The Recreational Fear Lab is all about studying why we love to scare ourselves. From horror movies to haunted houses, Mathias Clasen and Marc Malmdorf Andersen dive into how these fear-filled experiences can actually be good for us—helping with stress relief and boosting emotional resilience to rival any Starbucks “Medicine Ball”. Their research looks at the fine line between fear and fun, exploring why some thrills make us feel alive and leave us coming back for more.

Mo Moshaty: What sparked the inspiration for both of you to collaborate on this study lab, and what unique perspectives do you each bring to the table?

Mathias Clasen: Scientific curiosity is really at the heart of it. There’s something here that needs to be explained, and we’re both driven to find the answers. We’ve been at this for years, but every new discovery opens up a lot of new doors, new questions, keeping us going. Plus, we have a lot of fun along the way. We work well together, and some of our field studies—like measuring heart rates and blood samples at haunted houses—are a blast. Marc, as a cognitive scientist, and I, from a media and literary background, complement each other perfectly in exploring what we now call recreational fear, with horror at its core.

Marc Malmdorf Andersen: When we first started collaborating, I was really focused on cognitive models of development, particularly how curiosity and play work in term of cognitive information processing. I was interested in why children find things so fascinating during play and why learning brings them so much joy in these contexts. Over time, Matthias and I began to talk about viewing horror and recreational fear through this lens. It started to make sense that humans’ attraction to unpleasant sensations could be linked to curiosity and learning. Essentially, all stimuli are valuable to a curious mind, and we realized recreational fear might be the way humans explore the scarier aspects of life.

MM: I find it fascinating to see your different scientific approaches to this. My background is in behavioral science and cognitive behavioral therapy, and understanding how the body reacts to fear or anxiety can be incredibly empowering. If we can understand these processes better, we can learn to respond more effectively, especially for those dealing with anxiety or acute emotional reactivity. Based on your studies, would you say there’s a clear distinction between harmful fear and recreational fear that our bodies and minds recognize?

MMA: Yeah, I think there is. We often tend to think of fear as one single thing, but that’s debated in the science of emotion—whether it’s one emotion or a thousand variations. What we can agree on is that the intensity and context of fear matters. Fear can arise when we encounter quickly escalating unpredictability in our environment, but it seems that when we can manage and possibly learn from that unpredictability, it can become a recreational experience. But when fear leaves the world feeling even more uncertain, it’s unlikely to foster personal growth.

MM: So, do you have specific methods or techniques you use to measure that response? Do you have your own secret formula, or is it more of a blend of studies you’ve developed over time?

MMA: We use a wide variety of measurements, including heart rate, which is effective for intense stimuli like those encountered in haunted attractions. We’ve also used self-reporting, standardized psychological scales, and galvanic skin response. Behavioral analysis with surveillance cameras focusing on behavioral annotation. We often take a pragmatic, case-by-case approach to studying concrete phenomena, rather than relying on universal definitions or measurement paradigms.

MM: Do you notice any cultural or societal differences in fear measurements? How do our upbringing and regional fears influence our responses to fear?

MC: That’s a great question! Honestly, we don’t have much empirical data on cross-cultural differences in recreational fear yet. Fear is one of the most studied emotions, though. The general idea is that while we all have some built-in mechanisms for fear, what we actually fear depends a lot on our cultural and social backgrounds. For instance, kids in Greenland might be more likely to fear polar bears than tigers. How this shows up in horror or recreational fear is still a bit of a mystery, but it probably involves a mix of biology and culture.

MMA: One thing that strikes me is the significant cultural differences in what adults consider scary for children. A viral incident at a Danish Zoo highlighted this when American observers were shocked to see zookeepers slaughtering and dissecting a giraffe in front of kids. Many found it macabre and feared it would traumatize the children, yet most Danish parents didn’t see any issue.

I’ve also discussed this with our UK collaborator professor Helen Dodd while working on a survey to map activities kids engage in to experience fear while feeling in control and having fun. One question was about “body violations,” like whether kids would playfully poke a dead bird with a stick. Our British collaborator thought most parents would not allow that’. It’s fascinating, especially when looking at hunter-gatherer societies, where young children in some places might be given machetes. There’s such a wide range in what parents perceive as risky for children, both physically and mentally.

MM: That’s a wonderful segue into my next question. How do children’s perceptions of fear differ from adults? For example, toddlers often enjoy games like hide-and-seek or being chased, showing excitement rather than fear. What insights have you gained from the Aarhus workshops or children’s workshops about these differences?

MC: That’s a lot to unpack, but one anecdote stands out. The study Marc mentioned highlights a fascinating cultural difference in how kids engage with fear. Over 90% of Danish children aged 1 to 17 find joy in experiences that scare them, showing interesting trends in their playful activities as they grow.

In our lab, we’ve also been exploring the positive effects of recreational fear, which may help reduce anxiety and improve emotional regulation. This counters the common belief that fear-based play is harmful. A couple of years ago, a production company approached us about filming kids going through scary experiences. We suggested measuring the parents’ reactions too, but they weren’t interested. It’s intriguing how children are naturally drawn to scary play and stories, yet as a society, we often focus on shielding them from any discomfort. This tension reflects broader discussions about parenting styles, like helicopter parenting.

