0:00:18.791,0:00:22.039 I really don't like[br]to watch horror films alone. 0:00:22.039,0:00:24.537 That stuff is terrifying, you know. 0:00:24.867,0:00:27.838 I'm sure many of you[br]recognize this situation. 0:00:27.838,0:00:29.206 You put on a horror film, 0:00:29.206,0:00:30.575 you turn down the lights, 0:00:30.575,0:00:33.472 turn up the volume, and sit back. 0:00:33.472,0:00:36.477 You're watching as monsters[br]come creeping out of the dark 0:00:36.477,0:00:38.503 in search of prey. 0:00:38.503,0:00:41.280 Your heart goes out[br]to the poor characters in the film, 0:00:41.280,0:00:45.400 and you start squirming in your seat[br]as the monsters get closer. 0:00:45.683,0:00:47.745 Your pulse accelerates, 0:00:47.745,0:00:49.267 your palms get sweaty, 0:00:49.267,0:00:52.028 and your hair stands on end. 0:00:52.468,0:00:55.314 This is when you begin[br]to throw nervous glances 0:00:55.314,0:00:57.538 into the corners of the room. 0:00:58.038,0:00:59.853 What was that sound? 0:00:59.853,0:01:01.858 Surely it didn't come from the television? 0:01:02.882,0:01:05.441 Was that movement in the shadows? 0:01:06.381,0:01:08.075 The horror that's on the screen 0:01:08.075,0:01:11.297 bleeds in through your system[br]and into the surroundings. 0:01:11.297,0:01:14.869 The world around you[br]turns threatening and scary. 0:01:14.869,0:01:17.718 You cover your eyes, but it doesn't help. 0:01:17.718,0:01:19.580 Pretty soon, you'll have to switch off. 0:01:19.580,0:01:23.671 But even though you shut off the film,[br]your heart keeps hammering away. 0:01:24.191,0:01:26.547 You'll probably have nightmares tonight. 0:01:26.997,0:01:30.121 Still, maybe you ought[br]to put the film back on. 0:01:30.121,0:01:32.300 You are kind of curious, after all. 0:01:32.940,0:01:34.930 That's my Saturday night in a nutshell. 0:01:34.930,0:01:35.926 (Laughter) 0:01:35.926,0:01:38.522 Anybody else ever been in that situation? 0:01:40.052,0:01:42.428 Of all the strange things that humans do, 0:01:42.428,0:01:46.073 watching horror films[br]has got to be one of the strangest. 0:01:46.073,0:01:49.326 It's also a really interesting behavior,[br]scientifically speaking. 0:01:49.568,0:01:52.714 As a horror researcher,[br]I have thought about it a lot. 0:01:52.714,0:01:54.025 Why do we do it? 0:01:54.025,0:01:56.402 Why do we watch horror films[br]and read horror novels 0:01:56.402,0:01:58.512 and play horror video games? 0:01:58.512,0:02:03.246 And why are there so many spooky creatures[br]in our worlds of make-believe? 0:02:03.246,0:02:04.787 And what is horror? 0:02:05.587,0:02:09.350 Horror is a kind of entertainment[br]that's designed to spook people, 0:02:09.350,0:02:13.615 to make them scream and shiver with fear[br]and break out in a cold sweat. 0:02:13.615,0:02:16.021 Think Stephen King[br]and "Paranormal Activity" 0:02:16.021,0:02:18.029 and "The Exorcist." 0:02:18.439,0:02:22.431 It's a consistently popular[br]and profitable genre. 0:02:22.431,0:02:27.317 Stephen King has sold[br]more than 350 million books worldwide. 0:02:27.317,0:02:29.637 In the last 20 years,[br]in the United States, 0:02:29.637,0:02:33.400 horror films grossed[br]close to 8 billion dollars. 0:02:33.400,0:02:34.874 It's weird. 0:02:34.874,0:02:40.405 It's weird because horror is by definition[br]designed to make its audience feel bad. 0:02:40.405,0:02:42.931 A good horror film[br]inspires negative emotion. 0:02:42.931,0:02:47.746 It makes us feel disgust and dread[br]and terror and anxiety and fear. 0:02:48.376,0:02:49.377 Let me ask you - 0:02:49.377,0:02:52.461 how many of you seek out[br]horror films from time to time? 0:02:52.461,0:02:53.542 Show of hands, please. 