Why pay for horror films and haunted houses? Le Journal du CNRS, writing in French, explains that fear is enjoyable at the right dose. Horror soundtracks use 'roughness', a rapid wobble in loudness found in distress cries, which the brain reads as danger. A Danish haunted-house study found enjoyment peaked at moderate fear and dropped when it became overwhelming.

The second ingredient is reappraisal: the brain flags a threat, then recognises it is safe, which often ends in laughter. Consent, fiction and distance all help, and horror fans show a link between fear and pleasure that others lack. A racing heart alone cannot tell pleasure from terror. For skeptics, it shows how thrills and dread can be explained by the brain, without anything supernatural.

Source: Erwan Dubois, Le Journal du CNRS (French) (2026-11-06)

Summarised by the FTI newsdesk.