The Power of Horror

Ok, we have made it this far! We have survived probably one of the most harrowing trips down memory lane that there is. High-fives all around! But wait - as any great Horror story has taught us, we can’t be standing around celebrating for too long. We aren’t out of the woods just yet...

So now we know the origin story of our enemy. We know where it came from and what gave it power. What we don’t yet know is the power that it has over us. I mean… What is it about Horror that you love so much? 

Maybe you don’t know?

“Maybe it’s not love!?”, I hear you cry.

But something possessed you to play Amnesia: The Dark Descent in pitch black with your headphones cranked up. Something compelled you to experience Resident Evil VII  in Virtual Reality or to slash your way through Resident Evil 2 using only a combat knife.

For me, that something is the feeling of being afraid whilst in the confines of safety. Whilst playing Resident Evil 2 - in the security of my own home - I am fairly certain that I won’t be rudely interrupted by a ten foot man in a fancy hat bursting through my living room wall. When I wake up every morning, my first worry is never the demon hordes that I must keep at bay today (well maybe metaphorically...) or that I may unwittingly board a spaceship overrun by Hell Knights. 

What I am trying to say is - for me, it is extremely unlikely that I will find myself in a Horror game scenario. I am very thankful for that, I can tell you! And whilst I will never truly feel the elation of taking down a nightmarish beastie with only a combat knife, I still feel accomplishment and pride when I do this in-game. Even better when I can celebrate in safety with a cup of coffee whilst my in-game avatar stumbles around looking for health pick-ups and the infinite rocket launcher.

Do you know what the worst part is?

If simulated horror taps into a real-world fear of mine, I enjoy it even more!

Deep water.

Nothing is more unsettling to me - and for so many reasons!

We can only imagine what is beneath the surface and just how deep the water goes! And what if the water goes super deep? Does that mean that whatever is under the surface is even bigger!? I mean… What if there is a shark in there?! A really really massive shark! Oh no. I don’t even want to imagine how many teeth it has…  

Yet what do I enjoy the most? A horrendously terrifying deep water monstrosity!

Let’s revisit our zombie-dog evading heroine, Jill Valentine. This time, with the Resident Evil Remake (2002) for GameCube (What a masterpiece). We willingly descend a rusted ladder into the industrial cavernous hallways of an abandoned underground laboratory (of course). Our footsteps echo loudly, lingering in the soft chimes of the ambient music, mimicking the rhythmic fall of water droplets. The labyrinthine walls appear damp and those subtle chimes start to reverberate like ripples in still water.  Could it be…?

Proceeding further into this enervated crypt, we eventually find our progress halted by a very deep and very dark pool of water. Ignoring this foreshadowing completely, we use crates to create a floating bridge over this would-be watery grave. As the final crate lands, with a resonant splash, we safely make our way across to the other side. Heart in my throat, I take a moment - That was too easy.

A sigh of relief later and we are faced with our only way forward -  a drenched decline down a flooded concrete ramp. Now knee deep in water, I look at the sturdy iron gates ahead of us. What on earth are they trying to contain…? No time to contemplate - as all it takes is a loading screen - and we find ourselves waist deep in water. The subtle ambience turns to shrill strings as I take in the flooded walkways and indeterminate depth of this flooded laboratory. Nothing good can come from this… 

Unless you are a fan of GIANT MUTATED SHARKS, that is! 

It isn’t just about the mutated sharks though... 

Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008) shepherded me into the darkness of a mysteriously flooded basement. Resident Evil VII (2017) plunged me neck deep into fetid waters after connotations of crocodiles in sewers. Despite the nastiness that lurked beneath the surface of these scenarios, I found myself returning again and again. 

And what about you? What is your something? 

Your something can also affect your perception of what a Horror game is and should be. Twitter account @horrorvisuals asked, “What makes a game ‘Horror’?”

Whilst the responses were varied, the one that resonated with me was from @BigBashMan_ and read, “ Anything that unsettles someone, makes them nervous, or even a distinct type of spooky atmosphere. Even Minecraft can be quite scary with the right texture pack, a dark cave, some creepers and the fear of the unknown.”

Others shared - Experiences which remind you of your insignificance, games with eerie soundtracks and macabre aesthetics. As such, the titles which you will find splattering the pages of this book, may not explicitly be marketed as such, but fall into my category of Horror.

We all have our own something - our own reason for enjoying Horror the way that we do. In this chapter - make sure that you have your shovel handy - because we are going to unearth the psychology of Horror! This journey will take us deeper than demystifying our enjoyment of the craft and will also explore what it means to us on an evolutionary and societal level.

A Survivor…?

This time we won’t be going it alone. These discoveries will be guided by the flickering lantern light of Teresa Lynch - an Assistant Professor of Communication Technology at Ohio State University. Teresa heads up Chronos Laboratory which observes the processing of emotional and social content in video games (and has no direct affiliations with mutated marine life). With a background in social science and media psychology, Teresa’s research centres on studying emotion and the processing of emotion elicited by fear.

So, let’s start with the bare bones - What is psychology?

Psychology, put modestly, is the study of the mind and how it influences our behaviours. These behaviours for example include - but are not limited to - our emotional states and how we communicate both physically and verbally. You may have heard it referred to as ‘understanding what makes humans tick’. Yes, that complex ticking time bomb of human emotions informed by personal experience and our environment - That is psychology. If we were to illustrate this example with a Horror game - because why not? - we could look at the Necromorphs in Dead Space (2008). An enemy type in Dead Space, Necromorphs are the reanimated corpses of the fallen crew of the spaceship USG Ishimura. Physically, they have mutated to form blade-like limbs. Behaviorally, they are aggressive but have the cognitive reasoning to pre-meditate attacks and attack in groups. This can often be seen by Necromorphs attacking a victim from planned ventilation shaft routes or waiting until the victim's back is turned. Psychologically, their behaviours are reflective of their need to effectively reproduce by spreading a pathogen, which brutally kills the host in the process. 

So about the behaviours of those pesky Necromorphs stalking your ventilation shafts - Game Designers will have painstakingly designed and refined those behaviours to give you the ultimate scare. Games Designers know what makes you ‘tick’ and will leverage that psychology at every opportunity. The teams behind your favourite Horror games understand how to leverage your fear response to a stimulus in their virtual environment. For example, after your first encounter with a Necromorph - You will be cautiously side-eyeing or avoiding every ventilation shaft on that wretched spaceship.

More broadly however, Psychology plays a very important role in understanding the actions of others and is integral in allowing us to recognise and address a number of societal and economic issues. I am not saying that I am on the Necromorphs side here… But Horror games really do have the power to use psychology for good.  For every prolonged period of foreboding, Horror games are delicately dealing with difficult societal issues such as violence, abuse or prejudice.

Silent Hill 2 (2001), in my opinion, is the beating heart of this concept. Silent Hill conceals many a secret in its rolling fog including the personal traumas of its unfortunate inhabitants. As we join tourist and main protagonist James, we see the sightseer hotspots of Silent Hill actually reflect the emotional fallout of such traumas including grief, abuse and guilt.

Ok - abandoned foggy towns aside - How does the psychology of Horror build on what we’ve already learned? 

As our good old friend Charles Darwin once said - Fear is the emotion elicited from sudden and dangerous circumstances. Terror is the extreme fear that endows one with wonderful strength. Finally, Horror is one’s awareness of imminent events which may invoke fear in us. 

Therefore, to build an effective Horror game experience, Psychology is an understanding of what a player’s motivations and actions may be in relation to fear, terror and horror in a simulated environment. Teresa builds on Darwin’s hypothesis of fear to describe it as a primary emotion which, as a reaction to threatening environmental factors, evokes defensive behaviour. With fear being an innate and evolutionary response, it is incredibly powerful. However, as we have experienced with many a Horror game antagonist, power can be used for good but more often for evil...

Psychology at Play…

Cue the video game developers and designers who are armed with this knowledge. They know that for every jump scare lovingly crafted or each teeth-grindingly tense moment created - Your fear response is guaranteed. Whilst our brains are wonderfully complex machines, they have evolved very little when it comes to our survival instincts. By default, our brains are continuously scanning for threats in our environment, preparing our bodies for the moment when we must decide - Fight or Flight? However, our brains are yet to evolve to distinguish whether a perceived danger is a work of reality or fiction. Regardless of whether that Necromorph is standing in your living room or creeping around on your television screen - Our brains are hardwired to elicit the same response. 

ThIs powerful psychological insight, therefore allows for the crafting of more impactful and memorable Horror experiences.

So with this psychological fear response in mind - What factors influence the magnitude of a response? 

Teresa sought to find the answer to this question in her 2017 dissertation,  ‘Assessing the Relevance of Formidability on Fear in Playful Simulations of Predation’. The focus of this study was to understand how perceptions of the player may influence fear responses.

So shine those torch lights and ignite that lighter fuel - We are going to illuminate the findings of this study further!

What comes to mind when you think of Formidability? Is it that impossible boss fight? Those dark corridors that you daren’t walk down? (Don’t mind me just having flashbacks to P.T.). In relation to Teresa’s research, Formidability is classed as ‘the ability for an animal to win a fight’. 

There are many factors which could contribute to whether an animal wins or loses a fight and to what degree. In nature, these could include for example, age, gender, strength or size. Therefore, your formidability could be reflected as skill level or rank in Role Playing Games (RPGs), acquiring a more powerful weapon in action-adventure games or the attainment of knowledge in psychological horrors. For this study, a theoretical model called Resource Holding Potential (RHP) was used to accurately measure formidability in a simulated environment.

How formidable we believe ourselves to be can often dictate what we deem as a threat. For example, you may feel more menacing starting a boss fight with full health and upgraded weapons. You may believe that those attributes give you a better chance of winning the battle. Returning this notion to the natural world, animals with more advantageous traits and higher probability of emerging victorious, could potentially be classed as a Predator.

And so, what comes to mind when you think of a Predator?

(Apart from maybe Predator themself, which is of course a perfect example).

For me, the word Predator inflicts flashbacks of Nemesis, the seven foot tall bio-organic weapon which relentlessly stalks the protagonist of Resident Evil 3 (1999). Nemesis has only one mission and that is to decimate the remaining members of S.T.A.R.S, an elite special forces unit. Armed with a rocket launcher and some stabby looking tentacles, Nemesis’s commitment to the mission, makes it one formidable foe.

S.T.A.R.Ssssssss

And whilst I would never describe our persistent foe Nemmy as playful, this is where ‘Playful Simulations of Predation’ comes into play. As previously mentioned - Whether a perceived threat is real or not - Our brains will react and prepare our bodies for action in the same way. This means that the feelings of intense panic experienced whilst being hunted by Nemesis, are very likely to be the same responses I would give in a real-world scenario (Lucky for us that we aren’t members of S.T.A.R.S, eh?). The only difference here is that the threat - Nemesis - isn’t real and so my fear response can be experienced in a non-threatening, playful and enjoyable way. It is therefore argued that Horror games are, in essence, predation simulations which tap into our formidability factor. 

For this study, Teresa tapped into the formidability factor of one-hundred and twenty undergraduate students from Ohio State University. These brave students elected to play the Horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2017) in a controlled environment where their reactions and emotional responses were monitored and measured. 

The reactions of the participants were measured using a theoretical model called the ‘Defence Cascade’. This paradigm comprises a spectrum of survival-based behaviours, which are triggered as a response to fear. But how about the more subjective part of Horror - The emotions elicited by potential threats in the virtual environment? This was measured through an expressive self report, which included for example, the participants emotional state prior to taking part and personal opinions on the threats encountered whilst playing.

So why choose Amnesia: The Dark Descent? This game was chosen as it embodies the concepts of formidability and predation masterfully. For example, when the game begins, the mechanics available don’t extend far beyond movement and exploration which, for many, disempowers the player from the onset. Furthermore, the main protagonist Daniel, begins their journey shrouded by mystery, with no recollection of who they are or where they are. For reference, they are in a desolate castle. At night. During a storm… So yeah, that formidability factor is rock bottom right now... 
And as for the Predation…

A key mechanic of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is to keep the protagonist’s sanity in check.  As you explore the dark castle grounds, you inevitably happen across unsettling goings on such as eerie apparitions, discomfiting sounds and a little poltergeist activity. It is up to the player to counterbalance the effects that these paranormal activities have on the protagonist's sanity. So with potential threats in every shadowy corner and behind every antiquated door, the whole environment effectively becomes the predator.
And if that isn’t enough for you, then the Gatherers come… And they’re as creepy as they sound.

Are you afraid yet?

So back to our original question, What factors influence the magnitude of a fear response? Teresa and her team used their packed inventory of psychological knowledge, RHP and the Defence Cascade to make a number of predictions. 

