Issue #1
Research. Connection. Simple ideas that make a difference.
BOO!
Halloween is coming.
There are ghosts floating through the barren tree branches, skeletons sitting on moonlit porches, witches flying through the air on a broom made of straw and magic, and monsters waiting around every dark, shadowy corner.
And children often love it.
They ask for scary stories. They dress like monsters. They jump out from behind doors and yell “BOO!” Then they laugh and ask to do it again.
It seems like a contradiction.
Why would anyone actually enjoy being scared?
Researchers have a name for it: recreational fear (playful experiences in which fear and enjoyment happen together).
Sometimes being a little scared can be part of the fun.
And Halloween gives children plenty of opportunities to explore that feeling.
The Science Behind the Scare
Researchers recently asked the parents and caregivers of 1,600 children between the ages of 1 and 17 about their children’s enjoyment of scary activities.
They looked at 19 different categories of recreational fear (playful experiences involving something scary that children also enjoy).
The result was remarkable:
93% of the children were reported to enjoy at least one type of recreational fear.
The researchers also found that the kinds of scary activities children enjoyed varied across childhood, suggesting that how children engage with recreational fear changes as they grow.
In other words, enjoying a little fright isn’t unusual.
For many children, being scared can also be fun.
But there is an important distinction.
A child who wants to hear the spooky story is having a very different experience from a child who desperately wants the story to stop.
Fun-scary only works while it’s still fun.
And that’s where the adults who love them come in.
Research Citation
Taranu, M., Clasen, M., Rosas, F. E., Dodd, H., & Andersen, M. M. (2025).
Recreational Fear Across Childhood: A Cross-Sectional Study of Scary Activities that Children Enjoy.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development.
Published online June 16, 2025.
DOI: 10.1007/s10578-025-01850-2
PMID: 40522538.
