Strange as it may seem, many people enjoy scaring themselves. And everyone has their own level of tolerance when it comes to fright. But just how much fear is too much?
Sweden’s Liseberg amusement park in Gothenburg is wondering the same thing, and has launched a call for candidates brave enough to face their fears and explore their limits.
The aim is to conduct a scientific experiment, in collaboration with researchers from the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark.
And the good news is that it’s not just Swedes who can take part. Usually, this kind of “recruitment” is reserved for the local population, but this time, the organisers are inviting international candidates to apply.Travel and accommodation costs to Sweden will be covered.
However, the selected participants won’t know exactly where they’ll be going. That’s the whole point of “The Peak Fear Experiment,” which is scheduled to take place on Oct 11.
Brave souls will be confronted with different fear-inducing scenarios, with the aim of identifying the point at which it’s really no longer fun to feel scared.
During the experiment, candidates will be monitored by psychologists and doctors, and a health examination will be carried out beforehand.
“Frightening entertainment may have a range of positive psychological effects; it may actually be good for us to play with our fears by, for instance, watching scary movies or visiting ‘haunted attractions’.
“Such entertainment, it seems, can function as a kind of fear vaccine and build up resilience to stress and anxiety by practicing emotion regulation and expanding our limits,” says Mathias Clasen, PhD and co-director of Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University, quoted in a news release.
According to the researchers, there are three categories of fear-lovers: those seeking an adrenaline rush, those who are genuinely frightened but want to overcome the fear, and those “who use the scary experience to navigate a frightening world.”
Applications are open to anyone over the age of 18, until Sept 25, at https://peakfear.liseberg.se/.