Why horror is a favorite genre for people in current times

by Garima Aggarwal

Ever since I was a kid, I used to watch and enjoy the spooky horror movies a lot and my mother, who was always scared to watch them, used to scold me whenever I put horror movie on television. When I got into high school, I found most students prefer watching horror films in place of other movies. And today I feel a need to tell people who always ask horror movie lovers 'What do you get by watching scary movies those are unrealistic?' A study published in the Journal of Media Psychology states that people watch scary films for 3 reasons; tension, relevance, and unrealism. Weird? Even I was not aware of this until I, myself, put the missing pieces of the whole scenario. 

We the people do get attracted towards the mysterious, shocking, revengeful experiences or stories and that is why we watch them. Because horror movies are an entirely different experience altogether, they are widely preferred. 

Here are the reasons my friends told me as to why they choose to watch horror movies more than any other genre, and a few are why I prefer watching horror films. 

Interesting storyline

Every horror consists of horrific elements and an emotional storyline of how a person is killed and he/she later became a ghost haunting people and houses, which is quite interesting. I, sometimes, feel that I have mastered in guessing the script of the horror films with a mandatory story is what made this ghost a ghost is his previous life and I must agree this is sometimes interesting. The highly blood-curdling visuals paired with a nicely drafted storyline has always got us all hooked to our screens. For instance, I found the storyline of Conjuring 2 to be quite well-oriented and structured to have attracted people. 

Horror movies divert the mind from reality

I am from that part of society who works based on my interests and even then, I, sometimes get so caught up and tired of my schedule and I do need a break from the daily routine work. With the current times paying more emphasis on OTT platforms, I watch a horror film every weekend to escape the real world because horror movies are fascinating in its way. Since most of the horror films are scripted and not inspired by real-life stories, they tend to provide people with a mind-relaxing escape. PS: This is not just a “supposed thing” but people do find it this way. 

Is fascinating and different from other genres

Never might you have ever got connected to a film whose genre is drama, romance, and stuff, people nowadays like watching a thriller, fiction, basically films with psychological impact towards the viewers and why not, they tend to get better outcomes than other genres. Don’t get offended if you would prefer other genres. But people watching horror films are fascinated by them more than any other genre. The fearsome visuals are fascinating more than the sweet and love-filled visuals, says a hardcore horror fiction lover. 

People like to witness unexplained things

Horror movies are either fiction or inspired by real-life experiences. But since there are a less number of people around us who share their ghost encounters openly which is why these horror films become unexplained and this is what people like nowadays. Horror movies lover enjoy them due to its unrealism factor because, in one or the other way, they know that it's conceptualized and fake', therefore they find it entertaining.

The “horrifying” element attracts people a lot

People like the feeling they experience when they get scared. A study by journal Communication Research quotes that the people having a liking towards horror films enjoy the intense feelings such a fear. It also claims that when you are scared, the immediate response of our mind goes into either fight or flight mode. 

Now you know what to say if your friend asks you to watch a horror film; don’t get into an argument but understand. You might also think and prefer watching horror movies. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When it comes to writing, she believes that the simplest form of words can help build a better opinion in front of people. With this thought, Garima Aggarwal is an aspiring content writer working in the field for the last 2 years. Currently, she is working for TABSCAP. Being from the journalism background, she is passionate to write about topics related to lifestyle, health, and digital marketing.