(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

Tami’s heart is beating faster. In the movie, a teenager hears a noise in the basement late at night. He slowly walks down the dark stairs. Tami closes her fingers tightly. Her eyes open wide. Then she covers them as the teenager gets to the bottom. When the movie is finished, she immediately starts looking for another scary one for next week.

People like Tami often feel uncomfortable when they watch scary or horror movies. However, when they choose a movie to watch, they often choose this type. In fact, in the past 10 years, the number of people watching scary movies has increased faster than any other type, for example, adventure, action, drama and comedy.

Psychologists have found interesting reasons why people enjoy these movies.

(See complete article below.)

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the 17th article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise. 

                                           Why We Love To Be Scared

Tami’s heart is beating faster. In the movie, a teenager hears a noise in the basement late at night. He slowly walks down the dark stairs. Tami closes her fingers tightly. Her eyes open wide. Then she covers them as the teenager gets to the bottom. When the movie is finished, she immediately starts looking for another scary one for next week.

People like Tami often feel uncomfortable when they watch scary or horror movies. However, when they choose a movie to watch, they often choose this type. In fact, in the past 10 years, the number of people watching scary movies has increased faster than any other type, for example, adventure, action, drama and comedy.

Psychologists have found interesting reasons why people enjoy these movies.

When we watch these movies, our hearts may beat faster, our muscles may feel tighter, and we may get a sudden feeling of excitement. It’s similar to how we feel when we ride a roller coaster. In both situations, our bodies and emotions react strongly. But our minds understand that nothing bad can happen to us. Even when the teenager goes into the dark basement, we remember that we are just watching in our room or at the theater. We enjoy the feeling of our emotions going up and down during the move and then the relief when the scary part ends.

Also, many people are curious or interested in things that might be dangerous. These can be things that are not real or things they hear about in the news. For example, when people see a car accident on the side of the road, they often slow down to look. They don’t want anyone to be hurt, but they want to understand what happened. People watch horror movies for the same reason. In one movie, for example, a man cannot control his mind, so he does some crimes and hurts people. While watching the movie, viewers may think, “This could happen to anyone.” They feel surprised when something unexpected happens, and they are curious to see how the police will catch him before he hurts more people.

Imagine two friends watching a scary movie. A loud noise happens and both of them jump or even scream. Then they laugh together. This moment makes them feel closer, because they experienced the same strong feeling at the same time. This is called bonding. They feel the same emotions, for example, fear, excitement and nervousness, but they know that they are safe, so they can enjoy it together.

People love scary movies for many reasons. They enjoy the strong emotions, they are curious about danger, and they like sharing the experience with others. Even though scary movies make us feel afraid for a moment, they also give us excitement, surprise, and a feeling of connection with the people around us.

Here is the link to the article and exercises that you can use with your students: why we love to be scaried ARTICLES AND EXERCISES

David Kehe
Faculty Emeritus

*About the free-download materials. During my 40 years of teaching ESL, I have had many colleagues who were very generous with their time, advice and materials. These downloads are my way of paying it forward.