“Telling scary stories is something people have done for thousands of years, for most of us like being scared in that way. Since there isn’t any danger, we think it is fun.”

The author puts his finger on part of the ancient appeal of scary stories—that is, to give us the “rush” of fear while knowing that we’re absolutely safe. According to psychologists, the emotions of fear release two kinds of hormones into the blood—dopamine and endorphins—which have a euphoric, tranquilizing effect on us. In a safe setting, away from the stresses of actual danger, these natural chemicals bolster our sense of well-being and contentment, leaving us with a “glow” of pleasure. The storyteller, too, feels a sort of vicarious euphoria, a satisfaction at the dramatic effect of the story on the audience.

“Some of these tales are very old, and they are told around the world. And most have the same origins. They are based on things that people saw or heard or experienced—or thought they did.”

Many—perhaps all—scary stories are rooted in actual fears or real-life dangers; as such, they help us cope with a scary world and with aspects of the unknown. Confronting a fear or danger in the form of a story can often, paradoxically, make us feel safer: This “catharsis” leaves us with an (empowering) sense of having faced a threat and perhaps better able to deal with the real thing. By qualifying that people have only “thought” they experienced some of these threats, the author suggests that many of them (ghosts, witches, zombies, and urban myths) are superstitions with no literal reality.