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| Is it good for us to feel scared? | Is it good for us to feel scared? |
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| Ghosts and goblins, wicked queens and creepy clowns - that's what scary stories are made of. Reece Shearsmith, of cult comedy The League of Gentlemen, reflects on how delicious it is to feel frightened. | Ghosts and goblins, wicked queens and creepy clowns - that's what scary stories are made of. Reece Shearsmith, of cult comedy The League of Gentlemen, reflects on how delicious it is to feel frightened. |
| Not everyone can recall the first time fear became part of their lives. For most children it probably began when they found themselves alone in the dark. As we become older the mind develops and with it our imagination conjures up imagery which can often be dark and unnatural. | Not everyone can recall the first time fear became part of their lives. For most children it probably began when they found themselves alone in the dark. As we become older the mind develops and with it our imagination conjures up imagery which can often be dark and unnatural. |
| FIND OUT MORE Reece Shearsmith's Haunted House is on BBC Radio 4Catch up with episode one on the iPlayer Part two will be broadcast on Thursday, 5 November, 1130 GMT | FIND OUT MORE Reece Shearsmith's Haunted House is on BBC Radio 4Catch up with episode one on the iPlayer Part two will be broadcast on Thursday, 5 November, 1130 GMT |
| So why do we expose ourselves to this fear? In certain situations, people enjoy being frightened. Perhaps it has something to do with the primal nature of fear. As the American author HP Lovecraft wrote, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." | So why do we expose ourselves to this fear? In certain situations, people enjoy being frightened. Perhaps it has something to do with the primal nature of fear. As the American author HP Lovecraft wrote, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." |
| Horror in all its various genres can achieve many things. It reveals people facing fears and desires; it asks us to observe our social and individual assumptions; it can produce imaginative worlds in which, for a time, we escape from the problems and triviality of our day to day lives; it can make us chuckle at ourselves; and, most significantly, it can entertain and be fun. | Horror in all its various genres can achieve many things. It reveals people facing fears and desires; it asks us to observe our social and individual assumptions; it can produce imaginative worlds in which, for a time, we escape from the problems and triviality of our day to day lives; it can make us chuckle at ourselves; and, most significantly, it can entertain and be fun. |
| The strong sense of horror that pervades my writing comes from the thrill that we get when we are genuinely surprised or moved while watching a piece of entertainment. | The strong sense of horror that pervades my writing comes from the thrill that we get when we are genuinely surprised or moved while watching a piece of entertainment. |
| Dawn French as Joy in Psychoville | Dawn French as Joy in Psychoville |
| There's a scene in Psychoville, the recent BBC television series I co-wrote, where one of our characters, Joy, is a midwife with a rather unsavoury attachment to her demonstration doll Freddie. | There's a scene in Psychoville, the recent BBC television series I co-wrote, where one of our characters, Joy, is a midwife with a rather unsavoury attachment to her demonstration doll Freddie. |
| Joy sneaks into the hospital blood bank and steals blood while singing When You Wish Upon A Star and refilling the bags with Vimto. "And no one's any the wiser," she says, leaving with a baby's bottle full of Freddie's "special medicine". I love this scene because it's funny, scary and disturbing all at the same time. | Joy sneaks into the hospital blood bank and steals blood while singing When You Wish Upon A Star and refilling the bags with Vimto. "And no one's any the wiser," she says, leaving with a baby's bottle full of Freddie's "special medicine". I love this scene because it's funny, scary and disturbing all at the same time. |
| But why does it make me laugh? I think the origins of that question can be traced back to my childhood. I was an eight-year-old boy growing up in Hull when a travelling circus came to town. | But why does it make me laugh? I think the origins of that question can be traced back to my childhood. I was an eight-year-old boy growing up in Hull when a travelling circus came to town. |
| As I sat in the big top and observed the strange people perform their tumbles, I felt a growing sense of panic. My fear mounted as the high-wire act began; a be-sequined lady with gargantuan arms and huge silver-painted eyes ascended a long set of ladders and towered above us. | As I sat in the big top and observed the strange people perform their tumbles, I felt a growing sense of panic. My fear mounted as the high-wire act began; a be-sequined lady with gargantuan arms and huge silver-painted eyes ascended a long set of ladders and towered above us. |
| With her silver-foil face glinting in the spotlight I imagined her to be a terrible creature - the woman with the big fly head. It upset me and I began to cry. I was disturbed because I couldn't quite visualise the real expression behind her shiny mask. | With her silver-foil face glinting in the spotlight I imagined her to be a terrible creature - the woman with the big fly head. It upset me and I began to cry. I was disturbed because I couldn't quite visualise the real expression behind her shiny mask. |
