are you afraid of the dark?

one of the many divisions that i have found that divide our society is one that probably only i have ever thought of...it's not necessarilly profound, but an intriguing one nevertheless.

the division that i speak of is, those who enjoy being frightened, and those who do not!

from scary movies, to terror-filled-page-turners, some people crave the adrenaline that goes along with being scared, while some would be more than happy to remain in their warm and fuzzy state of safety.

personally, i've always been a fan! i love everything about it! i love the clammy hands, i love the racing heart, i love the shaking limbs! scary movies are my favourite kinds, and a good horror novel will keep me reading till the last word!!

isn't that funny? what does that say about my personality? it's not massochistic or anything, cause i don't necessarilly enjoy "gory" movies...just the scary ones! the ones where you find yourself yelling at the characters on screen, telling them "don't go in there!! don't do that!!" your eyes are wide open, but you keep trying to hide behind spread fingers!! you want to look away, but you couldn't if your life depended on it!

so what makes someone enjoy scary things? why are some people more squeemish than others? is there something built into our genetics that makes someone more predispositioned to enjoy having the shit scared outta them!!!!!

my friend michelle johnson and i are scary movie fanatics!!! everyone that comes out, good or bad, we MUST see it! even if they suck, you know they'll at least pack a few good cheap punches! you know what i mean? you don't go to see scary movies to be blown away with fantastic acting, or superb plots (although a good mysterious back-story can't hurt!!) you go to jump 3 feet in the air, and then laugh at yourself for being so scared! you go to feel those little hairs on the back of your neck stand on end during a creepy scene! you go so you feel the need to check under the bed before you go to sleep that night! you go cause it's a RUSH to be scared, and society can't seem to get enough!!!

it's interesting to study the neurological side of the matter. when the brain receives a signal that the body is feeling fear (is that how it goes?) the whole body reacts; the sweaty palms, racing heart beat, darty eyes (etc etc etc) and it becomes stuck on the thought that prompted the fear in the first place. have you ever noticed that if ever lying in bed thinking of the monsters in the closet, it's extremely difficult to shake those feelings? the brain becomes fixated on these things and can't get off!! we don't even have to feel fear to have those symptoms; just seeing an expression of fear on the face of someone else will be cause enough!
for example when you see drew barrymore's expression of terror during the first 10 minutes of "scream", your brain will send your body into "fear over-drive"!!

is it an unconscious desire to be in peril? i doubt it. is it a rescue fantasy? i don't think so. is it an addictive feeling? that's what i'm going with! that's the best way i can describe it; like a rush that you just can't get enough of. the endorphins that are produced in the body when you get scared are like nothing else you'll ever experience. and if you get really really scared, it's almost as if your skin begins to crawl and you can't seem to stop it willingly!

someone once said that scary movies are great foreplay! and it's totally true! you're completely wrapped up in somebody's arms for protection from the horrors on screen, and your adrenaline is racing...it's very sexual, when you think about it, eh? rrrrooooowrrrrr!!

i find society deals with the horror genre in waves. hollywood realizes that if they slam us with too many at once, they'll lose what novelty they have and we wont find them scary anymore! cause let's admit it, most are the same old scare tactics just recycled over and over again. atleast with the slasher genre. but in my opinion, a good ol' ghost story will never get tired!!

so let's all hope that hollywood never gets tired of them too, and that they continue to freak us out for decades to come!! cause let's face it, i'm sure jason and michael still have a few more stabs in 'em!!