Page 90 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - September 2021

90 Why Haunted Houses Terrify Some

A psychologist explains processes that have evolved to protect us from places offer us a lot of prospect and a lot of
harm at the hands of predators and enemies. refuge, or what landscape architect Randolph
why haunted houses If you’re walking through the woods alone at Hester refers to as a “Womb with a View.”
night and hear the sound of something rustling
terrify us
in the bushes, you’ll respond with a heightened In the words of Appleton, these are,
level of arousal and attention. You’ll behave as evolutionarily speaking, places where “you can
if there is a willful “agent” present who is about see without being seen, and eat without being
From architectural details to
to do you harm. eaten.”
certain types of spaces that make
us uncomfortable, there’s science If it turns out to be a gust of wind or a stray cat, Unfortunately, most haunted houses make for a
you lose little by overreacting. But if you fail to bad combination of very low prospect for us,
behind the terror
activate the alarm response and a true threat is and very high refuge for the creepy-crawly
present—well, the cost of your miscalculation things that are lying in wait to get us. Research
by Frank T. McAndrew. could be high. has confirmed that people experience such
environments as unsafe and dangerous.
Thus, we evolved to err on the side of detecting
threats in ambiguous situations. Things that Such places also lack what environmental
The Haunted House is a time-honored horror
activate hypervigilance for malevolent psychologists refer to as legibility. Legibility
setting. All of us have shivered our way through
supernatural (or natural) agents abound in large, reflects the ease with which a place can be
spooky flicks such as The Haunting, The
drafty old houses: rattling or creaking sounds in recognized, organized into a pattern and
Amityville Horror, The Sentinel, and Poltergeist.
upstairs rooms; the sighing and moaning of wind recalled—in other words, a place that we can
passing through cracks; ragged curtains wander around in without getting lost.
It’s not only at the movies that we pay good
fluttering in the breeze; echoes; and cold spots.
money to frighten ourselves to death:
Thus, the typical haunted house is large, dark,
commercial haunted houses are an integral part
of 21st-century Halloween theater, with an Feeling trapped surrounded by overgrown vegetation, and full of
surprising architectural features such as secret
estimated 5,000 such attractions operating in the
United States each year. Research has consistently shown that we need rooms and closets under staircases. Attics and
more personal space while seated than while basements are also must-have items, and, of
The portrayal of cinematic haunted houses has standing, more space when we are in the corner course, spider webs, bats, rats, and insects make
remained remarkably consistent across time, and of a room rather than in the center of it, and nice accessories.
the architects of our annual macabre Halloween more space in rooms with low ceilings.
The older, the better
rituals incorporate all of the same bells and
whistles (okay—creaks and groans) that we’ve We feel uncomfortable when our personal space
come to expect. is violated anywhere, but especially so in Most haunted houses have some sort of “legend”
situations where we feel as if escape will associated with them. It usually involves a story
From a psychological point of view, the standard become difficult. about a grisly death or accident. There may even
features of haunted houses trigger feelings of be a history of suicide and murder.
dread because they push buttons in our brains Such feelings of discomfort are symptomatic of
that evolved long before houses even existed. the fact that we are constantly—even if The older a place is, the more likely we are to
These alarm buttons warn us of potential danger unconsciously—scanning our surroundings and perceive it as haunted, because there’s been
and motivate us to proceed with assessing our ability to flee if it should become much more time for tragic things to have taken
caution.Haunted houses give us the creeps not necessary. place.
because they pose a clear threat to us, but rather
because it is unclear whether or not they Consequently, a haunted house is our worst Stimuli such as moldy odors, antiquated
represent a threat. nightmare. Victorian or Gothic architecture, wood interiors
and old portraits on the wall reinforce an
This ambivalence leaves you frozen in place, The prototypical haunted house is in a remote, ambiance of great age. Assuming that the house
wallowing in unease. isolated location, far removed from the rest of is no longer occupied, signs of life suddenly
society (think of the off-season resort hotel in interrupted and frozen in time only amplify the

For example, it would be considered bizarre and The Shining, for example). If bad things do fear factor.
embarrassing to run screaming out of a house happen, help would be a long time coming, even
that makes you feel uneasy if there is actually if communication with the outside world were For example, remnants of a half-eaten meal on a
nothing to fear. On the other hand, it could be possible. (Conveniently, in old horror movies kitchen table or clothing laid out on a bed
perilous to ignore your intuition and remain in a the telephones always stop working.) waiting for a homeowner who has apparently
place that is dangerous. vanished without warning create a frightening
Also, the darkness and confusing layout of the ambiguity about what may have taken place in
These are the psychological mechanisms behind house may cause us to get lost; at the very least, the house. (There are bonus points awarded if
feeling “creeped out.” They may be useful if it would slow us down. Escape could further be the house is conveniently located next to or on
they help you maintain vigilance when threat is impeded by hedges, iron fences, or crumbling top of an old cemetery or burial ground!)
uncertain. They also help you manage the stairways, all of which are featured prominently
balance between self-preservation and self- in Hollywood haunted houses. Individuals who believe in paranormal
presentation (.i.e, presenting yourself in a phenomena and have expectations that creepy
socially desirable way). A womb with a view things might actually be present in such a place
are more likely to engage in the sort of top-
While human psychology can explain what British geographer Jay Appleton was the first to down, cognitive processing that induces fear.
makes a haunted house so scary, it also provides describe two crucial features that determine Ultimately, whether or not a house is perceived
the perfect guide to making one ourselves. whether a place is attractive or frightening to as haunted obviously depends upon something
humans: the more “prospect” and “refuge” a other than the physical features of the house.
Things that trigger our ‘agent place offers us, the more attractive it is. Just as important are the inherent beliefs of the
person exploring the house.
detection’ mechanisms
Refuge means having a secure, protected place
to hide where one can be sheltered from danger, For these people, otherwise innocuous but
Evolutionary psychologists have proposed the
while prospect refers to one’s clear, uncertain surroundings can become a chilling
existence of agent detection mechanisms—or
unobstructed view of the landscape. Attractive experience.[]