| Enjoyably scared at a Halloween shop | Enjoyably scared at a Halloween shop |
| Then the clowns came out who are anything but funny. We are never more familiar to this fact than when we are little as they creep before us, squirting water from various props and purporting to show us the funny side of being hit with a plank. | Then the clowns came out who are anything but funny. We are never more familiar to this fact than when we are little as they creep before us, squirting water from various props and purporting to show us the funny side of being hit with a plank. |
| I recount the memory because somehow looking at the woman with the big fly head in the circus all those years ago influenced my life and changed how I perceived the world. Along with the clowns, she changed my view of "funny". The woman with the big fly head was thrilling, but in the wrong way and yet I remember her face 30 years on. | I recount the memory because somehow looking at the woman with the big fly head in the circus all those years ago influenced my life and changed how I perceived the world. Along with the clowns, she changed my view of "funny". The woman with the big fly head was thrilling, but in the wrong way and yet I remember her face 30 years on. |
| Mild peril | Mild peril |
| In my early teens I became more and more drawn to the world of the macabre. I decapitated my Action Men with shards of ice, imprisoned worms and bees in a jar to see who would survive, and with the aid of the Dick Smith Horror Make Up set, I recreated gory scenes from my favourite scary movies. | In my early teens I became more and more drawn to the world of the macabre. I decapitated my Action Men with shards of ice, imprisoned worms and bees in a jar to see who would survive, and with the aid of the Dick Smith Horror Make Up set, I recreated gory scenes from my favourite scary movies. |
| Reece in scary clown mode... | Reece in scary clown mode... |
| I became passionate about art and model making and, inspired by Creepshow and zombie films, I used to cast my own face and hands and make prosthetic limbs. | I became passionate about art and model making and, inspired by Creepshow and zombie films, I used to cast my own face and hands and make prosthetic limbs. |
| But my interest in all things ghoulish didn't make me less susceptible to being frightened. One night after watching the film Curse of the Werewolf, I was certain I could hear a wolf outside making horrible noises and I was terrified all night. | But my interest in all things ghoulish didn't make me less susceptible to being frightened. One night after watching the film Curse of the Werewolf, I was certain I could hear a wolf outside making horrible noises and I was terrified all night. |
| However, did this experience help me deal in some way with my fears and insecurities? There's certainly an excitement to feeling scared and the way we react to the danger to our mortality. When children witness the scary things in life, they can examine these emotions and by doing so gain some power over them. | However, did this experience help me deal in some way with my fears and insecurities? There's certainly an excitement to feeling scared and the way we react to the danger to our mortality. When children witness the scary things in life, they can examine these emotions and by doing so gain some power over them. |
| Horror stories offer a playground in which children, and adults, can play at fear. There is nothing wrong with being scared. It's a survival response. And having young children as I now do, I am mindful of what goes into their heads. | Horror stories offer a playground in which children, and adults, can play at fear. There is nothing wrong with being scared. It's a survival response. And having young children as I now do, I am mindful of what goes into their heads. |
| And as Snow White's Wicked Queen | And as Snow White's Wicked Queen |
| One of my earliest terrors was the witch in Disney's Snow White, and the image of her evil face and devil-horned head dress has always stayed with me. | One of my earliest terrors was the witch in Disney's Snow White, and the image of her evil face and devil-horned head dress has always stayed with me. |
| Today children's films often have the warning "mild peril". | Today children's films often have the warning "mild peril". |
| This indeterminate definition, I think, is fundamental when realising we don't really know what will stay with and give children nightmares for years. It might be a face we see in the swirl of patterned wallpaper, or a smiling doll, or a painting of Jesus in a children's bible. | This indeterminate definition, I think, is fundamental when realising we don't really know what will stay with and give children nightmares for years. It might be a face we see in the swirl of patterned wallpaper, or a smiling doll, or a painting of Jesus in a children's bible. |
| I don't think the "mild peril" warning is a failsafe for future shudders. Far from it - I suspect it is these hidden horrors, more inexplicable to define, that stay with us and frighten us far longer than, say, a big shark chasing after Nemo. | I don't think the "mild peril" warning is a failsafe for future shudders. Far from it - I suspect it is these hidden horrors, more inexplicable to define, that stay with us and frighten us far longer than, say, a big shark chasing after Nemo. |
| Fairytales have long been scary | Fairytales have long been scary |
| Conveying and probing the dark side of human experience, the part that lives in fear, has always been an important cultural imperative. | Conveying and probing the dark side of human experience, the part that lives in fear, has always been an important cultural imperative. |
