Scientists set up a haunted lab to figure out why we like being scared. Or why some of us do, anyway.

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Spooky, scary!
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▼ Deep in the bowels of the ScarehousePittsburgh’s most extreme haunted attraction, lurk zombies, demons, and a sociologist obsessed with fear. Margee Kerrhas been studying fright for over a decade, and her most recent experiment tries to make sense of why so many people willingly place themselves at the mercy of machete-wielding monsters this time of year.
As sociologist-in-residence at the Scarehouse, Kerr also uses her findings to help design the attraction for maximum horror.
But Kerr’s work is about more than achieving the maximum air during a jump scare. While fear is generally regarded as a negative emotion—albeit one that has helped us survive as a species—her latest researchsuggests that it can also do wonders for your mood and, paradoxically, help you relax. People who chose to go through a frightening experience came out feeling happier and less stressed, she and her colleague at the University of Pittsburgh found. The scare-ees exhibited decreased levels of brain activity in a way that mimicked the effects of  meditationor a 5k run.
The researchers set up their makeshift lab in the basement of the haunted house, recruiting people who had already purchased tickets to ensure that everyone participated by choice. A spooky basement, however, is a little different than the usual lab environment. “The operations and logistics were challenging,” says Kerr. “But it was very exciting, definitely not a quiet or boring moment. It’s also good proof that you can collect physiological data in real-world settings.”
Over the course of two years, more than 250 people answered mood questionnaires both before and after going through the attraction, and 100 of them also had their brain activity measured via electroencephalography(EEG). (▪ ▪ ▪)

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