It’s safe to say that the horror industry is thriving. Whether it be movies, books, games, haunted houses, ghost tours, or an abiding love of Halloween, people want to experience horror. There are horror subgenres galore and there’s so much out there that there are even categories of horror – stress, jump scares, tension, campy, the list goes on. But why do we love scary games? Why do we like to be scared? The real world is surely horrible enough as it is.
Why do people seek out horror games?
There are a few reasons why fright fans go out of their way to experience horror. First of all, humans are deeply and innately drawn to stories. Many horror experiences hold the same appeal as a fantasy or sci-fi tale – it’s something the audience will almost certainly never experience themselves, and we enjoy living out these novel experiences. For the 10-hour runtime of a Resident Evil game, you get to put yourself neatly into an alternative reality and live through something (a zombie uprising) that is pretty unlikely to happen in the real world. In games you also get to play at doing things you’d never countenance doing in real life, particularly in survival horror where you might need to choose between helping someone and protecting your own interests. It’s much easier to give in to the dark side when there are no consequences.
There is also scientific evidence that people who seek out horror receive not only negative stimulation (fear, anxiety) from the experience, but also positive stimulation (excitement, joy, exhilaration) at the same time. Yeah, you might be scared as all hell when a zombie lunges at you from around a corner that you couldn’t see, but at the same time, adrenaline and excitement will be flooding your system. In fact, the peak moment of positive emotions coincides with the peak of the fear, and the adrenaline is just going to ramp everything up to 11.
The kind of horror that works best for most fans is the kind that takes our genuine fears and follows them to the extreme, but in a controlled environment. Zooming along in a rollercoaster is scary but exhilarating, because it would be outright terrifying if we were the passenger in a car going at such extreme speeds and with no control. It’s a kind of ‘safe danger’ that becomes enjoyable.
Horror games are also masters of the ebb and flow of fear. Alien Isolation ramps up the fear as the Xenomorph approaches, it gets to a head as you cower in a locker, and then the tension dissipates as the creature fails to find you and leaves. The feeling of relief can be a real source of pleasure and payoff.
If the world at large is particularly difficult to deal with (let’s face it, it is), people can become numb to bad news and negativity. One way that people may choose to deal with this is to expose themselves to negative feelings in a controlled way, as a kind of pushback. Active, deliberate engagement can help reaffirm our own complex, real emotions – a kind of emotional booster jab.
Why do some people love horror while others don’t?
Although it’s pretty widespread, a love of horror is not universal. Some people may find the subject matter uninteresting, or distasteful, or boring. This is valid of course, and the world is more interesting because we don’t all like the same stuff. Some people may not enjoy the physical sensations that come along with fear – the rush of adrenaline might be a source of pleasure for some, but not others.
Researchers identified that people who get the most pleasure from horror are those with the most robust “protective frame” through which to experience the horror. These frames are made up of three parts.
- Physical safety: If you can detach yourself enough from the fear to remind yourself that you’re the one in control of the situation and the zombies you’re shooting cannot physically reach you by virtue of being virtual – your physical safety is assured – then you’re more likely to enjoy the frights. If things get a bit too real and it becomes harder to differentiate game from reality (think of the moments in Doki Doki Literature Club where the names glitch out or your save file gets “corrupted”), the sense of fear may start to outweigh the pleasure.
- Detachment – being able to remind yourself that it’s just a game (or show or book etc.) can be a crucial tool for managing fear. Make your character do a little loop de loop to reinforce that it isn’t a real experience, and you’re in control not in danger, and that will help bring the fun of fear back.
- Control – this one is a little more difficult to quantify, but essentially if you believe you are capable of dealing with the scenario presented and overcoming it, you’re more likely to enjoy it. This is part of why survival horror is such an effective genre – in harder difficulties where ammo is scarce, your surety of dealing with threats is diminished and the fear escalates. Or think of games like SOMA, where you have no way to fight back.
Different horror games will work for different people for different reasons. One thing’s for sure though, and that’s that people want to feel the fear. Horror games are an outlet to explore humankind’s deepest anxieties, and the joy of the thrill is here to stay.
Featured image credit: SEGA
Student journalist & freelance writer. Check out Quick Play, where I review video games that are 10 hours or less.
