The Psychology of Scary Movies

Scary movies have been around since the 1890s. People watch them, despite being terrified in the process. Lots of other people ask, why?

Here's a short video with John P. Hess which examines the theories usually advanced to explain the seemingly irrational practice of watching something that you know in advance is going to cause you to crap yourself.


First posted: 2 November 2013

The Psychology of Scary Movies

Scary movies have been around since the 1890s. People watch them, despite being terrified in the process. Lots of other people ask, why?

Here's a short video with John P. Hess which examines the theories usually advanced to explain the seemingly irrational practice of watching something that you know in advance is going to cause you to crap yourself.