It’s Friday the 13th, the day when all the ghosts, goblins, monsters under your bed, crazy killers and eerie spirits that inhabit those dark corners of your house, come out to play. It’s very traditional for people to get together on this day, organise watch parties and binge-watch some horror movies while snacking on popcorn. This is a tradition that I have been religiously following for years now. Every year, I would invite my best friends and cousins, deck the room with spooky decorations, make some sandwiches with scary faces along with some interesting snacks and of course, get the horror movie marathon going, at least till 3 in the morning. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?
Well, I was recently informed otherwise. A friend told me that horror movies aren’t supposed to be good for you and they take a toll on you. Well, if you have a “concerned friend” like mine who has told you the same, I’m here to tell you to keep the scary plans rolling because they couldn’t be more wrong. Watching horror movies is surprisingly good for you!
I’m not just saying this because they are incredibly entertaining or I’m obsessed with them, there’s a method to my madness. You see, horror movies are a brilliant distraction from your actual life. They are well-built pieces of fiction that engross, shock and thrill your mind at the same time which is why I don’t think a better distraction exists for those moments when you just cannot deal with life anymore. But the good part doesn’t just stop there.
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Horror and anxiety are a magical yet unlikely duo. According to Coltan Scrivner, a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago who studies horror movies, people who suffer from anxiety are more likely to be horror movie fans. This is mainly because anxiety makes your brain react differently to situations. People with anxiety tend to always remain in a ‘flight or fight mode’ which means that their bodies don’t get the time to relax and calm down. Horror movies give them this time and space.
They steal focus from the thoughts in our mind, refocus our brain away from real-life anxieties and help us return to a relaxed state of pure relief which is also known as the ‘rest and digest’ stage. Horror movies have the same impact on people without anxiety, for them, this is known as de-stressing from everyday life.
Horror movies also go one step ahead and teach you to appreciate, accept and make friends with fear. Margaret J. King, director of the Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis believes that watching horror movies teaches you to stay calm in the face of fear. After all, it’s how our mind processes, right? When you expose yourself to something that induces fear, over time, you realise that it cannot hurt you. It gives you the confidence to look fear in the face and be like, “oh, I can survive this.”
Ironically, while we’re talking about mental health, it is necessary to note that it is these horror movies that are responsible for dissecting mental health to try to understand and educate the masses about the same. One of the very first examples of this phenomenon runs back to 1920 when the silent film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari managed to shock and educate people to an entirely new level. It boldly delved into the mind of an unstable character and unearthed mental illness like never before. Despite its portrayal of the mentally ill as villainous, it changed the psychology of filmmaking for the next 100 years.
Even apart from our mental health, horror movies have positive effects on our survival skills too. After having binge-watched The Walking Dead and various other movies like that, my mind always assesses a room, the minute I walk into it. It’s an automatic process that helps me plan an escape route and locate everything in the room that can be used to my advantage in vulnerable situations. I know this doesn’t just happen to me, it’s a very common occurrence, especially in women.
Horror movies and true crime documentaries prepare us to plan for the worst while we enjoy the best. If you have watched Only Murders In The Building, you will relate this to Selena Gomez’s character who has the plan to escape and even kill an intruder who dares to enter her apartment. Thanks to horror movies, we know we can make it out alive, no matter what. Tell me that isn’t a crazy advantage. I dare you.
Also Read: 5 Horror Books That Will Give You The Creeps And Chills!
So, the next time someone questions your plans, give them a nice speech. fill their mouths up with popcorn and then invite them to join you for a nice, relaxing and fulfilling horror movie marathon, they need it. Don’t they?