We all enjoy watching some surreal, supernatural events that we don't face everyday in our real life. Like other genre of movies romance, comedy, family, drama, scifi, crime etc. horror movies are also kind of entertaining to some viewers. It is individual's personal choice what to watch and what not to for entertainment purpose.

Horror movies also have certain classifications like ghost & paranormal, psycho, satanic, action & violence and some documentaries covering some great wars that the world has seen so far. It is not likely that all horror movies belong to same class but a very small portion could be considered as reenactment of some violent historical events.

Like all movie making horror movies are also depend on the viewers support to make it profitable. Since most of us are afraid of horror so scary movies always attract a majority of the viewers and this is the USP for profit that goes to the producer for the next investment for another horror movie making.

Thanks Kamal for your views.

Even I don't want to watch those types of movies because it disturbs me for sometimes.

Regards,

Nitish

Dear Nitish

I don't like and I don't watch horror movies.

Horror movies are disturbing movies that attempt to bring out the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers. Many people watch these movies because they know it’s not real although the scenes are scary. Another reason for watching them is the surge of adrenaline or energy that they get.

There is room for everything !

Thanks Amritlal for your points.

I agree you that it is individual's personal choice what to watch and what not to watch.

But I can't understand what people find entertaining in fictitious violance related movies which has nothing to do with our history?

Regards,

Nitish

Dear Nelson,

Nice reason! Surge of adrenaline!

Thanks.

Regards,

Nitish

Dear Abdalla,

I agree you that youth and juniors are bigger fans of such movies.

I think that today's youth wants to show their friends/colleague that they are fearless and mentally strong and those events in the movies do not cause any effect on them.

Regards,

Nitish

Strict parental controls are required to stop watching this kind of movies by the minor children. Even for adults with great logical, mental and emotional setup some horror movies could be highly disorienting and will leave someone with tremendous mental trauma.

I agree with Prof. Kamal, children are very much vulnerable and any mishap can happen anytime if they try to imitate such horrifying actions because they do have an underdeveloped maleable logical and decision making skills. Even a stint of trauma could be long lasting for them with unavoidable psychological problems in later life.

In general, kids should not watch scary movies because they will have nightmares. Viewers watch horror movies because they love a good fright. But who is watching the watchers of horror movies?

Quinlan (2013) gave us a clue when referencing the Kennedy assassination. Zapruder's film raised an epistemological question about how people see and know things. Viewers treat film and photography as an objective medium (Quinlan, 2013).

Timmer (2011) wrote that if violence was accompanied by humor, this tended to have a desensitizing effect, yet Timmer (2011) also acknowledged that the bottom line is that there is limited research in this area.

Many have a tendency to remark after a certain catastrophe (school shooting, for example) that if violent movies or games are found at their residence, this proves that violent movies and games promote violence, yet the link has not yet been drawn. There are a plethora of other reasons behind why a person has a proclivity toward violence (e.g., violence in the household, PTSD, and other traumas), so even though I no longer find them interesting, I should not judge those who do.

Other quantitative correlational research designs from Northern Ireland showed that violence in the media had no ill effect on children. Freedman (1984) also found no causality.

Freedman, J. L. (1984). Effect of television violence on aggressiveness. Psychological Bulletin, 96(2), 227-246. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.96.2.227

Quinlan, S. M. (2013). Shots to the mind: Violence, the brain and biomedicine in popular novels and film in post-1960s America. European Journal Of American Culture, 32(3), 215-234. doi:10.1386/ejac.32.3.215_1

Timmer, J. (2011). Restricting Portrayals of Film Violence to Reduce the Likelihood of Negative Effects in Viewers: Did the Framers of the Motion Picture Production Code Get It Right?. Journal Of Popular Film & Television, 39(1), 29-36. doi:10.1080/01956051.2010.494186

Hi, Horror and violence are considered interesting by people. Once opon a time violence was commonplace for Daily life of mankind, but today vilence is secured by collective Powers such as states. Thus, people may miss their primitive individualistic violence days in early ages :) . I think this is one of the basic instincts but it is somehow suppressed.

Adding to above (@Ufuk). Fear and fight are natural / basic instincts. Thats why people are attracted and get entertained by horror movies.

Friends, some horror movies are based on true stories. But I have too much research work, and too much housework to do, so I don't watch them at all.

I think only the very extravert and sensation seeking people like them, but I don't.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/sensation-seeking‎

Personally I am a fan of horror movies. I think for me the rush of fear is exciting and thrilling. Its just another form of entertainment that you enjoy to watch only in movies and not in real life.

Logic?

No, here is a typical example of why:

https://twitter.com/ActualPerson084/status/446525683615813632

A psychoanalysis of persons liking or disliking Horror movies- fiction or true can only yield a perfect answer of your question. With my age, and experiences perhaps, I can share my views as follows:

To me one can classify people in following 7 major categories:

1. very daring in all spheres but with poor imagination

2. daring with poor imagination

3. very daring in all sphere but with good imagination imagination

4. daring with good imagination imagination

5. normal kind people with killer instinct with or without good imagination

6. normal kind people with no killer instinct but good imagination

7. Cruel people with killer instinct

Thus people with good imagination will not like Horror movies, while others will like it, to satisfy their Hidden attitude/personality/character.

