Why Do We Love Spooky S**t?

I’m not sure what it is that fascinates us so much about ghosts, ghouls and all things spooky but I think we can admit that as a society we (or at least the vast majority) are intrigued by the paranormal. Whether it’s the general creepiness of the story, or the macabre details – people start telling them and people start listening. Is it our own mortality that encapsulates us so much? Or maybe the idea that history might not exist only in the past. What if we can exist with it? The notion that you’re not just walking down the same cobbled street as those from the Victorian era – but they might also be walking behind you.

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned ghost story to get you on the edge of your seat is there? But what exactly is it? The feeling of unease -- that you might not be alone? The moment the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and goosebumps erupt over your skin?

The moment you try to convince yourself that you’re imagining it all, that it’s in your head, that you didn’t hear anything, or that perhaps it was just the wind?

Are we simply curious or do we have an innate need to uncover the possibilities and the unknown?

Paranormal phenomenon has permeated almost all aspects of life; hitting mainstream media, lodging in tales told in dimly lit rooms in hushed tones, filling corners of the internet and volumes of books with accounts, tales and images. It’s everywhere.

So what gives it a stronghold on us?

Almost every city, every town, every village and even every school has its own share of ghost stories – either the abandoned house on the corner of a quiet street, or the weathered tombstones in the graveyard, there’s always something spooky told to anyone willing to listen.

The middle school I went to was no exception, the tale we were told and readily accepted – and even then began to experience - goes that the old headmaster fell down the stairs under the stage and into the dark cellar never to come out again. Now, obviously as a bunch of middle school kids we were always daring each other to do stupid things, and most of the time it involved us descending the old wooden ladder under the stage in the dark. Spoiler alert, there was no old headmaster that died after tragically falling under the stage, but did we tell the story? Yes. Did we get creeped out by it? Yes again. Were we truly fascinated? Of course. Oddly though, bearing in mind the story was made up, many of us that dared venture under the stage experienced spooky going-ons. We heard weird noises that we couldn’t explain, feelings we couldn’t shake and chills no jumper could prevent.

Whether we create these stories ourselves to pass down to those who come after us to scare, or whether we inherit them from those actually experiencing them, they become a central point for so many of us.

Shroud anything in a mystery and it instantly becomes interesting.

Perhaps it is simply our desire to uncover the unknown and make sense of the unexplained… or perhaps we enjoy the fear.

It’s not just ghost stories we’re fascinated by, pretty much anything occult, mysterious, unexplained or spooky has us hook line and sinker.

Maybe we like to be scared, perhaps it satisfies the primal instinct in us – fear keeps us alert right? It makes our hearts beat faster and makes us feel alive, maybe we like that reminder.

Maybe we like to be afraid of something we can later say wasn’t real - escapism from things in our lives we know to be real and a cause of anguish. A safe way to feel fear.

Perhaps it offers us the comfort – the sense that our lives will not simply end, that there is something after this. Our mortality is slightly obscured by the chance that we remain.

What are your thoughts? Do you believe in the paranormal – or do you think everything has a logical explanation? Let me know!

Got any spooky experiences? Share them in the comments – the creepier the better!

If you found this interesting you might also like what I wrote about room 333 at The Langham