Nina Metz: Fear is fun (for some of us): Why we’re drawn to horror and scary movies

I cannot watch scary movies. I know my limits. For me, fully make-believe scenarios conjure lasting fears, which is why I am forever fascinated that plenty of audiences have the opposite reaction. Why are we — well, you — drawn to horror films?

I’ve given this some thought and I wonder if part of it is the controlled setting: Despite whatever you’re seeing on screen, you can safely experience a big emotion like fear because you know none of it is real. You’re never actually in danger. And when the credits roll, maybe there’s a subconscious thrill of survival: You felt extreme terror and came out on the other side alive. Take that, fear!

“I think you’re partly right, at least for some people,” said Coltan Scrivner, a researcher at the University of Chicago who examines this phenomenon. One