When it comes to Formidability and fear, Teresa formulated an interesting experiment. Using attributes of RHP, Teresa’s team distributed two very different descriptions of the game's protagonist, Daniel, prior to beginning play. One sub-set of students received ‘High RHP Daniel’, described as ‘a powerful and courageous warrior’ and pictured wearing heavy armor. The remaining students were introduced to ‘Low RHP Daniel’ described as ‘as a gentle and meek youth’ and pictured wearing rags and unarmed. Who do you think stands more of a chance in a fight with a Gatherer…

There has been much debate surrounding the power of embodying avatars in gaming. This has been described as the ‘Proteus Effect’, which suggests that in-game behaviours of players can be affected by characteristics of their digital representations, or avatars.

By embodying avatars, players buy into the circumstance, belief systems and abilities of the in-game protagonist. Much like an actor giving a compelling performance if they have embodied a character well - It is thought a gaming experience may be heightened when a player embodies their avatar. Applying this to Horror - Embodiment of an in-game avatar may affect a players perceptions of threat or danger. For example, would you rather be tackling zombie hordes and haunted towns with suped up military veterans or an unwitting father looking for his missing daughter? 

Actually, 2003 was the year that Silent Hill 3 broke the series’ - male thirty-something seeking solace for their female supporting-role - mould. Yes, the series welcomed Heather Mason, the wise cracking, automatic weapon wielding teenage protagonist that I never knew I needed. A teenager myself at the time, I was blown away by the notion that I could now experience the Horrors of Silent Hill through a female lens. Heather’s debut triggered an innate relatability factor in me which endorsed my Silent Hill experience before the game was even released. In a 2003 interview with publication Computer and Video Games, Hiroyuki Owaku, writer of Silent Hill 3, gave insight into the design decisions behind Heather Mason. He expressed that the focus of Silent Hill 3 was to elicit a more impassioned representation of fear. The team explored a number of protagonist attributes to serve this vision, including variations on age and gender. Ultimately, a young woman was chosen as the game's lead, aiming to give a more vulnerable and emotional edge to the experience. At first, I admit that I did fall victim to a vulnerability which I hadn’t felt when controlling a male protagonist. However, as the game progressed, I continued to feel more and more empowered by Heather’s presence. Whether this was because Heather displayed the same sarcastic nature and gung-ho attitude as my younger self or that she was pretty handy when using heavy firearms, I couldn’t say.

Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008) again sought to distort the fear factor of the series by introducing the first ever protagonist to be trained in combat - Special forces soldier Alex Shepard. And what about silent protagonist Issac Clarke from Dead Space (2008) - Did this ever-silent avatar do little to calm your nerves? How about physical appearance as well as ability? Bloodborne (2015) asks that the player dictates the starting statistics of their avatar by selecting a class. Classes which for example, include Military Veteran, Noble Scion and Lone Survivor, all have a different visual representation. The class with the weakest stats is the doom-strickenly named, Waste of Skin - "You are nothing. Talentless. You shouldn't have been born." Wow, thanks. In choosing this class and embodying the avatar, does the player therefore embrace the challenge or feel their progress inhibited?

Let’s find out… 

Teresa’s team predicted that those players spending time with ‘Low RHP Daniel’ were more likely to report and exhibit a heightened fear response. With his formidability factor in the pits, it was envisioned that players would feel more exposed and helpless, making them more susceptible to whatever was lurking in the shadows. Players embodying ‘High RHP Daniel’ however, were anticipated to feel more prepared and protected, triggering fewer and less intense fear responses. 

Luckily for ‘Low RHP Daniel’ and the players sticking around with him - This wasn’t found to be the case! In fact, the data contradicted this notion completely with players experiencing Amnesia: Dark Descent with a more formidable protagonist reporting the highest number of fear responses.

Formidability aside, let’s see how Predation fared. Teresa and her team believed that the more skilled a player - the more experience they have of playing computer games - the fewer fear effects they would demonstrate. It was anticipated that those familiar with computer game control schemes and the limitations of virtual worlds, would feel better prepared to tackle whatever was lurking in the shadows. It was predicted that skilled players may feel stronger feelings of elation when overcoming an obstacle - or feel braver when confronted by an enemy which they know they have a chance of taking down. This skill level may map to their perceived formidability factor, making them feel courageous and less overwhelmed by adversity. Knowledge is power, right? Have you ever had that ‘a-ha!’ moment when you figure out a bosses weak point, right after it has taken you down for the millionth time? Once you restart that boss fight, you have a target in mind and the execution - that winning formula - becomes muscle memory (I see you Birkin, with your weird shoulder eye…). So then why, oh why, does the data from this experiment not reflect this? Why is it that players exhibiting higher skill express more fear events than those who aren’t used to playing computer games?