0:02:53.542,0:02:55.940 Raise your hand if you[br]sometimes seek out horror. 0:02:57.285,0:02:59.062 Okay, that's about half. 0:02:59.062,0:03:00.826 That matches my own research. 0:03:00.826,0:03:02.118 Along with some colleagues, 0:03:02.118,0:03:05.061 I'm looking into the personality[br]profile of horror fans, 0:03:05.061,0:03:07.152 and we're finding that more than half, 0:03:07.152,0:03:08.922 or about 54%, 0:03:08.922,0:03:11.777 answer in the affirmative[br]in response to the statement 0:03:11.777,0:03:14.185 "I tend to enjoy horror media." 0:03:14.755,0:03:18.175 Only 29% say they don't agree[br]with this statement, 0:03:18.175,0:03:20.967 and the remaining 17%[br]can't make up their mind. 0:03:20.967,0:03:22.099 (Laughter) 0:03:22.099,0:03:25.521 You know, they're probably the ones[br]who would die first in a horror film. 0:03:25.521,0:03:27.048 (Laughter) 0:03:27.300,0:03:30.176 Next would be the ones[br]who say they don't like horror. 0:03:30.176,0:03:31.206 (Laughter) 0:03:31.206,0:03:32.529 Anyway, 0:03:34.192,0:03:35.623 people really do tend to like 0:03:35.623,0:03:38.626 the kind of entertainment[br]that's designed to make them feel bad. 0:03:38.626,0:03:41.625 Why is that the case?[br]And how does horror even work? 0:03:42.015,0:03:44.599 Those are the kinds of questions[br]I've been researching, 0:03:44.599,0:03:46.261 and here is what I've found out. 0:03:47.151,0:03:49.003 Horror, in whatever medium, 0:03:49.003,0:03:52.840 from films and literature[br]to video games and virtual reality, 0:03:52.840,0:03:58.712 works by exploiting an ancient and evolved[br]set of biological defense mechanisms. 0:03:58.712,0:04:01.493 Let's call it the "evolved fear system." 0:04:02.093,0:04:04.231 If we want to understand[br]how that system works 0:04:04.231,0:04:06.254 and why it became part of human nature, 0:04:06.254,0:04:09.988 we have to look at the evolutionary[br]history of our species. 0:04:10.308,0:04:12.272 Now, our evolutionary ancestors 0:04:12.272,0:04:15.636 found themselves in a world[br]that was full of danger. 0:04:15.636,0:04:18.444 There was the threat[br]from predators and creepy-crawlies 0:04:18.444,0:04:21.234 and invisible microorganisms or disease, 0:04:21.234,0:04:23.765 and the threat from other humans. 0:04:23.765,0:04:25.312 In response to those dangers, 0:04:25.312,0:04:28.483 our ancestors gradually[br]evolved a fear system 0:04:28.483,0:04:31.551 that would keep them alert and alive. 0:04:31.881,0:04:36.825 In other words, our species evolved[br]to be hypervigilant and highly fearful 0:04:36.825,0:04:39.303 because being hypervigilant[br]and highly fearful 0:04:39.303,0:04:42.434 kept our ancestors alive[br]in a dangerous world. 0:04:42.814,0:04:46.517 The world may now be less dangerous[br]than it was in ancestral times, 0:04:46.517,0:04:48.385 at least in terms of predation: 0:04:48.385,0:04:50.289 we're not in any immediate danger 0:04:50.289,0:04:54.029 of being attacked by a saber-toothed cat[br]on our way home from work. 0:04:54.029,0:04:56.722 But we are no less vigilant[br]and no less fearful 0:04:56.840,0:04:59.387 than our evolutionary ancestors. 0:04:59.777,0:05:04.361 And horror entertainment takes advantage[br]of that aspect of human nature. 0:05:04.991,0:05:10.741 So horror entertainment works[br]by transporting us imaginatively 0:05:10.741,0:05:14.158 into virtual worlds[br]that are full of danger. 0:05:14.158,0:05:15.775 In horror films and literature, 0:05:15.775,0:05:20.867 we follow and mirror protagonists[br]as they confront terrifying threats. 0:05:21.447,0:05:24.461 Take Stephen King's[br]"The Shining," for example. 0:05:24.461,0:05:28.169 Here, we follow a family[br]who is snowed in at a haunted hotel. 0:05:28.859,0:05:30.587 In the novel's most famous scene, 0:05:30.587,0:05:34.255 the young boy, Danny, goes into room 217. 0:05:34.715,0:05:38.018 He walks nervously around the room[br]and into the bathroom 0:05:38.018,0:05:41.363 where a hotel guest killed herself[br]some years before. 0:05:42.173,0:05:44.420 The hotel is now supposed to be[br]empty of guests, 0:05:44.420,0:05:48.469 but to Danny's surprise,[br]there is somebody in the bathtub - 0:05:48.469,0:05:49.976 or some thing. 0:05:50.526,0:05:53.435 To Danny's horror, it's a corpse. 0:05:54.145,0:05:56.752 It's the corpse of the woman[br]who killed herself. 0:05:56.752,0:05:57.794 She's lying there, 0:05:57.794,0:06:01.397 bloated and purple[br]and with glassy, wide eyes. 0:06:01.397,0:06:04.832 She's rotting like meat[br]festering in the trash. 0:06:05.292,0:06:07.489 And then she starts to get up. 0:06:08.589,0:06:11.117 King provides a detailed[br]and really vivid description 0:06:11.117,0:06:12.528 of this moving corpse, 0:06:12.528,0:06:16.123 and as readers, we are forced[br]to hold that image in our minds. 0:06:16.123,0:06:17.366 That's bad enough. 0:06:17.366,0:06:19.366 But we're also given[br]a detailed description 0:06:19.366,0:06:21.829 of Danny's response to the situation. 0:06:21.829,0:06:25.485 We learn that he tries to scream[br]and wets himself. 0:06:25.485,0:06:28.503 We are made to mirror[br]his fear and revulsion, 0:06:28.503,0:06:32.336 and that strengthens our own responses[br]to the horrible image. 0:06:32.336,0:06:33.503 Our fear and revulsion 0:06:33.503,0:06:38.395 become mixed with sympathetic anxiety[br]for a character in danger. 0:06:38.395,0:06:41.008 It's a strong emotional cocktail. 0:06:42.708,0:06:47.135 Interactive and live-action media[br]turn the screw on horror entertainment. 0:06:47.625,0:06:49.208 Horror video games, for example, 0:06:49.208,0:06:55.406 make you feel as if you're the protagonist[br]in a digital world populated by monsters. 0:06:55.406,0:06:56.787 In a haunted attraction, 0:06:56.787,0:07:01.201 visitors walk through scary sets[br]populated by scare actors. 0:07:01.621,0:07:04.010 Here's a picture[br]from Dystopia Haunted House, 0:07:04.010,0:07:06.267 Denmark's scariest haunt. 0:07:06.267,0:07:07.986 What you see is a couple of visitors 0:07:07.986,0:07:11.432 who were confronted[br]by a big guy with a machete. 0:07:11.432,0:07:12.749 He's called "Le Chef," 0:07:12.749,0:07:15.251 and you can take a guess[br]at what's on the menu here. 0:07:15.251,0:07:16.759 (Laughter) 0:07:17.389,0:07:21.687 Around 5,000 people[br]pay for this every Halloween, 0:07:21.687,0:07:25.133 and around 300 visitors never make it[br]all the way through the haunt. 0:07:25.133,0:07:26.133 (Laughter) 0:07:26.133,0:07:28.963 They have to abort their visit[br]because it's too scary. 0:07:29.137,0:07:33.253 They have fainted from fear,[br]and they have wet themselves in terror. 0:07:33.623,0:07:35.254 Why do they do it? 0:07:35.844,0:07:37.184 Why do people pay good money 0:07:37.184,0:07:39.344 to experience true fear[br]and genuine terror 0:07:39.344,0:07:41.470 like the people in this picture? 0:07:42.940,0:07:45.510 They do it because they have[br]an evolved appetite 0:07:45.510,0:07:49.169 for vicarious experience[br]with threat scenarios. 0:07:49.169,0:07:51.915 And those scenarios,[br]our horror entertainment, 0:07:51.915,0:07:57.316 work because they are structured[br]to target the evolved fear system. 0:07:58.656,0:08:01.753 Just consider the monsters[br]that populate our horror entertainment, 0:08:01.753,0:08:05.012 from scary folk tales[br]to haunted attractions. 0:08:05.012,0:08:08.074 Such monsters are universal[br]in the human imagination, 0:08:08.074,0:08:12.473 and the most horrifying ones[br]reflect ancestral threats. 0:08:14.023,0:08:16.677 Just think of the enormous[br]white shark from "Jaws." 0:08:16.677,0:08:17.680 You know - 0:08:17.680,0:08:21.499 (Hums "Jaws" theme song)[br]doo doo; doo doo; doo doo. 0:08:21.939,0:08:27.027 The threat depicted here is the threat[br]from an enormous, man-eating predator. 0:08:27.027,0:08:31.043 That kind of threat really captures[br]our attention and sparks our imagination 0:08:31.043,0:08:33.810 by engaging the evolved fear system. 0:08:34.230,0:08:36.394 Now, the film itself[br]is pretty unrealistic, 0:08:36.394,0:08:37.923 but that doesn't matter. 0:08:37.923,0:08:41.859 Horror monsters don't[br]have to be realistic to frighten us; 0:08:41.859,0:08:44.387 they have to engage[br]the evolved fear system. 0:08:44.387,0:08:49.694 They have to have qualities that match[br]or overmatch those of ancestral dangers. 0:08:49.694,0:08:53.005 And the white shark in "Jaws"[br]has that in spades. 0:08:53.005,0:08:55.379 It's like an ancestral predator on speed - 0:08:55.379,0:08:59.004 faster, bigger, stronger,[br]and much more dangerous. 0:08:59.354,0:09:01.138 Media psychologists have documented 0:09:01.138,0:09:04.764 how thousands of people[br]were traumatized by "Jaws." 0:09:05.204,0:09:08.811 Many viewers even became afraid [br]of swimming in pools and freshwater lakes 0:09:08.811,0:09:10.688 after watching the film. 0:09:10.822,0:09:12.152 (Laughter) 0:09:13.356,0:09:17.494 Consider another well-known[br]and highly unrealistic monster: 0:09:17.494,0:09:18.716 the zombie. 0:09:18.716,0:09:21.362 Now, zombies don't exist[br]in the real world, 0:09:21.362,0:09:24.874 and we have no archaeological evidence[br]to suggest that they ever did. 0:09:24.874,0:09:28.959 But every well-raised child is able[br]to mimic the behavior of a zombie. 0:09:28.959,0:09:30.712 You know, their groaning, 0:09:31.132,0:09:32.324 (Zombie groans) 0:09:32.324,0:09:34.526 the outstretched but limp arms, 0:09:34.886,0:09:37.152 and the classic stumbling walk. 0:09:37.832,0:09:41.322 The monster has really infected[br]our popular culture in a big way. 0:09:42.013,0:09:43.685 A zombie is a terrifying concept 0:09:43.685,0:09:46.419 because it effectively targets[br]the evolved fear system. 0:09:46.419,0:09:50.244 In fact, the zombie targets[br]the fear system from two angles 0:09:50.244,0:09:52.687 because it combines[br]the threat of predation 0:09:52.687,0:09:54.836 with the threat of contagion. 0:09:54.836,0:09:57.635 A zombie is a predator -[br]it wants to eat you. 0:09:57.635,0:10:01.286 It is also contagious -[br]it will infect you with its disease. 0:10:01.286,0:10:05.541 It is visibly decomposing,[br]creeping with rotten pathogens. 0:10:05.541,0:10:07.163 I mean, look at the poor creature. 0:10:07.163,0:10:08.452 (Laughter) 0:10:08.953,0:10:10.183 Shoo. 0:10:13.472,0:10:15.082 (Laughter) 0:10:15.082,0:10:17.080 (Applause) 0:10:25.584,0:10:29.414 You can tell that these horror monsters[br]engage the evolved fear system 0:10:29.414,0:10:32.067 from the behavioral[br]and physiological effects 0:10:32.067,0:10:33.631 of the good horror film. 0:10:33.631,0:10:36.883 You know, the goose bumps[br]and the hammering heart and the screams. 0:10:36.883,0:10:39.564 These are all evolved defensive reactions. 0:10:39.564,0:10:41.841 Goose bumps are a relic[br]from a distant past, 0:10:41.841,0:10:43.593 when we were covered in fur. 0:10:43.593,0:10:47.256 The goose bumps, or piloerection,[br]would make our fur stand on end 0:10:47.256,0:10:50.481 and so make us look bigger[br]to scare off an attacker. 