[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/halloween-why-we-love-to-scare-ourselves-half-to-death\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/halloween-why-we-love-to-scare-ourselves-half-to-death\/","headline":"Halloween: Why we love to scare ourselves half to death","name":"Halloween: Why we love to scare ourselves half to death","description":"As it turns out, many of us love to scare ourselves half to death, especially during Halloween.\u00a0 We love to be in a state of panic \u2013 with our hearts beating a little faster, our lungs breathing a little harder, sweating profusely and butterflies in the pit of our stomachs \u2013 whenever we hear the […]","datePublished":"2022-10-25","dateModified":"2022-10-26","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/#Person","name":"Judith Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/","identifier":57,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/TVLine.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/TVLine.jpg","height":900,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/halloween-why-we-love-to-scare-ourselves-half-to-death\/","video":[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v2fdqf3LQ_c#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v2fdqf3LQ_c","name":"Sneak peek: Halloween Horror Nights 2022 at Universal Studios Singapore | CNA Lifestyle","description":"CNA Lifestyle braved the haunted house jump scares ahead of Halloween Horror Nights 10\u2019s opening on Nov 30. Who\u2019s joining? (Video: Genevieve Loh, Try Sutrisno Foo)\n\nRead more: https:\/\/cna.asia\/3BQxTvc\n\n#Singapore #UniversalStudiosSingapore #HalloweenHorrorNights\n\nSubscribe to our channel here: https:\/\/cna.asia\/youtubesub \r\n\r\nSubscribe to our news service on Telegram: https:\/\/cna.asia\/telegram\r\n\r\nFollow us:\r\nCNA: https:\/\/cna.asia\r\nCNA Lifestyle: http:\/\/www.cnalifestyle.com \r\nFacebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/channelnewsasia\r\nInstagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/channelnewsasia\r\nTwitter: https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/channelnewsasia","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/v2fdqf3LQ_c\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/v2fdqf3LQ_c\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/v2fdqf3LQ_c\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/v2fdqf3LQ_c\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/v2fdqf3LQ_c\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2022-09-28T05:43:30+00:00","duration":"PT2M","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v2fdqf3LQ_c","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC83jt4dlz1Gjl58fzQrrKZg#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC83jt4dlz1Gjl58fzQrrKZg","name":"CNA","description":"Welcome to the official CNA YouTube channel.\n\nBased in Singapore, CNA covers global developments with an Asian perspective. 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Little does he know that his gluttony will deliver him into the hands of a ghastly duo.\n\nThis is SNACKEROO, a Halloween special about haunted snacks and the endless cycle of consumerism. Happy Halloween - the scariest things are never seen. Created by nextofkin (@nextofkinfilms). \n\nSubscribe for the latest releases and more. \nFB: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nsftv\/\nIG: @nsftv\nYT: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/notsafefortv\n\n*All characters and events depicted in this film are entirely fictitious. 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Singaporeans who love a good scare can also board a haunted plane at the Singapore Discovery Centre, go to the Momok Drive-Thru at Kampong Wak Hassan, or sail on a ghost ship cruise along Pulau Blakang Mati, the former name of Sentosa.Still, non-horror fans do not understand why some enjoy screaming at ghosts, zombies and other monsters that jump out to scare.Clinical psychologist at Psych Connect Benjamin Low says, \u201cPhysiologically, many signs of increased sympathetic arousal in the nervous system are quite similar. Racing heartbeat, rapid breathing, dilating pupils and several changes occur regardless of whether the felt emotion is positive or negative.\u201d\u00a0He adds that it is actually the thrill rather than the fear that we are after.\u201cFear is not something pleasant and motivates us to run away. Thrill, however, can feel rewarding. That’s possibly why we love horror flicks, roller coasters, extreme sports, and so on. Thrill also entails a sense of control, whereas fear makes us feel bereft of that. These are why we love being \u2018scared\u2019,\u201d he says.The forbidden, bizarre and darkMr Low says humans like to get \u201ccaught up\u201d in other worlds and \u201cno other species has fiction\u201d.\u00a0\u201cThe feeling we get is one of fascination. Novels, sci-fi movies, even video game worlds can give us this. However, the ‘dark’ aspect may add a layer of thrill in addition to fascination,\u201d he adds.Someone who is drawn to \u201cthe forbidden, bizarre and dark\u201d is writer, director and filmmaker Jannah Zainol.\u00a0Writer, director and filmmaker Jannah Zainol (second from left) and her four friends enjoy watching horror movies, especially being kept at the edge of their seats, that they decide to make their own scare films. (Photo courtesy of Jannah Zainol)Speaking to TheHomeGround Asia from Britain, where she is now based, Jannah says, \u201cWe are a group of five friends who enjoy watching horror movies. We love the thrill, especially being at the edge of our seats. I love the music, the visuals that invoke the scary feeling.