklore exists in the first place. To hand down various cautions from generation to generation. It’s just an entertaining way to stop people from doing stupid shit.
They Help Put Things Into Perspective
The insane scenarios set before us by the horror genre have a way of putting things into perspective. One may enter a movie theater extremely irritated with their significant other for ordering Twizzlers instead of Red Vines but by the end of the film, they’re just grateful they aren’t dating a psycho like Norman Bates or a suffering in hell as a playtoy for cenobites.
They Can Give You A New Appreciation For Life
Most horror films take ordinary people and drop them into extraordinarily horrific circumstances which they either triumph over or fall victim to. One can view it, appreciate it for what it is, and can’t help but to turn appreciation onto their own lives (and how much better they have it than most). They feel empathetic for the characters but are relieved to not be them.
According to Dr. Mathias Clasen,”There’s psychological distance when we watch a horror film. We know it’s not real—or at least, some parts of our brain know it isn’t real. Other parts—ancient structures located in the limbic system—respond as though it were real.” He goes on to explain, “the genre allows us to voluntarily—and under controlled circumstances—get experience with negative emotion.”
This means viewers are experiencing positive emotions as well that sense of relief is real at least part of your brain.
They Offer Desensitization to Fears
According to Dr. Ironside, “There’s a part of the brain that is largely thought to signal danger, this is called the amygdala. Studies have shown that people with high trait anxiety—[meaning] very anxious people—and anxiety disorders have a hyperactive amygdala, compared to healthy people.” If people are repeatedly exposed to something fearful become desensitized to them.
this is how exposure therapy works patients are repeatedly exposed to whatever the source of their phobia is and over time they learn that there is no actual negative outcome from the exposure and the fear stops.
One could look at horror films in the same manner, whatever the subject matter is in any particular film The viewers are becoming desensitized to that particular subject. Whether it be crazed killers, ghosts, goblins, zombies, science experiments gone mad… overtime watching these various scenarios play out from the safety of their own home, conditions them to not be so afraid.
Horror Can Decrease Anxiety & Ward Off Depression With Adrenaline
As strange as it may sound, there are anxious people who self-medicate with horror films. Horror triggers the fight-or-flight response within the body, but because the viewer is in a safe and controlled environment this rush is soon followed by feel-good endorphins like serotonin and can be quite therapeutic for anyone, especially those suffering from anxiety.
In addition to helping anxiety, research has shown that those suffering from depression could benefit from horror films as well. People with depression tend to experience drops in adrenaline and popping in a good horror film is a fast way to get those adrenal glands pumping.
Horror Movies Can Boost Your Immune System
There have been many studies done on the effects horror films have on viewers. Shockingly enough, one study found that the level of active white blood cells in the body actually spikes while watching horror movies.
White blood cells are responsible for fighting off any harmful bacteria that enter the body. So this means simply watching a horror film can make your immune system gear up for attack and be in top shape for any challenge that comes its way.
If You’re Looking For An Anesthetic Effect, Pop In Something Scary
The internal roller-coaster you’re riding while watching horror is a combination of adrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, and serotonin. But wait, there’s more! That wave of happiness that washes over you in the form of relief is basically your body being anesthetized. Who needs whiskey, am-I-right?
Watching Horror Can Burn Around 200 Calories
Perhaps the most random benefit that the ever controversial horror genre has to offer mankind, is the ability to burn up to 200 calories-all while sitting on your ass. Watching horror movies all day while losing weight? It’s literally a dream come true.
A study that appeared in The Telegraph, explained that watching high tension films burn calories. The experiment included “Jaws” with a burn of 164 calories, The Exorcist” with an unsurprising 158 stressful calories shed, and “The Shining” with a whopping 184 calories down for the count.
No strenuous activity is needed to reap the benefits. Apparently, it’s the combination of the surge in adrenaline, an increased heart rate, greater oxygen intake and carbon dioxide elimination, plus all the muscular contractions you don’t even realize you’re making. Your body just kind of sits there and works itself out.
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