Bob Novella

Worth it.

So I recently found a study that I could not ignore.

Absolutely could not.

It describes the impact of recreational fear, i.e.

haunted houses, on interpersonal bonding.

So do haunted houses enhance the closeness that people feel as they go through it together.

So interesting premise.

So let's go through the study findings.

Perhaps my plethora of haunted house experiences can offer some insight.

Probably not, but let's go through this anyway.

So this is a new study from the American Psychological Association published in the journal Emotion.

Never heard of that journal.

The title is Haunted Attraction, the Effects of Recreational Fear on Interpersonal Bonding.

I just fell in love with the term recreational fear when I read about this in the study.

Because it's like, it's perfect.

It's perfect.

Because that's what haunted houses provide, right?

But not just haunted houses.

Amusement parks, carnivals, even some fairs are in the business of recreational fear.

And you could argue that that, if