Teresa explains that with all these pieces in place, the solution to this puzzle makes perfect sense. Players with higher levels of skill who embody their avatars are more likely to have a feeling of presence. Presence - The feeling of being grounded in an environment whether virtual or otherwise. Yes, those of us who pride ourselves as higher skilled players have the luxury (or not) of feeling more present in a digital environment where predators are likely to be lurking. Therefore, the sense of danger may be greater as it seems more proximate and realistic. For players who deem themselves not so skilled, their focus may be on mastering the control system or navigating the environment effectively, thus preventing the same levels of immersion. This also echoes true for ‘Low RHP Daniel’, with this disarmament being a barrier to immersion.

Teresa brings this full circle to what we learned earlier, “Even though players might be well aware that the situation on screen isn’t real, that doesn’t mean that the human body is going to respond as if it were.” And coupled with presence, “For video games, because we’re actually acting in these virtual worlds, it feels much more realistic in some ways, and even if the content itself might be more pixelated or it might not be as realistic looking, we don’t necessarily have, we’re not necessarily processing that content in a way that makes it feel like it’s not real, it feels genuine to us in that immediate sense.”.

So in what ways can Game Designers and Developers leverage this notion of presence? Let’s call on our Necromorph pals to uncover some techniques that Dead Space (2008) used to promote immersion. 

Much like its Necromorphs - Dead Space seemingly emerged out of nowhere - terrifying and delighting many a horror game fan who was on the hunt for some fresh horror meat. This completely new franchise brought a parasitic host of original characters, undiscovered dangers and innovative design decisions. At the time, Dead Space was praised for its approach in designing an immersive horror experience and continues to be hailed a master in its craft. 

Dead Space begins with the jarring static of a muddled video transmission. As the hiss of white noise dies, the bow of a small spaceship comes into view. Our silent protagonist Issac Clarke watches from this observation deck, as the debris fields fall away to reveal the source of the transmission - Mining ship USG Ishimura. Fast forward to this rescue mission ending in the only way Horror knows how - A crash landing on the doomed Ishimura - And engineer Issac is ready for action.

A key perpetrator in presence is onboard from the outset - The omission of a User Interface (UI). Taking away the security blanket of UI - those familiar health bars and ammo counts - creates a vulnerability through greater exposure to the game world. With this pseudo-physical barrier between the player and the world removed, immersion reigns supreme. Dead Space didn’t stop there though. To ground the player further - even in zero gravity - Dead Space switches a UI for a RIG, ensuring that the players’ attention is always focussed on Issac and his immediate surroundings.

What is a RIG I hear you cry?

A RIG or Resource Integration Gear, is essentially Issac’s engineer-issued spacesuit. It is an industrial looking suit of armour with added anti-death mechanics. One addition that the player will be sure to give eye-time to is Issac’s health bar - A coloured gauge down the RIGs spine. As Issac’s health deteriorates, the gauge will  start to deplete and at low health, flash red. The RIG also takes care of menus for you. Yes - Thanks to the RIG there is no more hiding behind inventories or menu screens. Instead, everything that the player and Issac needs to survive can be found via holographic displays projected into the world's environment.  This means that the player never leaves Issac’s side - Witnessing every gruesome detail and living through this nightmare side-by-side. 

Only the Pause button can save you now.

Adding to this notion of the player being ever present - Dead Space also imposed interactive cutscenes. Cutscenes are commonly used to draw the players attention to important game events such as enemy encounters, item pick ups or narrative cues. And often, to encourage player focus, input is disabled. In Dead Space however, the player often still has control of Issac even when a pivotal moment is gruesomely unfurling. Speaking of which…

Now Issac and his crewmates are aboard the USG Ishimura. The ship appears derelict and lifeless save for the USG Ishimura informational recording looping on the screens which remain functional. The hapless crew find themselves in a large room housing a security console and access to the ship's internal tram system. In the hopes of restoring power, Issac’s first task is to bring the security console back online. Navigating to the security panel only a few feet away, the console blinks to life. All systems go, right? Wrong. The quarantine alarm awakes with a screech, its warning light casting a cautious hue over Issac’s teammates. As they erupt in worried chatter, a significant event starts to unfold... 

