Updated on October 14, 2026
Why scary stories help us face our fears, understand ourselves, and see the world through someone else's eyes.
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I read a lot of scary books. My favorite horror novels are written by Stephen King. (Keep on reading for some book recommendations.) They're a fantastic method to discover more about who you are and how you handle fear. Reading these stories can give you fresh insights into our shared humanity and how we interact with reality. One reason so many people enjoy horror is that it gives them a safe place to practice facing their fears.
Five reasons horror is good for us
It helps you learn about yourself.
It lets you face fear safely.
It gives you a new perspective and builds empathy.
It helps you deal with reality.
It's a great way to relax and be entertained.
1. Horror Helps You Learn About Yourself
Horror books can help if you've ever felt you don't know what you're afraid of, or if your fear is so ingrained in your psyche that it limits your ability to grow. A good horror book can help readers gain insight into themselves through the characters' experiences. The protagonist(s) may be terrified of spiders, clowns, or anything else, and this fear can manifest in many ways throughout their lives. As characters travel and grow throughout stories, they are typically forced to confront obstacles along the way: pools filled with water snakes and other creatures; rooms full of traps designed solely to destroy anyone foolish enough to enter; mutated plants that will eat anything (including you); and more.
I think about reading the Goosebumps series as a kid. Now that I'm older, I can see how some fears that initially seemed superficial were actually rooted in something else. For example, why are so many people afraid of the dark? Darkness itself won't do anything to us. But what about the things or creatures that hide within it?
2. Horror Lets You Face Fear Safely
You can better comprehend your own worries by reading about others' fears. The best way to overcome dread is to understand it, and reading horror literature can help you do just that.
Knowing more about yourself can help you get past anxieties or issues that might be preventing you from living life to the fullest. Reading is a great method to learn more about other people, their problems, and how they deal with them differently than we do. Sometimes, they serve as good examples for us to follow. Sometimes, there are lessons learned.
We won't know how to best defend ourselves against those feelings if we don't know what makes us uneasy or afraid. We must be aware of our own shortcomings and vulnerabilities to grow personally and survive.
“Watching scary movies or reading scary books offers a safe way to explore our fears and learn potential ways to overcome them through the experiences of the author and their characters.”
Horror stories frequently deal with conquering fears, such as a dread of heights or a fear of passing away. Before they can move on with their lives, the characters in these stories must face and overcome their anxieties. This occurs frequently in life; in order to lead happy lives, we must confront our fears. However, there are occasions when we are forced to act in an uncomfortable manner because it is the only way to move forward. Otherwise, we face stagnation, failure, or the chance to settle for less than what is meant for us.
Reading about these situations in books enables us to see how others overcome such challenges and may provide some inspiration when faced with similar challenges ourselves.
3. Horror Gives You a New Perspective and Builds Empathy
It's true that you can be reading about something unsettling and frightful, but if you examine it from the perspective of another person, it becomes a whole other experience. Reading a horror book can help you comprehend the motivations behind characters' actions. Since it may be difficult for us to imagine ourselves going through such suffering, reading about someone else's suffering might help us see the world in new ways and broaden our perspectives on the world.
It can help us become more empathetic toward others and their struggles. It allows you to see things from another person's perspective, which can help you better understand how people think and feel about certain situations.
When we read, we learn more about our shared humanity. Getting lost in the narrative is one of the best methods to travel through time and space. Exposing yourself to fresh viewpoints, fears, and ideas that may even conflict with your own beliefs or values can help you better comprehend who you are.
4. Horror Helps You Deal With Reality
The horror genre has been a staple in literature for centuries, and it's still one of the best ways to learn about human nature. The best way to deal with real-world issues in a safe manner is through fiction, and reading horror novels can help you understand your own behavior better.
5. Horror Is a Great Way to Be Entertained
Reading is a great way to relax, escape reality, and learn new things. Reading books in the horror genre is a terrific way to discover more about who you are, especially in terms of how you handle terror. With this understanding, people can improve their daily decisions for both themselves and those around them. And on top of everything else, they're simply fun to read.
After Dark
Now I'm writing horror of my own.
After Dark is where I share my horror stories. Read one for free before my first collection comes out in 2027.
What the MoPOP Horror Exhibit Taught Me
In 2020, I traveled to Seattle and stopped by the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). In their horror movie exhibit, a sign listed several important reasons why the horror genre (through scary movies) matters to humans. The horror genre can:
Serve as a rite of passage and test of courage
Reinforce the notions of good and evil
Create a rush of heightened emotions
Allow readers or viewers to safely experience taboo subjects
Reflect the landscape of our nightmares and dreams
The sign at MoPOP's horror exhibit, Seattle, 2020.
Horror and Thriller Books I Recommend
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Stephen King has said this is the book that scared him most, and I understand why. Beneath the story’s burial ground and the things that come back wrong from it, it's really a story about grief and how far a father would go to undo a loss. That's the scariest kind of horror to me: the kind that starts with love and refuses to let the dead stay dead.
In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt
A Puritan woman walks into the woods of colonial New England, and nothing is what it seems after that. Laird Hunt writes horror like a poet: short, lyrical, and dreamlike—proof that dread can be beautiful on the page. If you love language as much as you love a good scare, start here.
The Shining by Stephen King
A struggling writer takes a winter job at an empty mountain hotel, hoping for a fresh start. As a writer, what haunts me most about The Shining is this: the ghosts of the Overlook are terrifying, but the real horror is watching Jack Torrance lose himself to his own demons.
The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
A gothic murder mystery at West Point in 1830, where a retired detective's unlikely partner is a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe. A poet helping solve a murder? That premise alone sold me. It's more thriller than horror, but it's dark, atmospheric, and as moody as Poe himself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is reading horror good for you?
Watching scary movies or reading scary books offers a safe way to explore our fears and learn how to overcome them through the experiences of the author and his or her characters.
Why do people like horror?
According to the horror exhibit at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture, the horror genre can serve as a rite of passage and test of courage, reinforce the notions of good and evil, create a rush of heightened emotions, allow readers or viewers to safely experience taboo subjects, and reflect the landscape of our nightmares and dreams.
Meet the author
Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, raised in a military family, and a former U.S. Marine. Pablo Camacho is the author of more than eight books in English and Spanish, including the Pencraft Award–winning Bittersweet, and is currently writing his first horror stories. He lives in Florida with his wife and daughter.
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