Your palms start to sweat, your heart rate quickens, and a chill creeps up your spine to dance around your skull. That’s when you know the thriller is getting good.
Readers around the world know the excitement of being kept up at night, just to read “one more” chapter of a dark and gripping story. For many of us, the sensation is addictive. But what is it about a suspense-steeped narrative — whether it’s a beguiling mystery, a pulse-pounding thriller, or a twisted horror tale — that keeps us craving more?
There are several reasons why we like to be scared and find thrilling stories such as these so satisfying to read. And even if you aren’t a die-hard thriller fan or horror enthusiast, you might still recognize yourself in a few of them!
Facing Your Fears Vicariously
Fear is a fact of life. It’s something we all experience, and it manifests in different ways. Many of us carry around familiar fears about the kinds of things we encounter every day, whether it’s a spider skittering across the floor or having to speak before a large group. And then there are more specific fears, like being abducted at night or stranded in the middle of the woods. The fears and phobias that define us are often caused by a general understanding of danger, but they also stem from negative experiences, our environment, and even genetics.
One of the reasons tense and frightful stories captivate us, therefore, is that they invite us to dabble in our fears without actually putting ourselves at risk. Reading an unsettling tale is an inherently safe way to explore the things that scare us. The horror genre is a prime example — afraid of clowns and/or interdimensional evil beings? Read Stephen King’s It. Mysteries and thrillers deliver unique vicarious thrills, too. Alex North’s The Whisper Man, for instance, explores the creeping dread of knowing a killer’s on the loose in a small town (yikes), as well as the fears and anxieties of parenting and potentially failing to protect your child.
Solving Puzzles and the Thrill of the Chase
When an enigma materializes, we naturally want to solve it. The pursuit of a solution is a powerful force, which is why the drive to decipher clues and chase down answers in mysteries and thrillers can carry us right through the story.
In Amy Tintera’s acclaimed Listen for the Lie, for example, the reader rides right along with protagonist Lucy as she embarks on a swirling search for the truth, striving moment by moment to understand whether or not she actually killed her best friend. And it’s no wonder that books like The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides — a twisting, turning psychological thriller that keeps you guessing about its baffling murder until the final pages — captivate readers far and wide.
It’s fun to play detective. If you’re clever enough, you get the rush of having solved the mystery before the big reveal — or you get the thrill of being shocked by the surprise twist at the end. Either way, you’re left craving more.
Adrenaline and the Fun Kind of Fear
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Some folks jump out of planes to get an adrenaline rush; others just crack open a thrilling book. Adrenaline is a hormone that our body produces when we experience sudden excitement or stress. It has some pretty wild effects on the way we feel. Not only does it dampen our perception of pain but adrenaline also pumps up other functions, increasing heart rate and boosting energy.
For some, this is a chase-worthy feeling. Books like Bird Box by Josh Malerman tap into that rush, building tension through an anxiety-riddled narrative of survival that floods the reader with adrenaline. Peter Nichols ratchets up the suspense in Granite Harbor, his gripping serial killer thriller set in coastal Maine, by interspersing unnerving chapters told from the killer’s point of view, reminding us that unfathomable danger is right around the corner, watching our every step.
This rush and release also ties into why we like being scared. The flood of adrenaline triggers a subsequent surge of feel-good chemicals, such as endorphins and dopamine. And that cocktail, coupled with the knowledge that we’re not actually in any danger, makes the whole thrilling experience pretty enjoyable.
A Dark Curiosity About the Unknown
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it has yet to kill the reader. The unknown calls out to us in fiction — and especially in suspenseful narratives. Disappearing into a gripping story exposes us to situations that we would never want to, or never could, encounter in real life. For example, would you like to serve as the lead detective in a brutal murder case involving a human torso fused together with the lower half of a deer? Most likely not. But Lauren Beukes’s Broken Monsters beckons you into that dark and grisly world from the comfort of your reading chair.
An Escape into Another World
A well-written tale can spirit you away from the daily stresses and concerns of living. We call this escapism. It’s a way for us to relax and recharge, to forget about our troubles. And while all written works offer some degree of literary escapism, well-crafted mysteries and thrillers are especially effective at pulling us into beguiling new environments. Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is an excellent example of atmospheric storytelling. Jackson masterfully weaves together dread and foreboding with a vivid sense of place in her narrative. You see every darkened corner in the cursed Hill House, you hear every floorboard creak — and you’ll be far too immersed in the narrative to worry about your work meeting in the morning.
In Conclusion
The allure of suspense taps into our most primal instincts: fear, excitement, the search for answers, and the thrill of resolution. We love gripping tales because they draw us into haunting new realms and invite us to reckon with the darkness from the safety of home — and above all else, they’re wicked-good fun!
