The Appeal of Dark and Disturbing Stories
By Sarah Azman
Photo by Danila Harlow on Unsplash
Horror, along with psychological thrillers and dystopian fiction, has become a best-selling genre. According to Books+Publishing, horror, occult, and psychology titles saw a 24.2% increase in sales in the United States from 2022 to 2023.
But why are people drawn to dark and disturbing stories? Are we becoming more depraved as a society? Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker maintains that violence has actually decreased over the course of human history. So why do people like horror? The answers lie in the way our brains perceive and tolerate threat.
Safe Threat Simulation
People are drawn to stories that allow threat simulation, or exploration of physically dangerous situations that do not involve real risks. Some people are willing to endure the unpleasant feelings that horror evokes to experience the simulated victory of overcoming the perceived threat. Some are willing to endure fear while the main character is chased by a monster, for example, to feel vicarious triumph when the monster is finally defeated.
Social Exploration
Horror also provides a safe way to explore social threats. In a 2008 paper, Raymond A. Mar and Keith Oatley argued that a major function of fiction is the simulation of social experience. Books are mental practice for real human interaction, allowing us to safely explore trust, betrayal, fear responses, and decision-making. Horror novels often examine unusual human psychology and behavior, providing us with a “rear window” into disordered minds that we may never encounter in everyday life.
A Cognitive Puzzle
You know the rush you get when you finally solve NYT Connections? Some people feel that same rush when they unravel a complex horror plot. In his 2005 paper on interest and curiosity, psychologist Paul J. Silvia found that interest was stimulated by two factors: novelty/complexity and coping potential. Silvia presented research participants with poetry, visual art, and random polygons. When people encountered something new that they still felt capable of understanding, interest increased. Horror can spark that same response through a twisty plot with just enough breadcrumbs (or body parts) that readers can say, “I knew it!” when the killer is finally revealed.
Personality Traits
But why do some people enjoy horror while others don’t? Through a large online survey, researcher Mathias Clasen found that people who scored high in the categories of “sensation seeking” and “intellect/imagination” also scored high in enjoyment of horror and frequency of horror consumption. A 2019 review by psychologist G. Neil Martin found that empathy levels could also predict enjoyment of horror films. Individuals with lower empathy consistently enjoyed horror films more than those with higher empathy.
Excitation Transfer Theory
Martin’s 2019 review also explored psychologist Dolf Zillmann’s excitation transfer theory, or the conversion of negative sensations into positive sensations. When the brain senses a threat, adrenaline courses through the body. The heart races, breathing quickens, and a burst of energy activates the body’s fight-or-flight response. In a threatening situation, people interpret these sensations as fear. Excitation transfer theory suggests that when a threat is resolved, the brain can reinterpret the lingering physiological effects of fear as excitement. For people who enjoy horror movies, the physical sensations of fear transform into exhilaration once the suspense is resolved. Cue the excited chatter and laughter as the theater lights go up—or the breathless phone call to your best friend after finishing the horror novel they insisted you read.
The Bottom Line
Horror allows us to explore disturbing topics and situations without real danger, making it especially appealing to people whose personalities allow them to tolerate or even enjoy the initial discomfort.
If you love horror, check out Rare, our award-winning horror anthology!
Sources
Hoover, Yarros. “Adult Fiction Buoys US Print Sales as Overall Sales Decline.” Books+Publishing, January 8, 2024.
Pinker, Steven. The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. New York: Viking, 2011.
Clasen, Mathias, Marc K. Christiansen, and John A. Johnson. “Horror, Personality, and Threat Simulation.” Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences 13, no. 3 (2019): 213–230.
Martin, G. Neil. “(Why) Do You Like Scary Movies? A Review of the Empirical Research on Psychological Responses to Horror Films.” Frontiers in Psychology 10 (2019): 2298.
Mar, Raymond A., and Keith Oatley. “The Function of Fiction Is the Abstraction and Simulation of Social Experience.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 3, no. 3 (2008): 173–192.
Silvia, Paul J. “What Is Interesting? Exploring the Appraisal Structure of Interest.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 9, no. 1 (2005): 89–102.