| The latest trends in horror merely mirror the same needs as are reflected in the excessive violence and gruesomeness to be discovered in folklore, traditional stories, urban legends and fairytales from as far back in human history as we can witness. | The latest trends in horror merely mirror the same needs as are reflected in the excessive violence and gruesomeness to be discovered in folklore, traditional stories, urban legends and fairytales from as far back in human history as we can witness. |
| Below is a selection of your comments. | Below is a selection of your comments. |
| Imagination is indeed the key part of being scared, it's your imagination that comes up with the reasons why something should scare you. To me, no sentence stirs my imagination and fear like "There's *something* out there..."Stephen W, Caerphilly | Imagination is indeed the key part of being scared, it's your imagination that comes up with the reasons why something should scare you. To me, no sentence stirs my imagination and fear like "There's *something* out there..."Stephen W, Caerphilly |
| My childhood monster lived in my wardrobe, and wanted to eat me, so would try to grab my feet if I walked across the room in the dark - as I always did, after turning the light off, so I had to take a flying leap into bed. I casually mentioned this to my parents some 20 years after we left that house, and my mother was upset because I had never told her about it. But I hadn't wanted to tell - it was MY monster, and even though it scared me, I didn't want them rationalising it away with nightlights. Yes, kids are weird, and thank goodness for it.Isobel, Salisbury | My childhood monster lived in my wardrobe, and wanted to eat me, so would try to grab my feet if I walked across the room in the dark - as I always did, after turning the light off, so I had to take a flying leap into bed. I casually mentioned this to my parents some 20 years after we left that house, and my mother was upset because I had never told her about it. But I hadn't wanted to tell - it was MY monster, and even though it scared me, I didn't want them rationalising it away with nightlights. Yes, kids are weird, and thank goodness for it.Isobel, Salisbury |
| After watching Poltergeist as a kid, I became terrified of my clown pyjama case due to one scene when a boy is attacked by his toy clown. Even now as a 30-year old, I still feel a shiver down my spine when I think of it. It's amazing that the fear we feel as children carries over into adulthood.Jane, Newcastle | After watching Poltergeist as a kid, I became terrified of my clown pyjama case due to one scene when a boy is attacked by his toy clown. Even now as a 30-year old, I still feel a shiver down my spine when I think of it. It's amazing that the fear we feel as children carries over into adulthood.Jane, Newcastle |
| Fear is an important thing to learn to face, at any age. You have to understand two things; that some fears are unfounded (there is no monster under the bed) and that some fears are real (you should take care crossing the road). If children known no fear, then they will think themselves invincible - and that would lead to overconfidence and mistakes. Fear teaches prudence.Penny, Basildon, UK | Fear is an important thing to learn to face, at any age. You have to understand two things; that some fears are unfounded (there is no monster under the bed) and that some fears are real (you should take care crossing the road). If children known no fear, then they will think themselves invincible - and that would lead to overconfidence and mistakes. Fear teaches prudence.Penny, Basildon, UK |
| The only film character that really scared me in a life-time disturbing type of way was the child catcher in Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang; he scared me as a child and then again when I watched the film again aged 21. I blame my mother who used to threaten us with "we'll get someone to take you away if you don't behave." When you're five, the thought of an anonymous man taking you away to the unknown for being too noisy is pretty traumatic, no wonder the child-catcher has formed such a lasting impression. And yet The Exorcist, which received much hype for scaring people, seen as an adult didn't affect me at all.Julie, London | The only film character that really scared me in a life-time disturbing type of way was the child catcher in Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang; he scared me as a child and then again when I watched the film again aged 21. I blame my mother who used to threaten us with "we'll get someone to take you away if you don't behave." When you're five, the thought of an anonymous man taking you away to the unknown for being too noisy is pretty traumatic, no wonder the child-catcher has formed such a lasting impression. And yet The Exorcist, which received much hype for scaring people, seen as an adult didn't affect me at all.Julie, London |
