LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It's Halloween season and thousands of Arkansans have been getting into the spooky spirit and are ready to get spooked, but why does anyone actually like getting scared?
Well, there's actually a scientific reason behind why we keep chasing the thrill.
People wait all year to cautiously walk through the haunted hotel of Arkansas. Owner Mike Boulding explained that the crowds get bigger every year.
"Halloween is our favorite holiday. It's pretty much our Christmas," Boulding said.
With close to 50 monsters and over 20 haunted rooms, The Haunted Hotel of Arkansas has already heard thousands of screams.
"Every year more and more people come out. If you want to have a good time and be scared this is the place to be," Boulding said.
UAMS mental health therapist Gracyn Sanders explained that there's science behind what brings people back year after year.
"For people who enjoy it, they're seeking that thrill," Sanders said, "We know that when we are fearful, we have our adrenaline spiked, and within that, you've got your dopamine rush or endorphins."
She said it's an experience our brain can even interpret as educational.
"People want to understand, like how they might react to that, or they might not have a clue. And they're trying to figure out, you know, what would I do in this situation?," she added.
She also said that for some, the real world may actually be scarier than a controlled environment like a haunted house.
"I feel like the go-to coping a lot of times is escaping into something that you really enjoy. And so for some people, it could be that it could feel like that is safety within their world," Sanders explained.
Even if terrifying masks don't seem all that safe, knowing that it's all for fun can keep people lining up.
"If they come out smile and have a good time. I mean, that's whenever I know, we did it," Boulding said.
The Haunted Hotel of Arkansas runs through midnight on Halloween for anyone who may be looking to test the theory and get scared themselves