What Happens to Your Body When You Watch a Scary Movie?

Nothing says Halloween like a good thrill, and horror films like “The Shining” and “Hereditary” might get you right into the spooky spirit.

If you enjoy recreational horror, a good scare could help reduce your anxiety. It sounds counterintuitive because horror is meant to induce fear, but people who feel nervous or anxious might be even more likely to enjoy horror movies.

Horror offers a controlled and predictable space for experiencing fear and anxiety, especially for people who feel pressured to hide their feelings, according to a preprint paper by Coltan Scrivner, PhD, a behavioral scientist at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark.

“Unlike anxiety stemming from the real world, horror fiction-induced anxiety is rooted in a clear source, is more easily managed, and has a clear timeframe,” Scrivner wrote.

The physiological changes that occur after a horror film may resemble the feeling of a “runner’s high” from aerobic exercise, according to Scrivner.

When you watch a horror film, some parts of your brain perceive the threat as real and activate your body's fight-or-flight response. Your heart starts to pound, increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, and your breathing gets faster to send oxygen to your body in preparation for action. Your muscles might get tense in anticipation of either having to flee or face the threat.

“This acute stress response can provide a thrill, helping us feel more alive and engaged with our environment,” Harold Hong, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and medical director of New Waters Recovery in North Carolina, told Verywell via email.

Fear can trigger the release of adrenaline and cortisol, the body’s stress hormones. Your brain also releases endorphins and dopamine because of the stimulation. Endorphins are hormones that alleviate pain and stress, while dopamine is a “feel-good” neurotransmitter that plays a role in mood regulation.

After a horror movie, these hormones can make you feel relieved and even rewarded for “surviving” the experience, making it a positive stressor.

However, if you have intense fear about horror films, you could experience residual stress or anxiety. You might find it hard to switch off the fear response, leading to trouble sleeping or persistent feelings of anxiety, Hong said, although this shouldn’t last too long.

“For those with underlying cardiovascular problems, the heightened physiological response to fear in horror movies could be a concern,” said Ryan Sultan, MD, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University.

But the temporary response to fear shouldn’t pose a threat to heart health for most people, Sultan added. As the adrenaline rush passes, the feelings should subside.

Beyond entertainment and adrenaline rush, horror films could also serve as a controlled way to confront fears and anxieties. For example, Sultan said, if you’re scared of spiders, you might find it easier to cope with the real-life presence of spiders after watching a movie about giant arachnids.

“It’s a bit like hitting the reset button on your emotions,” Sultan said.

As scary as a horror film can be, it can be therapeutic. If you're petrified of the horror genre but are curious, you can start with something less scary like "Get Out" and "Us"—and grab a friend to watch it with you this Halloween.