All these questions are one and the same::::::

Why are horror movies made? and

Why do people watch them?

What is the logic behind making and watching of horror movies? and

Why are horror movies made and why do people watch them? :::::: And the answer could be:

To cater to the needs of people with low imagination........Its a business, after all.

What type of entertainment do people get by watching horror movies? Liking for suspense (Not good in imagination people).

Is watching those movies good or bad? See nothing is good or bad. Only if you feel that watching a horror movie was not a good decision then it is bad. Also, it all depends on your nature/personality/attitude.......

What are the effects of horror movies on our mind/brain?

Watching such movies will definitely have damaging impact on people with good imagination. How can you isolate other systems from brain. All systems are affected adversely.

Dear Prof. Sharma,

Nice classification and description indeed!!!

Thanks.

Regards,

Nitish

Thanks everyone for sharing your views.

Seems very less number of horror movies lover are present here :-)

Regards,

Nitish

Although I don't have any scietific data to support my theory: I think that one important aspect contributing to the wide interest in the population and also the joy of this actually negatively valenced emotional arousal is that we are more or less consciously aware that it is not real, that we can switch off the TV or close our eyes at any time point. So it is enjoying a thrill which we can control.

This could be an explanation why we confront ourselves with these fear-evoking stimuli.

I did a literature search last November which resulted in two studies, which however were not comprehensive.

Studies:

Second study

Thanks Annette for sharing your views and materials.

Regards,

Nitish

Dear All,

I feel the human tendency is to know the unknown. People who are curious to know the unknown and also feel that by watching these movies they will certainly prove themselves that they are daring, usually watch horror movies. Each individual have different mindset and its all their interest area that they enjoy reading or watching fiction or horror stuff. The movie creators/directors are business man and they will make this stuff just to get more business from the ppl who watch horror movies. As far as the question regarding should we watch or not. It depends upon the age group, your mental status, your ability of daring, and personal traits.

Maybe it is an excitement for us 

@ Kamal: It is not impossible that violence is maybe slightly normalized by these movies. However, I don't think that this is a strong direct effect. My hypothesis is that a main effect is to either reduce arousal caused by violent and bloody pictures/films by habituation or by eventually increasing the emotion regulation skills when facing these stimuli.

Regarding violence: Being not a big horror movie fan myself, I don't think that violence is the main factor in horror movies (much more in action or similar movies). In horror movies the main factor is the suspense, this building-up of tension and arousal, the expectation/anticipation of something bad happening. The actual "discharge" of the suspense is probably the point that is associated with a peak in arousal, but also by a relief from the suspense.

However, these thoughts are only based on small sample sizes without intense scientific rigor ;-)

From a biological/chemical perspective, one explanation I've heard is that people watch and enjoy scary movies for the same reason they often enjoy roller coaster rides.  When people watch a scary movie, adrenaline is released into their systems.  This adrenaline is a stimulant, and it causes a surge of energy and an increase in attention and perception.  Some studies even claim that people can become addicted to adrenaline rushes in the same way they can become addicted to other stimulants (such as amphetamines), and such people, once addicted, continue to come back to scary movies and other adrenaline-releasing activities to get their "fix."

People who are addicted to the adrenaline rushes they experience during horror films are probably a large percentage of the consumer body for such films.  Other people who aren't addicted and who only watch scary movies every now and then (myself included) may do so just to get an occasional adrenaline rush or because they like something else about the film (for example, I love Alfred Hitchcock films, but because of the actors and cinematography, not just because of the suspense).

The logic behind making such films is probably that producers realize die-hard (no pun intended) horror fans need their horror fixes.  There will always be a market for horror films because they "hook" people for life on the adrenaline rushes.

I would argue that an occasional horror movie is fine, as long as it doesn't turn into an adrenaline-seeking addiction or obsession.  Adrenaline is naturally meant to be used by our bodies in real-life dangerous situations--when we need to run from something, for example--and repeatedly causing the body to respond to highly stressful situations in films could cause unwanted stress in the body.  Some research has shown that prolonged or frequent adrenaline rushes could lead to heart disease.

I suspect that it is pretty clear why horror movies are made: it is simply a business and a means of making money. On the other hand, I think the reason why people watch them and the the kind of effect it has on the individual very much depends on the individual.

It can be the suspense that is exciting for one individual while it may simply be enjoyable for another. It can simply scare some people while it can excite others.

I think one thing is clear though, it will either have a negative effect on the mind/brain or no lasting effect at all. But I can't imagine watching horror movies producing any sort of positive gain.

In an ideal world, I think we shouldn't have any horror movies, nor should we have any movies/games glorifying violence. We should teach peace and harmony at every level and such movies/games or other such media will clearly not help.

Thanks All for sharing your views.

Regards,

Nitish

@Baris

I totally agree with your point that In an ideal world, we shouldn't have anything glorifying violence. 

Regards,

Nitish