| So, how do you segregate 'good fear' and 'bad fear'? Who is to judge? Who has the appropriate level of discernment? Do we put children in real danger to teach them to be, for instance, frightened of the traffic or railway lines or do we invent monsters and graphic horror stories to impress (and to make us popular adults)? Some years ago the Department for Education banned certain activities - like scare stories at residential camps - and at Halloween in schools because they said it was inappropriate to frighten children deliberately. It did not take into account the differing levels of maturity of each child in any class. And it might, just might, be so fascinating to some it may be an introductory lesson to the occult. Mike G, Skipton | So, how do you segregate 'good fear' and 'bad fear'? Who is to judge? Who has the appropriate level of discernment? Do we put children in real danger to teach them to be, for instance, frightened of the traffic or railway lines or do we invent monsters and graphic horror stories to impress (and to make us popular adults)? Some years ago the Department for Education banned certain activities - like scare stories at residential camps - and at Halloween in schools because they said it was inappropriate to frighten children deliberately. It did not take into account the differing levels of maturity of each child in any class. And it might, just might, be so fascinating to some it may be an introductory lesson to the occult. Mike G, Skipton |
| Personally I hate being scared. I can't see the attraction in it at all. I'm happy to watch films like the Sixth Sense that are more thriller than horror, but I won't even contemplate Saw etc. I've always been a fraidy cat - I saw Jurassic Park at the cinema aged about 11 and was so scared I had to leave the cinema. I worry that people, particularly children, develop a threshold to being frightened and therefore need to be scared that bit more every time. Is that really healthy?Cheryl - a fraidy cat and proud of it, Newmarket, Suffolk | Personally I hate being scared. I can't see the attraction in it at all. I'm happy to watch films like the Sixth Sense that are more thriller than horror, but I won't even contemplate Saw etc. I've always been a fraidy cat - I saw Jurassic Park at the cinema aged about 11 and was so scared I had to leave the cinema. I worry that people, particularly children, develop a threshold to being frightened and therefore need to be scared that bit more every time. Is that really healthy?Cheryl - a fraidy cat and proud of it, Newmarket, Suffolk |
| Cheryl, films like Saw are misrepresented - they aren't "horror", they are "horrific" - i.e. it is to do with gore rather than being scared. I might look away from the screen but that isn't because of anything scary, just not being nice to look at.Jon, Sheffield | Cheryl, films like Saw are misrepresented - they aren't "horror", they are "horrific" - i.e. it is to do with gore rather than being scared. I might look away from the screen but that isn't because of anything scary, just not being nice to look at.Jon, Sheffield |
| Evil comes in many forms. Scary movies are one more form of evil that attempts to pervert our children while they are young and impressionable. No-one needs to watch scary movies. There is enough scary reality in the world as it is. David Abbott, US | Evil comes in many forms. Scary movies are one more form of evil that attempts to pervert our children while they are young and impressionable. No-one needs to watch scary movies. There is enough scary reality in the world as it is. David Abbott, US |
| The ability to be scared is something to enjoy. Even now at 37, I love a good horror film but am simply not interested in Saw or Hostel. Sitting through one of those was simply a journey through horrific rather than horror. My parents always used to rent films and then decide if I was able to watch it the day after. The only film I was unable to watch was Halloween, which I know find rather twee. As another poster put, I was allowed to watch Poltergeist and the clown scene still makes me jump now. Yet it was watching the old Universal Horror classics at 5 or 6 years old that gave me a love of the genre that continues today. A good old fashioned ghost story will always beat these modern and dumb films. Paul Sellars, Sheffield, England | The ability to be scared is something to enjoy. Even now at 37, I love a good horror film but am simply not interested in Saw or Hostel. Sitting through one of those was simply a journey through horrific rather than horror. My parents always used to rent films and then decide if I was able to watch it the day after. The only film I was unable to watch was Halloween, which I know find rather twee. As another poster put, I was allowed to watch Poltergeist and the clown scene still makes me jump now. Yet it was watching the old Universal Horror classics at 5 or 6 years old that gave me a love of the genre that continues today. A good old fashioned ghost story will always beat these modern and dumb films. Paul Sellars, Sheffield, England |
| I used to love Scooby-Doo cartoons as a child but the monsters used to scare me (even though they were always proved to be the owner of the deserted funfair in disguise). I used to hide under the bedclothes so the monsters wouldn't get me - it worked as I'm still here to report the story.Helen, Berkshire | I used to love Scooby-Doo cartoons as a child but the monsters used to scare me (even though they were always proved to be the owner of the deserted funfair in disguise). I used to hide under the bedclothes so the monsters wouldn't get me - it worked as I'm still here to report the story.Helen, Berkshire |
| The SeaLife centre at Blackpool has a pirate model with one of those projected faces - he tells a pirate tale. When I visited with my two-year-old daughter, the projector stopped working, leaving a grey face that continued to talk. My daughter forgot all the wonderful sea creatures she'd seen, and for three days repeatedly asked "what happened to the man's face?". It goes to show you never know what they are going to find frightening.Lucy, Bradford | The SeaLife centre at Blackpool has a pirate model with one of those projected faces - he tells a pirate tale. When I visited with my two-year-old daughter, the projector stopped working, leaving a grey face that continued to talk. My daughter forgot all the wonderful sea creatures she'd seen, and for three days repeatedly asked "what happened to the man's face?". It goes to show you never know what they are going to find frightening.Lucy, Bradford |
