{"id":16731,"date":"2021-10-28T07:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=16731"},"modified":"2021-10-28T07:11:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T11:11:17","slug":"fascination-with-scary-things-can-be-problematic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2021\/10\/fascination-with-scary-things-can-be-problematic.html","title":{"rendered":"Can Fascination With Scary Things Be a Problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This time of year, children dress up in costumes meant to be scary. But we don\u2019t often think about how this might affect them. The truth is that a child\u2019s brain cannot process scary things like an adult. Exposure to frightening images, movies, TV shows or even scare fests can lead a child to develop sleep disturbances, obsessional thinking and avoidance of the dark. In fact, research on the impact of scary movies on children tells us they can develop long-term fears if they are too young to process the images, see graphic images of blood and injury, and didn\u2019t want to see the movie but did so due to peer pressure.<\/p>\n

When it comes to children, consider their developmental stage when exposed to scary images. Preschoolers cannot distinguish between real and unreal. Therefore, do not expose them to frightening scenes. If they do see an image, distract them and provide physical comfort. Simply telling them it is not real will not help.<\/p>\n

School age children respond poorly when there are realistic portrayals of frightening things in a movie. Even though they can decide if images are real, the images are remembered by the brain and they can be bothersome. For example, if a child sees a movie in which someone his or her own age is hurt by a scary person, they can develop fears about getting hurt.<\/p>\n

What about teens who say they like scary things? Well, what they watch often contains sexual content along with the horror. And females are often portrayed as victims of fright. So what unconscious messages do they get from watching horror films?<\/p>\n

Now, what about adults. Interestingly, researcher David Zald discovered that some people have a different chemical response to horror and thrilling situations. This response has to do with the release of dopamine (a feel-good chemical) in the brain, giving them more enjoyment from scary things. I know I am not one of those people!<\/p>\n

However, a concerning reason for engaging in scary things is when people are curious about the \u2018dark side.\u201d They want to dabble in the unknown.\u00a0This can be dangerous territory because dark things are real and powerful.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0problem with a lot of scary things is that they elevate darkness and desensitize us to real evil and gore. The Bible tells us that our earthly struggle is \u201cagainst the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms\u201d (Ephesians 6:12<\/a>). So, Christians need to be on alert to dark things. In fact, I would argue that evil should bother us, not be enjoyed. We should not be entertained by darkness that seeks to hurt and destroy people and things; especially when the darkness involves the occult and is glorified. It\u2019s not good to expose yourself to these things.<\/p>\n

Remember Paul\u2019s question to the Corinthians, \u201cFor what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion has light with darkness?\u201d (2 Cor. 6:14, MEV)? <\/em>This question raising the issue of where something originates\u2014from God or from another source. Don\u2019t dabble in witchcraft, horoscopes, tarot cards, palm reading, fortune telling, pentagrams or medium channeling. All of these are divinations and not from God.<\/p>\n

The culture is getting darker and darker, but we are the light of the world. And light breaks through darkness. So be careful with scary things. If it\u2019s the rush of a sky dive, that\u2019s one thing, but when it involves spiritual darkness, don\u2019t engage unless you fight against it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This time of year, children dress up in costumes meant to be scary. But we don\u2019t often think about how this might affect them. The truth is that a child\u2019s brain cannot process scary things like an adult. Exposure to frightening images, movies, TV shows or even scare fests can lead a child to develop…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[925],"tags":[5862,1502,533,5856,5859],"class_list":["post-16731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mintle-mentions","tag-children-and-halloween","tag-fears","tag-halloween","tag-scary-things","tag-spiritual-darkness"],"yoast_head":"\nCan Fascination With Scary Things Be a Problem?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This time of year, children dress up in costumes meant to be scary. But we don\u2019t often think about how this might affect them or even adults.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Fascination With Scary Things Be a Problem?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This time of year, children dress up in costumes meant to be scary. But we don\u2019t often think about how this might affect them or even adults.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2021\/10\/fascination-with-scary-things-can-be-problematic.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-28T11:00:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-28T11:11:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2021\/10\/crow-g979f83a24_1920.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can Fascination With Scary Things Be a Problem?","description":"This time of year, children dress up in costumes meant to be scary. 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