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I ain’t afraid of no ghost

As Halloween creeps into our lives again, we prepare with the usual rituals: handing out sweet treats, donning ritual masks and spooking our friends. But if it weren’t Halloween, not a single person would enjoy being scared, so why is it only during this month we enjoy being spooked like this?

One major group who seeks scares for fun are the thrill seekers. Some people like to see horror films and get a heart-pumping, fast-paced thrill. Immersing themselves in the movie where they duck, dodge and outsmart the oogie-boogie monster trying to get them.

“It’s not that they truly enjoy being scared,” Glenn Sparks, professor of communication at Purdue University, said in an interview with the Purdue Exponent newspaper. “But they get great satisfaction being able to say that they conquered and mastered something that was threatening. They enjoy the feeling that they ‘made it through.'”

Though he also adds, “[They] may just be happy that the film is over.”

Personally, I find the scare tactic to be more of a game among friends rather than personal triumph over the monster. Sitting together with the lights off, sound turned up and killer front and center the unsaid challenge is laid bare: Do not be the first to wig out.

Anyone who does in fact show fear is then teased by the group until it’s their turn to do the same. Now, in this scenario much of the horror gives way to good-natured fun. Through our collective fear, we become closer in the end.

Whether you like the rush from beating Freddy Krueger or just like getting the cheap laugh, we’re one in the same. A widely agreed upon theory is that once Halloween hits, horror becomes a social experience. By being afraid together, we can band as one against the fear.

We gain laughs, gloating rights or even a protector, which is something that isn’t always guaranteed otherwise. During Halloween, we can all agree that it’s better to fear together than to fear alone.

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