[Reading Science] Why We Get Hooked on Horror Movies on a Midsummer Night

When Feeling Fear, Sympathetic Nervous System Activates
Cold Sweat and Cool Sensation Occur
'Sound' Is the Biggest Cause, Visual Blocking Also
There Is a Formula for Horror Movies,

In midsummer, horror films are popular. There is even a term called 'Nallyang (納凉·meaning feeling a cool breeze) special.' Recently, drama series such as 'Ak-gwi' and 'Madangi Itneun Jip' have been aired one after another, gaining popularity. Why do people like horror films in midsummer?

Poster of SBS drama 'Akgwi'.

When watching horror movies, people feel a chill that helps them forget the heat. This is because the feeling of fear activates the sympathetic nervous system. It causes constriction of blood vessels around the skin, reduces blood supply, and leads to cold sweat, which evaporates and creates a cooling sensation. So how do humans feel fear? It involves not only emotions but also the functioning of the brain's nervous system. Deep inside the temporal lobe of the brain is a structure called the amygdala, which is responsible for emotions and feelings. It is known to have evolved as a process to protect and help humans survive by deciding whether to avoid or confront threats. In fact, in 1937, a scientist removed the temporal lobes of monkeys, and afterward, they did not fear snakes or run away.

Then, through which sense do humans feel the most fear? It is sound, or hearing. The pathway for detecting danger signals through sound is the most developed. This is why horror movies are not scary at all when watched with the sound off. Horror creators appropriately use sound effects and music such as creaking doors, wind sounds, and screams to stimulate human fear. Even infrasound, sounds below 20Hz that humans cannot hear, can cause anxiety and fear as a type of vibration. In an experiment, concert audiences who were exposed to infrasound along with music reported feelings of tension, fear, anxiety, and sadness. There is also the so-called 'cursed song.' It is 'Gloomy Sunday,' released in 1933 by Hungarian pianist Rezs? Seress. It became famous as a song that led many people to extreme choices, coinciding with the gloomy times of that era.

Vision is also used as a material in horror films. Humans feel fear when vision is blocked and they rely only on other senses such as touch. This is why people are startled when they touch a squishy or cold object inside a box with their eyes closed. The movie 'Bird Box' is a representative example. People start to behave strangely, including committing suicide, after seeing something unknown outside the window, and the protagonists endure extreme fear by giving up sight and relying on sound to survive.

There is also research analyzing the fear level of horror movies based on these scientific facts. King's College London rated horror films considering factors such as tense sounds, unknown characters, chase scenes, traps, shocking scenes, realism, isolated situations, darkness, filming locations, number of main characters, number of characters bleeding, and clich?s. The result ranked Stanley Kubrick's film 'Shining' as number one.

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