\u201dThis is the hormonal reaction called \u201cadrenaline rush\u201d and experts say this can motivate our love of being deliberately scared.\u201cWe are apparently drawn to this feeling. And it was after watching Ari Aster\u2019s horror-drama film Hereditary that my friends and I decided to create our own; something that is modern yet out of the ordinary that you don\u2019t expect in everyday life,\u201d she adds.Hereditary, which premiered in January 2018 at the Sundance Film Festival, is about a family haunted by a mysterious presence after the death of their secretive grandmother.In the short film Snackeroo, strange things are brewing in East Yishun. Resigned to his poor life, the protagonist gets sucked into an eerie commercial and into the hands of an eldritch duo. (Photo courtesy of Jannah Zainol)So, in the genre of the 1-Minute Horror Shorts, Jannah and her friends decided to create their own Halloween film called Snackeroo. It is a clip about an eerie commercial that lures an aimless man living in Yishun down the rabbit hole.\u00a0Snackeroo was uploaded onto Youtube in 2020 and garnered more than 958 views.Paranormal Podcast Host on Radio Paranormal Singapore Tim Oh says apart from the rush from getting \u00a0spooked by the supernatural, there is the ego where \u201cyou feel that while everyone else was petrified, we were the brave ones who stood our ground and maintained our composure amidst the scariest situations\u201d.\u00a0\u201cI think as much as people want to believe in the paranormal, we still have an inherent need to find some explanation to the unexplainable. We got to haunted houses in hopes we can find a logical and conventional reason for those creaking noises, those whispers in the dark or that shadow in the corner. Reason and rationale make the world easier to exist in,\u201d he says.Haunted house, horror movies: A form of escapismIn a recent commentary, Dr Zhang Kuangjie, an associate professor of Marketing at the Nanyang Business School in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) wrote that according to research, people who enjoy horror movies can simultaneously experience both fear and joy.Citing that going to the haunted house can be a form of escapism as it takes visitors far away from everyday humdrums to a world of the supernatural and outrunning monsters can be a surreal yet fun experience.He wrote that going to the haunted house provides a \u201cperfect venue to bond with friends\u201d.\u201cIn frightening situations, our body releases oxytocin, a hormone known to facilitate feelings of closeness and social interactions. The sense of relief when it all ends also triggers endorphins, the same \u2018happy hormones\u2019 released when we exercise or eat. Making it all the way through the haunted house and proving that we could handle all that anxiety also gives us a sense of satisfaction and confidence,\u201d he added.The fear factor in \u201cprankvertising\u201d\u201cBehaviours have a habit-forming potential. However, one is not addicted just because one engages in that behaviour a lot. The risk may be higher if this adrenalin-laden activity is used to compensate for distress in other areas of life,\u201d Mr Low says.\u00a0Research has also shown that people who enjoy being frightened have a mental \u201cprotective frame\u201d to enjoy being scared, especially when they know they are physically safe and have a sense of control in managing the perceived dangers encountered.While there may be a great sense of satisfaction when we can prove to ourselves we actually can handle more anxiety than we can imagine by vicariously living through the horror films, how do you react when you are faced with the horror yourself?\u00a0\u00a0In 2013, Brazilian TV designed a prank promotion to promote the DVD release of The Curse of Chucky. (Photo source: JayForce\/YouTube)In 2013, harnessing both the fear and thrill from the slasher cult movie Child\u2019s Play, Brazilian TV designed a prank promotion to promote the DVD release of The Curse of Chucky. It had a real-life Chucky doll smash through a bus stop advertisement, chasing terrified locals down the street.Such \u201cprankvertising\u201d has proven to be a powerful marketing tool, but the question is whether the videos had gone too, such as having pushed boundaries for scaring the public.\u00a0In the ad leading up to the release of the DVD, a knife-wielding man dressed as Chucky bursts through a lit up movie sign by a bus stop, sending terrified witnesses fleeing. (Photo source: JayForce\/YouTube)\u201cInciting fear in others can make us feel more powerful. For example, a morbidly jealous husband may make his wife scared. That then allays his jealous concerns (temporarily) as he may think that the fear will make her comply. Some couples may also find fear sexually arousing and engage in roleplay, such as BDSM. This is fine as long as it’s respectful and consensual,\u201d Mr Low says.\u201cHowever, if it’s a thrill we’re talking about, we like to get thrilled together because we feed off each others’ emotions. Imagine walking into the cinema to watch a horror show. You and your friends have read good reviews, are talking about it, and feel jittery as you anticipate what the movie will be like. It becomes a social bonding exercise,\u201d he adds.RELATED: Netflix adaptation of horror fiction series Mr Midnight to premiere on 24 OctoberJoin the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Halloween: Why we love to scare ourselves half to death","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/halloween-why-we-love-to-scare-ourselves-half-to-death\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]