There’s something about creeping slowly through a haunted house, curling yourself small as you turn the corner, just waiting for whatever’s about to scare the s**t out of you. And somehow, it’s fun. But why do we do that? Why do people pay to be terrified when real fear feels so awful?

Dr. Frederic Bertley, CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), calls fear “one of the brain’s most fascinating tricks.” It’s our built-in alarm system, designed to keep us alive, but in the right setting, it becomes entertainment. “The moment something startles us, the brain’s alarm system, the amygdala, kicks into gear,” he explained. “Your heart races, your pupils dilate, and your body floods with adrenaline before you even have time to think.”

That instant fight-or-flight reaction is ancient, w

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