Fear Fanatics: Buckle your seatbelts

America has an obsession with fear. We covet the most terrifying and gruesome movies Hollywood can produce, line up for miles to ride the most intense, bone jarring roller-coasters in existence, bungee-jump, sky dive, and pull other ridiculous stunts that produce the all-too endearing “adrenaline rush”. Anything that gets our hearts pounding and our adrenaline pumping is automatically on our radar.

Psychology teacher Jim Smith explains the psychology behind thrill seeking. “Psychologically, or even biologically, [people enjoy thrills] because of the adrenaline rush. Serotonin [a body chemical known to induce feelings of happiness] is emitted…and… for some it is an exhilarating experience.”

However, there are those who don’t enjoy being scared. “Some people get off on adrenaline rushes, others don’t,” says Smith. “For some that adrenaline rush is pleasurable, while for others it can be a frightening experience…[I, for one], hate horror movies; they scare me. But, other people like them, because the fear gets their adrenaline going and they get charged up by it.”

Explaining the effect of such excitation, junior Ian Barrie says, “It’s a great feeling after [an adrenaline rush]… During a horror movie, putting yourself in the movie, and seeing it through the characters eyes is great, because…once it’s all over and done with, you’re still there, and you feel really alive…[Theme parks and scary movies] are a way for you to experience excitement in your life without any danger.”

In America, there is even a day dedicated to thrill-seeking: Halloween. America’s youth literally flock to the streets in search of anything that can quicken heart-rates, anything from sugar rushes to haunted houses. Events like Great America’s “Fright Fest” draw crowds from miles around with the promise of roller-coasters, haunted houses and countless other ghoulish ways to obtain an adrenaline high.

“I’m interested in going to Fright Fest because it’s a lot of fun to get scared…and it really gets your adrenaline going” says senior Dominique Hebert. “[ During fright night] a lot of the fun comes from the fact that you know you are safe, so you don’t have to actually get too freaked out. Usually [my friends and I] end up making a huge joke out of it and laughing.”

“I would definitely go to [Fear Fest] around Halloween, but I’m not sure if I would go in another time of the year,” adds Hebert.

There’s no denying that people seem more willing to be scared in late October. The weeks leading up to Halloween are filled with haunted houses, scary movies and plenty of other creepy thrills. As Halloween approaches, fear-seeking behavior seems to become more and more common.

Explaining the psychology behind people’s behavior around Halloween, Smith says, “I wouldn’t necessarily associate it with fear, as much as the aspect of dressing up…which could affect, psychologically, how people act on Halloween, in terms of their alter ego, and how they’d like to be perceived. So that’s not really a fear factor as much as people dressing up and acting kind of crazy,” says Mr. Smith.

“I think people are more likely to do more adventurous things when you can’t tell it’s them,” says Barrie.

The evolving ways in which people celebrate Halloween is also something to note. As children, many people go trick-or-treating, carve pumpkins and tell ghost stories. But as they grow older, trick-or-treating becomes partying, carving pumpkins becomes thrill seeking, and ghost stories become horror movies.

“You change how you celebrate Halloween as you get older. [This happens because] as you get older, you have the ability to do things that you couldn’t have as a kid,” says Barrie.

“I wonder if there’s not something that’s hardwired from childhood [that decides] how willing someone is to seek thrills,” says Smith. “Certainly one of the things as you mature is that there are definitely more opportunities.”

In America, the opportunities to get your heart pumping are endless. From horror movies to fear fests, it truly is a land of plenty. Perhaps it’s the ease of obtaining an adrenaline rush in our society that drive us towards thrill seeking, or perhaps it’s our own unique American mindset that leads to our obsession. Regardless of which explanation is chosen, in America, days like Halloween are always exhilarating.