Why is Horror Appealing

People watch horror for different reasons including:
-To feel fear but not be in danger
-Adrenaline
-Feeling of accomplishment
-Interest in the supernatural

I have looked at an article called 'The Psychologist' and it outlined these reasons for watching horror:

-it allows us to rehearse possible threatening scenarios from a position of relative safety

-successful horror fiction is usually realistic in its portrayals of human psychology and relationships.

-the pleasure comes from the relief that follows once characters escape danger

-‘Frequent depictions of women in prolonged states of terror may reinforce traditional gender schemas of women as helpless and, as a result, may serve to normalise aggression or hostile attitudes toward women,’ Walsh and Brantford said.

In our horror film we will be going against the typical horror film convention as the female is in fact the person to be feared, not the man, which will add a twist to our film.

Patterson (an assistant professor of English and co-director of Medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation Studies at Saint Joseph’s University) says horror builds on real life fears, and this changes as events in the world occur. For example, post 9/11 films featured torture, as a way to cope with the tragedy and zombie films may become popular after a break out of influenza which could potentially harm whole populations.
-high sensation seekers enjoy horror as it heightens emotions, even negative ones, and this gives them a rush of excitement
-men want to appear more masculine and brave