The Anatomy of a Scare

There are a couple reasons why we human beings are so addicted to horror films—but the thrill of a scare is definitely the most fun one.

That’s a thrill also on offer at Vancouver escape game Krakit. Not only are you put in a terrifying situation—a zombie apocalypse, a madman butcher on the loose—with limited time to save yourself, but live actors are prone to jump out at any minute.

All scare fans know and love that feeling: that mixture of dread and glee. Here’s how it works.

The Build Up

We step up to a scary movie or a horror-inspired escape game with some pre-existing knowledge: that is, we know something seriously creepy is going to happen. We don’t know when, we don’t know where, we just know that it will. The anticipation puts us on edge, just waiting for the moment when—

Something Happens

Though the build up is excruciatingly slow, the “something” is lighting quick. Whether it’s the sudden appearance of a menacing face in a window, the sudden cutting of the lights, or the sudden motion of something you didn’t even realize was in the room, it’s always, without fail, accompanied by a loud noise.

Involuntary Reaction

There’s always a noise, because that’s what jumpstarts your automatic nervous system, releasing a flash of fight-or-flight chemicals and making you jump involuntarily. Specifically, a loud noise activates something in our primal brain (aka the amygdala) called the Startle Circuit—which goes off with no conscious thought, taking you from “loud noise” to “spilled popcorn” in 50 milliseconds.

Giggle Fit

Because we know we’re ultimately safe—that the Krakit Butcher’s knife isn’t real—the next response is usually to laugh at ourselves. Once our lizard brain catches up and also realizes we’re not really in danger, the effects of the adrenaline pump we just received are reversed, slowing our heart rate—and preparing us for the next scare.

Scare Tactics (Part One): Fight-or-Flight

Audiences love to scream in terror at the scenes presented to them on the big and small screen. But why do we seek out scary experiences? Why do we shield our eyes in fear only to return them to the screen seconds later? What sadistic tendency leads us to self-scare?

The answer lays in our body chemistry, or more specifically our brain chemistry. In a fight-or-flight scenario our brain releases the hormone dopamine. Dopamine has many purposes in the human body, but one of the major roles it plays is reward. Our body rewards us with dopamine when we preform certain actions, the most basic being smiling. Our reward is happiness.

In a scary scenario, our brain also rewards our 'fight' option with an increase in the production of dopamine. By sitting through a disturbing scene our body experiences a jolt of hormones. This produces feelings similar to those created when we experience a euphoric situation.

Our self-esteem gets a boost as our confidence increases. Our survival, even when witnessing a two-dimensional scene, is seen as an action worthy of a chemical prize. The more scary scenarios we can sit through the greater our self -worth.

But scares aren't for everyone. Our enjoyment depends on the milliseconds between the fright and our brain's recognition that as viewers, we are in a safe place. If we aren't sure of our safety, we will be less likely to enjoy the experience.

The Krakit Escape Room has similar boundaries. If we feel safe during the experience, then we can enjoy the act of being scared. We feel elated if we are able to solve the puzzle.

Some individuals find safety in numbers and have a far more enjoyable experience when attempting to escape in a large group.

And then there's some who don’t like to be scared at all. Luckily for this group, Krakit has a new theme that has close to zero chills.

Come try one of our four challenges this week.