On Tiktok, the hashtag #scarystories gained popularity during the month of October. Videos under the hashtag had 55 million views over the last seven days, with 19 billion views since it started. However, telling a horror story is bigger than just social media shares.

From authors like Edgar Allen Poe to Stephen King, horror not only is a trending genre in entertainment, but in literature too. A 2021 book sales report found that horror was the fifth most popular fiction genre the year before, bringing in $79.6 million dollars.

The stats are consistent with the rise of horror popularity that’s been occurring since 2016. Nielsen Bookscan figures showed that the genre was up “29% in value and volume” in 2017 compared to the year before.

Here are six reasons why horror is a year-round genre, including conversations about society to deep dives on characters.

1. You can connect with the character’s inner turmoil

Compared to horror movies and television shows, readers are able to take a deeper dive into the inner workings of the character, according to author Ai Jiang.

“With TV shows and movies, there is less opportunity for interiority in that we don’t often hear the character’s internal thoughts and development,” Jiang said. “With stories and written horror, we can dive deeper into the characters’ psyches, brew on the imagery, atmosphere, and setting, and let the ideas settle or unsettle within us.”

This ability is very important, Brenda Helmbrecht, English professor at CalPoly, said.

“Literature asks us to empathize with a character’s fears in unique ways,” Helmbrecht said. “Readers construct images in their minds when they read, but they also get to know characters in very intimate ways. While films may ask us to watch someone who is afraid, literature can ask us to step into a character’s mind and experience the horror alongside them. And I find that process incredibly valuable.”

2. Fear can help your brain

Fear, often perceived as a negative emotion, serves a crucial evolutionary purpose by alerting us to potential dangers. “Recreational fear,” which is a mix of both enjoyment and fear, suggests that activities such as horror movie-watching, haunted house visits, and engaging in thrill-seeking behavior can provide a controlled environment for individuals to playfully confront fear.

The Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University delves into the psychological benefits of these activities, finding that experiencing a moderate level of fear can improve stress coping mechanisms and psychological resilience. This exposure to controlled fear is likened to a form of fear inoculation, preparing individuals for real-life challenges.

We should reconsider overly shielding individuals from playful forms of fear, according to horror researcher Mathias Clasen in a 2022 article on recreational fear.

There are potential long-term benefits of engaging with controlled fear experiences. For example, those with mental health issues like depression or anxiety have been found to find relief through recreational horror.

3. Horror stories can also give you a bigger emotional response

Horror author Lee Mandelo gravitated to the horror genre because of its intensity.

“”I think it’s a uniquely important space for artists to get at some of the visceral and deeply-rooted experiences of isolation, oppression, and ‘being the other’ minoritized peoples often share,” said Mandelo, who was influenced by the themes of survival and fear seen in the rampant homophobia and HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1990s and early 2000s.

It’s been found that those that watch and read horror can actually be experiencing mental health benefits. For example, a 2021 study concluded that those who watched horror films “exhibited better psychological resilience during the first Covid-19 lockdown” compared to those that don’t watch scary movies.

Studies have also shown that “horror entertainment can trigger the fight-or-flight response, which comes with a boost in adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine,” filling the brain with positive chemicals.

4. They open the door for bigger conversations about society

The introduction of potentially unsettling ideas or fresh topics is one of the ways that horror can open the door for deeper social commentary. Horror can put a mirror to society and show people the darker side of what is really going on in the world.

For example, the 2017 movie “Get Out” by filmmaker and comedian Jordan Peele combined classic horror elements but also explored ongoing issues such as racism and slavery.

And there’s more—the “Candyman” reboot in 2021 by Nia Dacosta and “US,” also by Jordan Peele that came out in 2019, also put a spotlight on the trauma, aggressions, and racism that Black people go through in America today.

“Horror films ask viewers to engage with racial identity, sexuality, class, religion – pretty much any identity marker you can think of,” Helmbrecht said. “What scares me may not be what scares someone else, and those fears are often influenced by our cultural identities and experiences. These films invite us to engage directly with these fears. But they also ask us to engage with situations that scare other people.”

5. It can teach us about the human experience

Perhaps it’s the physical reaction of adrenaline. Perhaps the horror genre enables us to delve into the more shadowy aspects of our own psyche.

Terror is an innate part of our being, according to horror author Stephen Jones.

“We came up on the savanna as food pouches for anything with teeth, pretty much. Meaning terror got hardwired into us—it defined us,” Jones said. “Without it, we wouldn’t survive. Engaging horror stories now lets us feel that terror again, and when we feel it, we’re at our most human.”

Reading horror is able to break down the “layers of falsehood” to get to a person’s most honest self through art, said horror author Chuck Tingle.

“It is concerned with primal things because it’s looking for a reaction of the body, a jump of fright or a dang scream,” Tingle said. “It’s important to support horror as one of those body genres and to support art that gives weight to both sides of our creative spirit as buckaroos.”

6. There’s nowhere to run when reading

When writing a horror story, “it’s easier to sow doubt about the reliability of the protagonists. You can’t create jump scares to quite the same extent but that also means people who might cover their eyes in the cinema will keep reading despite themselves,” horror author Leon Craig said.

Horror authors and their fans gravitate towards the genre because of its ability to dive into the scary or uncomfortable in a way that sticks with us, author Matthew Ward wrote in a 2019 article for A Mind for Madness. Through their work, people can take a deeper look at the world around them and themselves.

But also, reading horror gives you an opportunity to experience a terrifying scenario in the safety and security of your own home.