In the article that I found, Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear? by Allegra Ringo, she does a question and answer with Dr. Margee Kerr about what attracts some brains to horror. First they talk about how it is not a choice whether or not someone enjoys fear, it comes from our brain. Dopamine is released in our brains during scary situations and those that enjoy this dopamine experience like being in fear. Another reason she examined was that people are able to enjoy fear when they know they are in safe place. For example, when watching a movie one knows that what they are watching is not actually going to happen to them. They are able to experience the same fear as the people in the movie but do not have to endure the mental or physical pain that those in the movie are undergoing.

In the second article I read, Why Our Brains Love Horror Movies by Sharon Begley, Begley discusses different reasons for why people are attracted to horror. Like Ringo suggested, one reason for watching a horror film is because it is a safe way to be scared, “But the scare we crave—and this applies to haunted houses and spooky corn mazes no less than to horror movies—is a safe one” (Begley). One is able to experience fear without have to actually endure anything. In Why Horror by Noel Carroll she discusses the curiosity that goes along with enjoying fear, how people are intrigued by horror films because they want to know about and be in fear of the seemingly impossible situations that are depicted in scary films. I believe that this has to do with the safe zone that is discussed in both Ringo and Begley’s articles. The safe zone and the curiosity go hand in hand. People are attracted and curious about horror films because they know that what is going to happen in the movie, will most likely never happen to them in real life.

Through horror films people are able to experience the unknown. We are curious human beings who often question life and death. Through horror films we are able to get a hypothesis of what may happen after death. The films are able to satisfy a craving for what may happen after one dies. Horror movies also allow us to experience an adrenaline high that we would only want to experience second hand. We get insight into a situation that will never actually happen to us.

I am someone who enjoys horror films and TV shows. I have recently started watching the TV series American Horror Story. I believe that I am intrigued by this show because I am able to see and experience a situation that would never happen to me. I enjoy the creativity that goes into shows like this because without them my brain would never know to think about things like that. Without horror films and shows we would never get to experience the feelings, excitement, and adrenaline rushes that come from them. They would forever be unknown to us.

Work Cited

Carroll, N. (2002). Why Horror?. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (Eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., pp. 275-294). New York, NY: Routledge.

Ringo, A. (2013). Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?. The Atlantic. Web. May 11. 2014. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/why-do-some-brains-enjoy-fear/280938/

Begley, S. (2011). Why Our Brains Love Horror Movies. The Daily Beast. Web. May 11. 2014. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/25/why-our-brains-love-horror-movies-fear-catharsis-a-sense-of-doom.html

In the episode of Buffy the vampire slayer we experience diegetic sound during the scene where the fairy tale monsters steal the voices of everyone in town. The voices, which look like different colored mists, fly through the air of the town all the way into a box that the fairy tale ghosts have conjured them to come to. As the voices are flying through the air, they make a sound that resembles breathing, but also sounds like rustling wind. The sound that went along with the flying voices gave off a spooky vibe that had a mysterious essence to it since what was going on was unclear. I chose this scene because it not only had diegetic sound but an aspect of horror as well and they both complimented each other. For the scene to be as frightening as it was, both aspects were required. The sound of the voices went very well with the visual of the voices, the depicted what it would look like if this were to actually happen very well.

In the opening scenes of the episode of Buffy the vampire slayer we can see examples of Mise-en-scene when Buffy is having a dream about kissing the boy she likes, Riley. It starts in a lecture hall, every wooden desk is filled with a student who looks ready to learn with a pencil and notebook. The teacher is standing at the front of the room, she calls on Buffy and Riley to come to the front of the class. Riley and Buffy start kissing, the lighting becomes dark, there is no longer anyone else in the room, and the camera focuses on Buffy and Riley. The dark lighting in the room shows the passion between these two people and makes us believe that they really care about each other by the way that they are holding one another. The disappearance of all the other students in the room shows that Buffy and Riley only want to be with each other, they do not need anyone else around to make them happy besides one another. I chose this scene because I liked that they put such a heavy scene right in the beginning of the episode. It was also intriguing because you do not know that it is Buffy’s dream until 5 minutes in.

In the end of Buffy’s dream there is non-diegetic sound when Buffy is walking through the hallways of her school. She hears the voice of a little girl singing and there is spooky music playing in the background but cannot seem to find the source of it. The lighting in the hallway gives a dramatic affect that goes along with the young girl singing and the ghostly background music. Both the music and the young girls voice give off a mysterious vibe in this scene because they are not shown on the screen. I chose this scene because I found the little girl’s singing was very intriguing. In horror films I find having children as scary characters to be one of the most frightening things that can happen.