Phobophilia | Why We Love Fear

Your knees go weak, and droplets of sweat form on your brow. A chill resonates from deep within as your body freezes in place, betraying every instinct to flee. Fear is a powerful thing, a natural response to an ingrained survival mechanism. So, why do so many people seek out things that may make them feel fear? 

This discussion has many layers, from the science of fear to the most common forms of “fear entertainment.” Before we dig too deep into the reasons behind the love of fear or the multitude of ways we actively seek a fear response, we should start with the “who.” Not everyone loves to be afraid, but those who do can be described by one word: Phobophilic.

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What is Phobophilia?

No, it’s not just a death metal band inspired by the terrifying and mind-bending works of H. P. Lovecraft. Phobophilia refers to the love of fear or the fear response. It’s a little different from Phobophobia, which is the fear of being afraid. 

Whereas the latter incites a negative response when one feels afraid, phobophilia drives people to seek out the things that frighten them. If you love horror movies, even if you hide your head in anticipation of every jump scare, chances are you’re Phobophilic. Pinpointing the earliest roots of phobophilia is difficult, though one could suggest it has ties to the earliest ghost stories.

There’s much to discuss regarding our love of fear. However, to really understand phobophilia and the attraction to being scared, one should know the fundamental framework of the natural fear response.

How Does Fear Work?

Fear isn’t just some random trait humans stumbled upon or an exclusive evolutionary survival response. It’s been embedded in our DNA for millennia. In fact, it’s not even exclusive to people. 

Even animals feel fear, though they haven’t quite adapted to it in the same way, which we’ll touch on shortly. 

In short, fear is designed to spark a “fight or flight” response. 

When we’re afraid, our body produces signals to the nervous system to release hormones like adrenaline. The higher our adrenaline levels, the more alert we are. Throughout the rest of our body, systems that are not essential to our immediate survival at that moment, like the immune system, shut down. The energy that’s saved routes elsewhere, like to important muscle groups, and our brain hyperfixates on the fear trigger. 

If fear is all about survival, then how does science explain the affinity people can form for it? Along with adrenaline, our body releases dopamine, the hormone we produce to reward or offer positive motivation. 

Unlike animals, humans can have dynamic reactions that change from person to person. If your initial reaction to fear is positive, your body is likely reacting heavily to the release of dopamine.

For most, it’s a reaction to the physiological response to fear in a setting where safety is guaranteed.

The Popularity of Being Afraid

According to a Talker Research survey, just over 70% of U.S. adults are entertained by horror movies. 

While a sizable swatch of the 2,000 polled adults admit that they stick to watching them during the Halloween season, more than a quarter engage in horror year-round. 

Blumhouse performed its own study of 3,000 Americans and found that 44% watch horror throughout the year. It’s not just a love of movies driving these numbers, though. 

Per American Haunts, a leading provider of haunted attractions around the world, the average haunted house attracts 8,000 guests each season, with mega-haunts garnering up to 60,000 fear-loving visitors. 

To put those figures into perspective, haunts are typically open for six to eight weeks. They are rarely open seven nights a week. The average haunt could see about 142 people every night at a full seasonal schedule. 

For a larger attraction like Universal Studios Orlando’s Hollywood Horror Nights, that number increases to over 1 million seasonally.

Clearly, Phobophilia isn’t rare. 

That may be why about 65% of prospective homebuyers could be convinced to purchase a haunted home.

Why Americans Love Fear

Today, we gather to experience fear together. We anxiously await the arrival of the masked killer or slowly creep around a corner, hoping to come face to face with some horrifying, malformed animatronic. However, this appreciation for being afraid wasn’t always a part of society. 

Early ghost stories, like the horrid aside in the Epic of Gilgamesh or Athenodorus Canaanites’ 1st-century spectral encounter, serve less to entertain and more to provide a warning or send a message. Even Dickens’ A Christmas Carol exists to right the ills of immoral souls. 

