Why Do We Enjoy Horror? | Blog by Rohan Biswas | Phoenix

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Ever wondered why you are so fond of watching horror movies or reading horror novels? The book that I read recently talks exactly about this.




Noel Carroll (1990), in his book, "The Philosophy of Horror," explains why we like consuming horror content and why we get scared or scream or freak out whenever there's a jumpscare scene, even if we don't believe in ghosts or the paranormal.

So, when we are watching a movie or reading a book, we see/read it through the point of view of the main character, probably because we see some similarities between them and us, or we just happen to like them. We might even think that our perspectives match. When this happens, we get to feel what the main character feels, or at least, we tend to understand them better.

But then, why do we get scared even when we know it’s just fiction and we don’t even believe in ghosts? The author explains this through what he calls the “thought theory.” He argues that our emotions don’t require actual belief, they only need the idea of something frightening. Our minds respond to how things are shown or presented, not just to what we believe in. A sudden silence, a creepy shadow, or a jump scare is enough to make us shiver. We don’t have to believe in it, the thought alone is powerful enough to trigger fear.



But here comes the interesting part: if horror disturbs us, why do we still enjoy it? And why do we get scared if we don't even believe in it? The author says that horror doesn’t just scare us, it also fascinates us. The ghosts, the unnatural, the strange unknown, they don’t just repel us, they draw us in. In the 1991 animated movie "Beauty and the Beast," we find the Beast terrifying at first, just as Belle and her father do. But as things unfold, Belle’s perspective changes, and so does ours! On the other hand, in the 2018 horror film "The Possession of Hannah Grace," the dead body is frightening, yet we keep watching because we are curious about what will happen next.

That curiosity is what makes us watch it till the end. We want to know what the creature really is, how the curse works, or whether the characters will make it out alive. The fear gives us a rush, but the mystery keeps us hooked, and we want to watch more horror movies.

Horror works like a rollercoaster. It scares us, shakes us, and yet gives us a thrill that we willingly go back to again and again...



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