It’s that season again! Fears, frights, and bumps-in-the-night. If you’re like me, you’ve saved every scary book on your TBR list all year till finally you could crack the spine on October 1st. Or, if you’re really like me, you’re in the mood to brainstorm creepy plots and supernatural situations that could coalesce into a sensationally scary story of your own.

But what makes things frightening—and why the heck do we enjoy being scared in the first place? Isn’t that whole notion counterintuitive?

Yes…and no.