| I love watching horror films. I get scared really easily but I enjoy every minute of it. Mostly people think I'm a bit odd, I think I get a bit of an adrenaline rush out of it, similar to the rush I get from getting tattoos.Rachel, Bristol | I love watching horror films. I get scared really easily but I enjoy every minute of it. Mostly people think I'm a bit odd, I think I get a bit of an adrenaline rush out of it, similar to the rush I get from getting tattoos.Rachel, Bristol |
| I grew up loving to watch horror films, which my parents allowed, always offering up the preface "it's just a film, it's not real". I was thus never afraid of scary films or TV and it even made me more confident when things go bump in the night. I always thought I was brought up just like everyone else, but on going to university I found that the majority of my friends are terrified by horror films and some even had to hide behind a cushion for episodes of Dr Who. And guess what? Horror films had been banned for them until at least the age of 16. I'm a perfectly balanced individual and, apart from an unexplainable bout of severe arachnophobia, I take "scary things" in my stride. I would give my children the same opportunity I think - though obviously vetting out the awful language that horror films insist on using today. Hannah, Sheffield | I grew up loving to watch horror films, which my parents allowed, always offering up the preface "it's just a film, it's not real". I was thus never afraid of scary films or TV and it even made me more confident when things go bump in the night. I always thought I was brought up just like everyone else, but on going to university I found that the majority of my friends are terrified by horror films and some even had to hide behind a cushion for episodes of Dr Who. And guess what? Horror films had been banned for them until at least the age of 16. I'm a perfectly balanced individual and, apart from an unexplainable bout of severe arachnophobia, I take "scary things" in my stride. I would give my children the same opportunity I think - though obviously vetting out the awful language that horror films insist on using today. Hannah, Sheffield |
| Hannah, I would suggest that your uni friends allow themselves to be scared, along the lines of what Reece is commenting on in his article. You might well be able to look at horror movies and declare it "not real life" and be unaffected, but let's face it where is the fun in that? Why not let your imagination run wild this Halloween and get really terrified by a scary movie - otherwise what's the point in watching them?Sa, Vancouver, Canada | Hannah, I would suggest that your uni friends allow themselves to be scared, along the lines of what Reece is commenting on in his article. You might well be able to look at horror movies and declare it "not real life" and be unaffected, but let's face it where is the fun in that? Why not let your imagination run wild this Halloween and get really terrified by a scary movie - otherwise what's the point in watching them?Sa, Vancouver, Canada |
| Say what you will about it, but from around the age of 10 I (as were a lot of kids in the early 80s) was watching video nasties. I've always been a fan of horror and thrillers but have never lost that ability to be afraid. People used to talk about being desensitised to horror, violence, shock, terror etc and I agree, it might happen. But I like so many others can differentiate between the screen and real life.Dave, Wallasey, Merseyside | Say what you will about it, but from around the age of 10 I (as were a lot of kids in the early 80s) was watching video nasties. I've always been a fan of horror and thrillers but have never lost that ability to be afraid. People used to talk about being desensitised to horror, violence, shock, terror etc and I agree, it might happen. But I like so many others can differentiate between the screen and real life.Dave, Wallasey, Merseyside |
| I grew up with horror films, the early Pink Floyd, HP Lovecraft and McEwan and I find good old fashioned horror good and inspirational for creativity. I am not so keen on current horror as it seems more concentrated on splatter and violence, whilst it used to be more of a matter of mysterious characters, suspense, arts, creativity (with the exception of Psychoville because it includes dark humour as well). It's good for children to watch anything like I used to watch everything when I was a child. All they need is an explanation. Fear is good, as long as we all learn to face it. A brave man is the one who fears but reacts.Maethelyiah, Wiltshire | I grew up with horror films, the early Pink Floyd, HP Lovecraft and McEwan and I find good old fashioned horror good and inspirational for creativity. I am not so keen on current horror as it seems more concentrated on splatter and violence, whilst it used to be more of a matter of mysterious characters, suspense, arts, creativity (with the exception of Psychoville because it includes dark humour as well). It's good for children to watch anything like I used to watch everything when I was a child. All they need is an explanation. Fear is good, as long as we all learn to face it. A brave man is the one who fears but reacts.Maethelyiah, Wiltshire |