It wasn’t until the late 19th to early 20th centuries that we started to twist horror themes into entertaining art forms.

Movies like Le Manoir du Diable (1896) and Nosferatu (1922) launched horror cinema. However, Universal Studios seemed to coin the concept of horror as entertainment. 

During the Great Depression, Dracula (1931), preceded by the 1927 rerelease of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, served as escapism. Universal Studios’ monster movies became increasingly more important to society, especially during the onset of World War II. 

Despite the real horrors unraveling across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Americans gathered in cinemas to watch Lon Chaney, Jr., evolve into the Wolf Man in a frightening display.

As the world slowly healed, horror comedies like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein further entrenched horror as entertainment. It wasn’t enough to watch horror unfold on the big screen, though. Some, still, wanted to be a part of it.   

Coming Face to Face with Fear

There’s a bit of debate over when the first haunted attraction popped up. Some credit 19th-century artist Marie Tussaud and her “Chamber of Horrors,” which depicted death masks of guillotine victims. 

Others credit carnival creator Patrick Collins and his Haunted Cottage, later named the Orton and Spooner Ghost House. Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween author Lisa Morton offers a rather timely and familiar suggestion: the Great Depression. 

According to Morton, early haunted attractions were a means of distracting children during Halloween to deter acts of vandalism and harassment. 

These initial versions were often built within basements and allowed kids to go from one basement to the next in search of scares. Like Universal’s on-screen horrors, the manufactured frights came during one of the nation’s lowest points.

Only the most creative homeowners could elicit screams and shouts from their young guests. Animatronic technology was many years away, and gore wasn’t quite a massive part of horror and staged haunts. Though these attractions became far more elaborate years later, there was still one more evolution in fear entertainment. 

When you really think about it, it was the most frightening evolution yet because it left no one pulling strings or timing jump scares. How scary it would be to rely on an uncontrollable — and unseen — aspect.

Walking with the Ghost

Haunted houses aren’t the only way phobophilics have found ways to enjoy fear-laden activities. In 1973, the Ghost Walk of York was allegedly established as the first ghost walk in the world. Unlike horror movies and haunted houses, the potential scares of a ghost walk (or ghost tour) are rooted in real-world settings.

Exploring the battlefield-adjacent haunts of Gettysburg is a bit different from wandering through the mock-up of a mad scientist’s lab. Especially when a rapping on wooden walls or heavy footsteps suggests you’re not alone. While ghost tours tend to lean heavily into a location’s history, they can still instill what would otherwise be feelings of fear and dread.

Phobophilics would also be drawn to the overnight stays at locations like the once blood-soaked Lizzie Borden’s House or amongst the lingering energy of the grizzly Villisca Axe Murder House. 

Ironically, that satisfying rush of not knowing what may lurk behind every corner calls back to the earliest days of horror entertainment, when society was seeking a reprieve from reality. Except on a ghost walk or at these locations, the very things to fear are imprinted on reality.

Phobophilics Anonymous

Phobophilics rejoice! US Ghost Adventures offers ghost-hunting equipment, ghost tours, and haunted overnight stays across the nation. Interested in joining one of the best affiliate programs in tourism? Become an affiliate with US Ghost Adventures and start making money in dark tourism!

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Keep reading our blog to learn more about the myriad ways people get scared across the nation. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for even more spooky content!

Sources:

• The Science Behind Fear – Science World
• https://talkerresearch.com/what-age-should-you-see-your-first-horror-film/
• https://variety.com/2024/film/news/blumhouse-study-horror-movies-watched-year-round-1236185315/
• https://www.americahaunts.com/ah/facts/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2023/10/01/universal-scares-halloween-horror-nights/
• https://zillow.mediaroom.com/2023-10-24-Nearly-70-of-prospective-buyers-would-buy-a-haunted-house-if-it-checked-all-their-boxes
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-haunted-house-180957008/
• https://modernhorrors.com/alive-little-haunted-house-made-madness/