Short Wave – "Like Being Scared? Here’s Why"

NPR | Hosts: Regina Barber & Hannah Chin | Original Air Date: October 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the science of why people love being scared, particularly during Halloween. Hosts Regina Barber and producer Hannah Chin explore haunted houses as unique "fear laboratories," unpack the paradoxical fun of fright, and discuss how both individual psychology and social context shape our experiences with fear. Along the way, they hear from neuroscientists, sociologists, and cognitive scientists who use haunted attractions for cutting-edge research into human emotions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Journeys With Fear

• Hannah’s Confession:
  Hannah shares her transformation from childhood “scaredy cat” to haunted house enthusiast, even working at one after college.

  “I used to be a huge scaredy cat… I was afraid of the dark. I was afraid of big dogs. I was afraid of scary movies. You name it, I was afraid of it.” — Hannah Chin (01:10)

• Her experience suggests we can adapt—and even learn to love—what once scared us.

2. Haunted Houses as Unique Fear Laboratories

• Haunted Houses for Science:
  Scientists are fascinated by haunted houses because they offer a safe-yet-intense setting to study fear responses in real-world conditions.
  • Dr. Sarah Tasjan (University of Melbourne) explains:

    “Haunted houses have a benefit in that there are these really immersive experiences... it’s still ethically acceptable because people are consenting...” — Sarah Tasjan (02:39, 03:11)

3. The Paradox and "Sweet Spot" of Fear

• Why Do We Seek Fear?
  Cognitive behavioral scientist Dr. Mark Mamdorf Anderson (Recreational Fear Lab, Denmark) questions why humans deliberately pursue frightening experiences:

  “If you look at almost any textbook… fear is an evolved emotion designed to keep us away from stimuli that might harm us… But… humans spend so much… time pursuing precisely feeling this emotion.” (05:28)

• "The Inverted U-Curve":
  Research shows enjoyment peaks at a "just right" fear level—too little or too much isn’t fun.

  “Low amounts of fear resulted in low amount of enjoyment, but so did very high amounts... On the top of the rainbow, so to say, was where you find the highest level of enjoyment.” — Mark Mamdorf Anderson (06:43)

• Chili Pepper Analogy:
  Like spice tolerance, our personal "sweet spot" for fear can change with experience.

  “On one hand, consuming horror might also push your individual sweet spot.” — Mark Mamdorf Anderson (07:35)

4. Designing a Good Scare

• Sensory Balance & Anticipation:
  Sociologist Margie Kerr (University of Pittsburgh) consults on haunted house design, highlighting the importance of mixing different sensory stimuli.

  “Different sounds, different lights, different smells… building that sense of good stress and anxiety and anticipation…” — Margie Kerr (08:45)

• Physiology of Fear:
  The feelings of stress, excitement, suspense—the "arousal response"—are all linked physiologically.

  “Arousal that is not being calm... It’s the same brain structures that come online to say, gosh, this is important...” — Dr. Greg Siegel (09:54)

5. Emotion as a Globe, Not a Spectrum

• Emotion Model:
  Dr. Greg Siegel describes emotions as a globe—with high arousal (positive or negative) at the "North Pole."

  “Everything meets up at the North Pole, which is why we laugh at funerals and we have cute aggression. It’s so cute, I just want to squeeze it...” — Greg Siegel (10:33)

6. Social Dynamics: Fear Is Contagious

• Who You’re With Matters:
  Experiencing fear is affected by group context:
  • Heart Rate Sync: People’s heart rates synchronize with friends in haunted houses; they rate the experience as scarier when among friends. (12:08)
  • Arousal Response Higher in Groups: More friends = higher arousal, the opposite of “risk dilution” in animals.

    “Instead, our friends are mirroring our emotions.” — Sarah Tasjan (12:54)

  • Social Enhancement Extends to Other Experiences:

    “If they’re eating [chocolate] with someone else who also thinks it’s a really nice piece of chocolate, then the chocolate seems to taste better.” — Mark Mamdorf Anderson (13:06)

7. Why Do Some People Love Scares? (And Others Don’t?)

• Theories Abound, Definitive Answers Elusive:
  • Arousal Reset:

    “Experiencing something scary in a haunted house can kind of reset your baseline and make other things in the real world feel more manageable.” — Greg Siegel paraphrased by Hannah (13:38)

  • Learning and Prediction:

    “All that unpredictability is turned into predictability. In other words, you learn.” — Mark Mamdorf Anderson (14:19)

  • Context-Dependent Experiences:

    “Fear is not this one thing… It’s, you know, who we’re with, what we’re doing, what time of year, all of that comes into play. And so sometimes fun is scary… It’s really so dependent on context.” — Margie Kerr (14:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is like a Goldilocks… region of enjoying fear. Like, not too tame, not too scary, like, just right.”
  — Regina Barber (07:10)
• “It’s a lot like team sports. You’ve come together, you’ve won… your body feels that work… then you have that satisfaction of… overcoming something very scary, very challenging.”
  — Margie Kerr (11:07)
• On why people may chase scares:

  “He told me experiencing something scary in a haunted house can kind of reset your baseline and make other things in the real world feel more manageable.”
  — Hannah Chin on Dr. Greg Siegel’s theory (13:38)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Hannah’s Fear Journey & Haunted Houses as Science Labs:
  01:10–03:33
• The Paradox of Wanting Fear / The ‘Sweet Spot’:
  05:28–07:19
• Sensory Experiments & The Body’s Reaction to Scare:
  08:21–09:54
• Emotion Models & Shared Experience:
  10:11–12:08
• Social Contagion of Fear, Group Dynamics:
  12:08–13:29
• Why Some Love Scares (and Others Don’t), All About Context:
  13:38–14:52

Episode Takeaways

• Haunted houses are perfect real-world places to study fear because they are immersive, safe, and ethically acceptable experiments.
• There’s a “just right” level of fear for maximum enjoyment, which is unique and changeable for everyone.
• Our physiological arousal response is central to the experience—our bodies can’t always distinguish between stress, excitement, or anticipation.
• Who you experience fear with matters—a lot! Shared emotions amplify both fear and fun.
• We seek frightening experiences to recalibrate our emotions, test new situations, and build camaraderie.
• Ultimately, context rules: Why and how we enjoy fear depends on personality, life stage, companions, and the environment.

This summary covers the episode’s core discussions, research highlights, and includes memorable quotes with timestamps, preserving the lively and relatable tone of the Short Wave team.