The Comforting Element of Being Scared

By Flora Irvine-Hall

Image from Getty Images

Janey Fraser, horror superfan, explains the appeal of being scared.

When we think of feel-good films, a genre that does not tend to come to mind is horror.

However, a lot of people find joy in these frightening flicks.

Jane Fraser, 29, from Glasgow, is one these people. She explains why it's fun to be scared.

“You just don’t know what to expect. You get that jump scare and then you start laughing because you didn’t expect it. I just like the thrill if of it I think. You never know how it’s going to end.”

She reminisced on the first horror film that she remembers watching, which was the original 1981 Evil Dead.

Image from IMDb

“This guy literally chops this woman up and her hand was just running about. I was a kid so I was like ‘Oh my god that’s creepy! Why is this person not dying?’ But I still loved it. I thought it was so cool.” She said.

One of her favourite horror films is the 2002 classic Ju-On: The Grudge.

“The Grudge had me terrified for ages when I was a teenager. It was the scene where she puts the bed covers over her head and she peaks out and just sees the covers rising up and she goes to look under and then The Grudge just pulls her under and she disappears. I remember I used to lie in my bed and make sure the covers were flat so I knew it wasn’t to happen to me,” she laughed.

Image from Ju-On Wiki-Fandom

The spooky Kayako Saeki, the films main antagonist, is also one of Jane’s favourite characters.

“It’s just the way she moves and the way she twists and the way she kind of jerks and the noises she makes. I just love it,” she gushed.

Horror can often tackle real life issues that many can relate to which suggests that maybe a lot of people find comfort in horror because they can see themselves in the characters.

A character that Jane relates to is Grace from Ready or Not.

Image from Robert Fantozzi

“I just love how she’s a nice girl but she doesn’t put up with anything and doesn’t let people torment her. She fights back, which is like me,” she explained.

Jane did agree however, agree that the horror genre was not without its faults.

“The old ones where the women scream and they’re tripping over themselves. Just no. Like what woman do you know to go ‘What do we do?’  I’ve known women to go ‘Let’s do this, Let’s do that.'  We’ve got plans for everything. Do you know what I mean? If someone tries to haunt us we’re already prepared for that. We're mental!” she laughed.

Image from Psycho Wiki

Jane shared some of her personal recommendations for those who are curious but cautious about horror films.

“I wouldn’t introduce them to Insidious or any films like that if they are easily scared. So maybe something like Scream or something like Shutter Island because that films not really scary and more like ‘What the hell just happened?”

Image from Vintage Movie Posters

So, perhaps the key to a good time is actually a good scare. Just as long as the killers, ghosts and demons stay behind the screen of course.