0:10:50.481,0:10:53.093 Cats do the same thing, by the way. 0:10:53.093,0:10:55.952 Our hearts beat faster[br]to pump blood to the big muscle groups 0:10:55.952,0:10:58.635 so that we're ready for fight or flight. 0:10:58.635,0:11:01.832 And screams send a signal[br]to other people - 0:11:01.832,0:11:04.933 a signal for them to help[br]or get the hell away. 0:11:05.373,0:11:07.969 Horror taps into the evolved fear system, 0:11:07.969,0:11:09.825 but that's not all. 0:11:09.825,0:11:13.027 Horror can help us calibrate that system. 0:11:13.657,0:11:16.955 It's like when you take your car[br]to the mechanic for a checkup. 0:11:17.545,0:11:20.729 The mechanic carefully goes through[br]all the vital parts of the car, 0:11:20.729,0:11:22.069 and he or she will make sure 0:11:22.069,0:11:25.347 that the airbags and the anti-lock[br]braking system work. 0:11:25.827,0:11:27.450 Hopefully, you'll never need them, 0:11:27.450,0:11:29.593 because you don't want[br]to get into a situation 0:11:29.593,0:11:31.213 that requires an airbag to deploy, 0:11:31.213,0:11:33.721 but you certainly want them to work. 0:11:33.721,0:11:35.802 Same with the fear system. 0:11:35.802,0:11:38.955 Through exposure to horror,[br]you give it a test run, 0:11:38.955,0:11:42.321 make sure it works properly,[br]and keep it nicely tuned. 0:11:43.211,0:11:46.496 Horror lets us learn[br]what it feels like to be truly afraid, 0:11:46.496,0:11:49.643 and it lets us learn[br]how to handle negative emotions. 0:11:49.778,0:11:53.126 It lets us maintain[br]and refine coping skills 0:11:53.126,0:11:57.260 that we may apply in critical[br]situations in our own lives. 0:11:58.380,0:12:00.929 There isn't yet much[br]experimental research into this, 0:12:00.929,0:12:04.377 but we do have some support[br]from psychological science. 0:12:04.887,0:12:06.199 One study suggests 0:12:06.199,0:12:10.024 that hardcore horror fans[br]require more extreme stimulation 0:12:10.024,0:12:11.802 than do less avid fans, 0:12:11.802,0:12:13.430 which means that the hardcore fans 0:12:13.430,0:12:18.083 build up some resistance[br]to fear-provoking stimuli, with exposure. 0:12:18.573,0:12:22.452 Other research suggests[br]that by exposing ourselves to horror, 0:12:22.452,0:12:26.864 we build a sense of mastery,[br]which may be transferred to our own lives. 0:12:26.864,0:12:30.913 In this way, horror can help us find[br]and even expand our limits 0:12:30.913,0:12:34.122 for how much negative[br]stimulation we can handle. 0:12:34.542,0:12:36.579 I'm not sure I'd be standing here today 0:12:36.579,0:12:39.247 if I hadn't forced myself[br]to watch all those horror films 0:12:39.247,0:12:40.984 in the name of science. 0:12:40.984,0:12:44.113 Sure, my heart is hammering[br]and my palms are a little sweaty, 0:12:44.113,0:12:47.452 but you guys are a lot less scary[br]than Pennywise the Dancing Clown. 0:12:47.452,0:12:48.912 (Laughter) 0:12:48.912,0:12:54.006 So horror can help us[br]calibrate the fear system, 0:12:54.006,0:12:57.311 and horror can help us[br]refine our coping skills. 0:12:57.311,0:13:00.053 That's why so many of us[br]are drawn to the genre 0:13:00.053,0:13:02.765 even if we don't like[br]to watch horror films alone. 0:13:03.555,0:13:07.331 The next time you are terrified[br]of a novel, a film, a video game, 0:13:07.331,0:13:08.719 or in a haunt, 0:13:08.719,0:13:10.572 just remember that you are, in fact, 0:13:10.572,0:13:15.760 tapping into and calibrating[br]an ancient biological defense system. 0:13:16.330,0:13:20.411 Never mind the fear[br]and the screams and the nightmares - 0:13:20.411,0:13:22.904 who's up for a horror film tonight? 0:13:22.904,0:13:23.959 Thank you. 0:13:23.959,0:13:25.667 (Applause)