Horror Craze

Today our society enjoys the horror genre, but why? Science knows why we love horror so much. Scary movies give us a powerful feeling of catharsis to reinforce old fashioned beliefs about morality. The fact some people like to be scared out of their minds never fails to amaze or baffle people. A 1995 study found that the higher people score on a scale that measures sensation seeking. The majority loved horror films.

According to Glenn Sparks, Ph.D., a professor and associate head of the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University, one reason for people to love horror movies is how you feel after the movie. This is called the excitation transfer process. Sparks’s research found that when people watch frightening films, their heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increases.

After the film is over, this physiological arousal lingers, Sparks said. That means that any positive emotions you experience – like having fun with friends – are intensified, he said. Instead of focusing on the fright you felt during the film, you recall having a great time. And you’ll want to come back for more, he said.

Another reason people crave to be horrified is because horror films touch emotions that most films do not. Here are some examples of emotion that films do not touch: anxiety, worry, and fear. Counter active findings in the science of fear found out that the stronger the negative emotions are, the more likely he or she is more likely to enjoy the genre. Mostly younger audiences enjoy the genre more than any other group. People usually anticipate for an adrenaline rush that will keep them glued to the screen for the whole duration of the movie.

With the horror genre gaining more popularity each and every day there is a movie that has changed the genre and the Catholic Religion forever; the Exorcist. The Exorcist is a 1973 movie based on the bestselling novel by William Peter Blatty. The book, inspired by the 1949 exorcism case of Roland Doe, deals with the demonic possession of a 12 year old girl and her mother's desperate attempts to win back her child through an exorcism conducted by two priests. This movie based in the novel has brought countless debates, magazine articles, and news reports about people fainting inside the theaters.

The Exorcist is about the story of a little girl named Regan who lives with her single mother in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Her mother, Chris is a popular actress and a social woman who is extremely devoted to her daughter. At the start of the movie Chris and Regan are hearing loud noises coming from their attic. At first, Chris believes they have rats, but after a while she comes to the realization that it is something far worse.


The situation slowly progresses when Chris begins noticing extremely unusual behavior from her daughter. It first starts with a complaint that her daughter's bed is shaking, which Chris observes and is rather pronounced then, Regan begins acting out, and swearing. Chris is horrified by the behavior and Regan begins seeing a series of specialists, but it only gets worse.

In desperation, Chris seeks the help of a priest named Father Karras, because she believes that Regan has been possessed. Father Karras is a priest who is having issues with his faith and is an unlikely candidate to perform an exorcism, but he vows to do what he can to help Regan. Meanwhile, things just seem progressively getting worse for Regan.

This film has its moments especially with the catholic religion; for example, in the movie the Virgin Mary (a saint in the Catholic religion) was inside a chapel and was grotesquely desecrated. This scene had people doing double takes and wondering who or what could have done this.
There are many other scenes in the movie that made stomachs turn, spines tingle, and teeth chatter. This film is hands down one of the scariest movies I have ever seen, due to its intense graphic gore, and real life concept that made this film legendary.