At this point, startled by the sudden wail of the alarm, I kept Issac’s gaze firmly on his teammates. As the rotating alarm light muddles them in and out of shadow, movement can be heard in the ventilation shafts above our heads. A vent gives way, falls and clatters to the ground and that is when - I see it. Whatever it is, with long spider-like limbs. 

My fear is confirmed when I hear the screams of, “THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE ROOM WITH US!” and I turn Issac and run him out of that room as quickly as my shredded nerves can command. If I hadn't bolted, Issac and I would have seen that Necromorph in all of its gruesome glory. After which it savagely takes down a team member with blade-like limbs. I am pleased that we ran. A friend of mine - who doesn’t play many computer games - was so engrossed in exploring the environment that she missed the whole ordeal. That was until the Necromorph caught up with her… 

In the player maintaining control and interactivity during crucial moments, such as monster reveals, immersion can be amplified. If you’re like me who fled at the first sign of threat - Having the opportunity to act on that impulse intensified feelings of anxiety and fear. If you’re like my friend who was left with the bloody aftermath - You may be faced with the feeling that you missed something. Which quite often, can induce anxiety also.

As we will unearth in later chapters, the scare tactics witnessed aboard the USG Ishimura were refined and reimagined to create new terrifying experiences. We will also exhume Horror VR titles such as Resident Evil VII (2017) and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (2016) which tapped into these immersion-makers through necessity rather than design. 

 Ok, so what have spooky castles and Necromorphs taught us about Horror?

They’ve taught us that immersion - the extent to which a player is engrossed in a virtual world - Is the key to ensuring a truly terrifying Horror experience! But… Let us not forget, that fear is a primitive human emotion. It is guaranteed. And that guarantee goes by the name of ‘The Startle Effect’ or more infamously, ‘The Jump Scare’.

The Startle Effect

The prolific Jump Scare, an innate defensive response, is almost two million years old. Our ancestors when hunting (or being hunted) developed reflexes, perceptions and motivations to help assess dangerous situations and plan escape routes. Whilst we don’t live the lifestyle of ‘hunt or be hunted’ these days, our bodies have evolved very little physiologically when it comes to facing dangerous situations. In a standard, threat-free environment, our bodies are operating on an appetitive level, with the body functioning normally and our brains curiously scanning our surroundings. When this habitual scanning detects a threat however, our bodies shift to function on an aversive level, with appetitive duties suspended as the body engages defence mode. In this state, the mind becomes hyper-attentive whilst the body is completely immobilised. Such is the moniker ‘scared stiff’. All the while, this is priming our minds and poising our bodies to make the decision - ‘Fight or Flight’. Fight or Flight is a physiological reaction to a perceived threat which prepares our bodies for confronting danger or fleeing to safety (We all know what I would do…). Our bodies remain stationary until the perceived threat is close enough to be an imminent danger. At that moment - BANG - our bodies flip the switch of inaction to action in less than a second. That explosive reaction - that startle reflex - is guaranteed, even before rationale kicks in. 

This is why the Jump Scare is such a well-known and reliable Horror trope. It is in our DNA. We can’t fight it.

Do you have any friends who are also fans of Horror?

If so - What commonalities do you share with them? For example, interests, lifestyle choices or social dynamics? Where did you first meet? (If it was by a haunted mirror, then they’re your evil twin and not your friend). 

In the 2015 thesis ‘Nothing to fear?’ Teresa happened across an ally in the rolling fogs of psychological horror - Assistant Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, Nicole Martins. Joining forces, they sought to uncover correlations amongst those who loved horror and determine - What is it about this person that elicits a fear response?

So how about you and your Horror-loving comrades?

‘Nothing to fear?’ excavated the bare bones of those who expressed themselves as Horror enthusiasts. These individuals are described as ‘sensation-seekers’, often found at loud parties, theme parks or in some cases even cliff jumping!

If this doesn’t sound like you however, don’t despair. We can’t delve too deep into this topic without our ancestors shouting from the back. “We are hard-wired to need fear because fear is what helped us survive all of this time.” explains Trent Haagar, Game Writer for The Evil Within 2 (2017). “And now that we live in a safe place, we have to create artificial things to feel that aspect of what it is to be human”. Flashback to me at the beginning of this chapter explaining how I love the feeling of being afraid whilst in the comfort of my living room - It is all starting to make sense now.

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