MM: What’s remarkable about kids is their natural attraction to scary things. I remember playing in abandoned places and having my hand on the dashboard while standing on the car seat—long before seat belts became standard. As we grow older, we often become more fearful, despite having more life experience. A friend of mine studying for her master’s in Bologna shared how, if she were 20 years younger, she’d explore Italy fearlessly, but now she feels overwhelmed. It’s fascinating how children remain unafraid, and we can learn a lot from them. They often remind us what it’s like to embrace fear, which is why I admire the work you’re doing with children and horror. Their interactions with fear could provide valuable insights for all of us. I also follow Rainier Croft on Twitter, who runs “Horror 4 Kids,” and he’s doing fantastic work in this area. Speaking of exploration, do you incorporate VR into any of your studies?

MMA: We haven’t studied this extensively, but it’s clear that horror video games can be much more terrifying compared to traditional 2D screens. We’re not necessarily pushing the boundaries, but we can do things now that weren’t possible before. For example, our lab has a height simulator where participants can walk a plank 40 stories up. Kids love it, even though they visibly show fear as well.
This opens a new range of experiences; you don’t need to go full horror to reap the benefits of VR. Interestingly, when VR became popular, horror was one of the main categories that exploded. While there were plenty of demo games out there, horror was prominent. It’s fascinating how quickly people recognized horror’s potential with this technology compared to other entertainment options.

MM: I was recently discussing with a colleague my advocacy for addressing women’s trauma in cinema, particularly in scenes depicting violence against women. Are we as a society becoming desensitized to certain fear stimuli? Do you think we’ve reached a point where we recognize what’s scary, or do we need to raise the stakes to provoke a stronger reaction?

MC: We haven’t systematically investigated this, but studies on the evolution of horror films over the past 130 years suggest a trend toward increased perceptual realism. There’s also research focused on representation issues, such as the male gaze and female exploitation, though that falls outside our scope.

I’m not sure if there’s widespread cultural desensitization. It’s similar to exposure therapy—repeated exposure can raise your threshold for fear, which likely applies to horror stimuli as well.

MMA: It’s an interesting hypothesis that we might become desensitized to violence against women in media. However, another perspective worth considering as well comes from the learning paradigm that we talked about earlier. For example, young men are generally more drawn to stories about war than young women, perhaps because these movies depict scenarios more relevant for young men to learn about – being drafted and sent into war.  Conversely, young women are more often listeners of true crime podcasts where women are often the victims.

During the pandemic, the horror genre saw a surge in popularity, with “Contagion,” a film about a deadly virus, becoming one of the most downloaded movies. This suggests that such narratives resonate with us, allowing exploration of unlikely yet possible scenarios that are somehow relevant to us.

MM: Absolutely! I’ve always said that horror is the genre that follows you home; it teaches us practical lessons—like checking under cars or looking in the back seat at night. It helps us navigate familiar spaces with caution, even our own homes, those of us like me that have a ghastly fear of home invasion.

This learning aspect is crucial, especially for women in terms of prevention and self-defense, and it applies to men and women too, particularly regarding preparedness for situations like war. I appreciate you highlighting that. As for your future research goals, are you planning any expansions for the Recreational Fear Lab, or are you content with your current investigations?

MC: Yes, to both! We have the flexibility to pursue emerging research questions, and we’re fortunate to be contacted by international researchers with specific interests. However, we face the ongoing challenge of securing funding.
We’re particularly interested in the mental and physical health benefits of recreational fear, and recently collected data on the relationship between inflammation and recreational fear has been encouraging. There’s still so much we don’t understand, which means plenty of work ahead. We’re definitely not running out of questions anytime soon!

MMA: I agree with Mathias; there’s a growing trend toward recognizing the benefits of recreational fear. Recent conversations that are happening within the horror community as well as within the field of psychology suggest that recreational fear is increasingly viewed almost as a form of “medicine”, both mentally and physiologically. However, we need more systematic studies to support this idea, as much evidence is still anecdotal. I believe the field will increasingly move in this direction over the next 10 to 20 years.

Get a good visual on the incredible work this team does on a daily basis!

Mo Moshaty is a horror writer, lecturer and producer. As a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and life long horror fan, Mo has lectured with Prairie View A&M Film & TV Program as a Keynote, BAFSS Horror Studies Sig  and The University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. Mo has partnered with horror giant, Shudder Channel, to co-produce the 13 Minutes of Horror Film Festival 2021 and 2022 with Nyx Horror Collective and her literary work “Love the Sinner” was published with Brigid’s Gate Press in July of 2023 and her two volume collection, “Clairviolence: Tales of Tarot and Torment will be published with Tenebrous Press in 2025. 
Mo is the creator and Editor-in-Chief of NightTide Magazine and the Founder of Mourning Manor Media.