If you like Halloween and haunted houses you’re not alone. Knox College professor of psychology, Frank McAndrew, says going to “haunted” experiences provides an ideal emotional cocktail of “fear, enjoyment, and surprise” ...apparently it gives a little bit of a jump start ! He adds, “Walking through a commercial haunted house can also provide relevant feedback about ourselves. It might be useful to know which types of things are scary to us and which are not, and examining our emotional reactions to unsettling experiences may help us gauge our level of preparedness for dealing with terrifying unexpected situations.” He adds that haunted houses give our bodies an arousal change (increased heart rate, adrenaline rush) that he describes as, “Goldilocks arousal changes—not too small and not too large, but just right.” (I bet you thought you'd never see "Goldilocks" and "arousal" in the same sentence)
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