ABSTRACT
This chapter examines children’s experiences in dark-themed entertainment worldwide (i.e., haunted attractions, paranormal investigations, thrill rides in theme parks), as well as events designed to frighten that are hosted at locations like cemeteries and former asylums and penitentiaries. Despite some adult perceptions that young tourists should be shielded from such visits, tourism researchers occasionally report children’s pleasure in witnessing scenes typically thought to inspire fear and disgust. In fact, children’s enjoyment of scary places has been documented in other disciplines. The author has experience working with middle and high school groups to design haunted attractions, consulting with industry professionals, and touring sites known to tap into fear. Case studies from Japan, North and South America, and Europe illustrate the cultural differences that exist in content design and planning, execution, and consumption of dark-themed entertainment tourism sites. In addition, the author discusses her research findings from two years of data collection in the field (self-report surveys, mobile EEG, and skin conductance) at an extreme haunted attraction. Kerr shares the results, specifically the relationship between changes in self-report affective states and measures of subjective fear that cause changes in brainwave activity. She explains the insights this research provides into how otherwise high arousal negative stimuli (i.e., horror-related content) might be experienced instead as positive, resulting in psychosocial gains for individuals in the context of voluntary engagement (VANE).
