Hi everyone! My name is Clara and for the next semester I will be an intern at Recreational Fear Lab as part of my third semester of the MA in English. I am looking forward to gaining an even deeper insight into recreational fear – and perhaps learn more about how it affects us as humans and how we encounter it in our day-to-day life.

My first encounter with the term “recreational fear” was actually in my first semester of the masters. While I have always had a profound interest in horror movies, games, and literature, I had never considered how strange it actually is to be enjoying something that inevitably leads to sweaty palms and a rapidly increasing heartrate. So, when I first encountered a term for the concept of seeking out scary experiences for fun, I was naturally intrigued.

My interest with horror started early with an interest in reading horror stories as a child. As I grew, it developed into a deep interest in horror movies and at the age of twelve, I had managed to find a friend group that shared the same interest in horror. We would go to the local Blockbuster store on Fridays, rent five horror movies, and then proceed to transform our parents living room into a mess of blankets and pillows. I still watch horror movies regularly, but have since added horror games – especially multiplayer – to the list of recreational fears I engage in on a regular basis.

I look forward to exploring fear on a deeper level as part of my internship. Especially visiting Dystopia as part of the research will definitely be a highlight of mine, but in general I am looking forward to engaging with horror and recreational fear on a daily basis at the lab, while exploring all the field has to offer. There is absolutely no doubt that the next semester will be frightfully fun.