Fear junkies

A few days ago, I had a chat with one of this blog’s Founders’ Club members and he asked “Why do people like to be afraid so much?” At first, I was tempted to respond with the answer I usually have for this question: that a lot of people seem to have lost any sense of purpose in their lives and fear is their way of coping with that loss — and acquiring a purpose in the process.

A moment later, however, I thought better. This was more than just a coping mechanism for people lacking a purpose — and meaning — in life. This deserved some research. Which I promptly did.

Biochemically, getting frightened results in the brain telling the body to release certain hormones that are meant to prepare us for flight, fight, or, apparently, freeze because science constantly evolves and now we have three standard responses to a fear-inducing situation.

The presence of adrenalin in the fear hormone mix should be explanation enough for why some people really love horror movies (and bungee jumping). But there’s more to fear than that. The physical reaction to fear also involves heightened alertness and better reflexes. Who wouldn’t want heightened alertness and better reflexes, right? Trouble is, these don’t last for a very long time. Once the fear-inducing situation is over, they’re over, too.

But what happens if we’re not talking about a random scare on screen that gets our heart pumping and our blood boiling? What happens if we’re talking about a constant drone of warnings, grim predictions, and references to a boiling planet and a highway to Hell — a constant refrain of “Be afraid, be very afraid”? That’s where the magic happens. And the money starts flowing.