Paradox of Horror

The Paradox of Horror is very contradictory to Freudian ego defense mechanisms, which are said to protect our mind and self from anxiety and provide a shelter from a situation where originally someone could not cope. Situations like getting robbed, kidnapped, scared etc...our body naturally has this mechanism to help us get through these traumatic situations and experiences...So why would we PUT ourselves in a situation knowing it is going to terrify us?...because of that feeling...that rush our body goes through.

I recently watched paranormal activity with some friends and it gave me the most nauseating feeling and made we start thinking about why I put myself through this. I have watched several horror films but this one has been the creepiest. I believe it is because it can really happen and that you hear stories all the time about people who have demons or ghosts in their house. I find this type of "horror" film scarier than those made with all gore and killings because it is surreal...you can not see or explain exactly what is going on and the thrill of trying to figure out is captivating. It gives our body an adrenaline rush which we enjoy. I am sure that is not the only reason people watch these kinds of movies but that would be my best guess. We enjoy the rush. It is similar to wanting to sky dive...why in the world would anyone want to jump out of a plane....sounds crazy to me... but I am the type of person who enjoys that rush and would do something like that... just like watching a horror movie...I want to be freighted enough to jump, hide behind the covers, try to look away...but can't...My defense mechanisms are working at their best to calm me down and that is what drives me to watch these type of movies.

Also, people do not like the unknown so we try and analyze it and piece things together to figure out exactly what is going on. Even in the movie I watched, the boyfriend, disregarded all the warnings from the psychic, did exactly what he shouldn't to try and aggravate the entity. He went as far as getting the Ouija board and trying to communicate. Not to mention, I was enjoying the fact that he was doing everything he was told not to because I wanted to see the entity and what it was capable of. I feel like if I was in that same situation...I would have done the same thing. He, also, was trying to figure out the unknown in his own way, which is exactly what we try to do while we watch any kind of movies. We all put ourselves in the character’s situation try and learn what to do and what not to do in every situation.