PsychCrunch · The British Psychological Society Research Digest

Ep 35: Why do we enjoy playing with fear?

·20 min·1 clip

Participants reduced their breathing by up to 10–15 breaths per minute inside a scary virtual dungeon.

1. PsychCrunch examines why people enjoy recreational fear in horror films, games, books, documentaries, and haunted houses. 2. Ella Rhodes hosts interviews with Matthias Clayson and Lucy Daniel Watanabe, researchers studying fear, play, and emotional regulation. 3. The episode asks why people voluntarily enter frightening situations and whether recreational fear can build useful coping skills. 4. Matthias Clayson says 55% of people report enjoying scary movies, books, or video games. 5. Clayson reports that about 80% of people watch a horror movie at least once a month. 6. Clayson founded the Recreational Fear Lab in 2020 after completing a PhD focused on Dracula and supernatural horror. 7. Researchers studied genuine fear at Dystopia Haunted House, an attraction in an abandoned fish factory south of Aarhus. 8. Dystopia Haunted House attracts 4,000–5,000 guests each Halloween for approximately 50 minutes of frightening experiences. 9. The 2017 study used heart-rate monitors, night-vision surveillance cameras, and questionnaires to measure fear and enjoyment. 10. Matthias Clayson describes enjoyment as an inverted-U relationship in which both insufficient fear and excessive fear reduce enjoyment. 11. The researchers call the optimal balance between fear and enjoyment the “sweet spot of fear.” 12. Clayson says the sweet spot may differ between individuals and may change after people have children. 13. Threat simulation theory proposes that horror fiction can immerse people in worst-case scenarios as preparation. 14. Clayson describes fear as an emotion that evolved to protect organisms from danger while also driving pleasurable recreational activities. 15. Clayson suggests recreational fear may help children learn emotion regulation, interoception, and awareness of personal limits. 16. Helen Dodd's UK research group is investigating whether risky play could counter anxiety problems among children. 17. Lucy Daniel Watanabe works with Ninja Theory on virtual experiences using relaxation, fear, and a monster in a dungeon. 18. Watanabe's interview uses a research-focused format combining study design, physiological measurements, and unanswered questions. 19. Horror fans curious about fear, play, and anxiety. 20. Listeners seeking plot-driven horror stories may skip.

As heard by us

A measured look at why recreational fear can feel pleasurable, and how threat simulation may shape that response.

Fear turns slippery when the danger is fictional and the ticket is bought willingly. PsychCrunch follows that tension through horror games, films and books, true crime documentaries and haunted houses, giving Matthias Clayson space to explain why recreational fear can sit so…

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Why you'd press play

You can seek out a haunted house and still wonder why your brain signed up for fear on purpose.

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