Why do we like to scare ourselves with ghost stories?
June 18th 2011 15:30
Humans are an odd bunch, they love scary stories and pay money to be scared out of their wits. Amusement parks cash in with scary rides and many touring companies have popped up in big cities to provide "haunted tours." So why do we love to be scared and why do ghost stories affect us the most?
Ghosts or spirits, depending how you look at the concept, are either admittedly denied by non-believers, embraced by believers or are just approached scientifically by those who want proof. This leads us to discussions on the subject that often starts in childhood.
Often our first encounter with the word "ghosts" is when we were small children. Halloween is how many of us are taught to believe about the existence of ghosts. Then there are the nights that we heard "something" in the closet or outside our door. We ran to our parents room and proudly announced that we just saw or heard a ghost. That was often answered with, "there is no such thing as ghosts, now go back to bed." So much for our childhood beliefs in ghosts.......they were dashed.
As we grew up, we often put ghosts into the realm of Hollywood movies, they are fun for an hour or two and then we go home. Short lived, scary and we feel safe. There are then those encounters with real ghosts that we have been taught that they are not real and if they are they are evil (as portrayed by Hollywood).
Evil sells and Hollywood knows it. Which movie would sell more tickets, a family man that overcomes his fears and talks to the resident ghost in his house or the family who is attacked by ghosts and chased out of their home?
Ghosts have been portrayed as something to scare us because we love to be scared. Being scared gives us an Adrenalin rush and many of us like that feeling so we scare ourselves again and again. Yes, being scared is a hormonal thing and we love it.
Ghosts or spirits, depending how you look at the concept, are either admittedly denied by non-believers, embraced by believers or are just approached scientifically by those who want proof. This leads us to discussions on the subject that often starts in childhood.
Often our first encounter with the word "ghosts" is when we were small children. Halloween is how many of us are taught to believe about the existence of ghosts. Then there are the nights that we heard "something" in the closet or outside our door. We ran to our parents room and proudly announced that we just saw or heard a ghost. That was often answered with, "there is no such thing as ghosts, now go back to bed." So much for our childhood beliefs in ghosts.......they were dashed.
As we grew up, we often put ghosts into the realm of Hollywood movies, they are fun for an hour or two and then we go home. Short lived, scary and we feel safe. There are then those encounters with real ghosts that we have been taught that they are not real and if they are they are evil (as portrayed by Hollywood).
Evil sells and Hollywood knows it. Which movie would sell more tickets, a family man that overcomes his fears and talks to the resident ghost in his house or the family who is attacked by ghosts and chased out of their home?
Ghosts have been portrayed as something to scare us because we love to be scared. Being scared gives us an Adrenalin rush and many of us like that feeling so we scare ourselves again and again. Yes, being scared is a hormonal thing and we love it.
| 25 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog