am i a psychopath for liking horror films?

This is something I've always wished to know the answer to. I've enjoyed horror films as long as I can remember, but I've always been surrounded by friends who can't stand them. Understandably, watching killers in masks, haunted houses and torture chambers isn't what everyone wants to see at the end of a hard day, but what causes the split in opinions? Do you have to be slightly unhinged to enjoy horror films? Or is it just an adrenaline thrill? I'd like to believe the latter, but I'm prepared to accept that I may be a little insane.

For me, I have always been fascinated by the way films can have control over how I feel, horror or not. How can sitting and watching something for a couple of hours, that I know isn't real, make me happy, or sad, or even scared? How can films do that? Specially, how can horror films do that? Watching a group of teenagers being chased by a killer, I realise those events aren't actually happening as I watch them. I realise that those events aren't necessarily going to happen to me, although that's not a guarantee. But after watching a scary film, something in my brain latches onto it, and everything seems scarier. Suddenly, my coat on the back of the door looks like a creepy old man, and every sound I hear is a killer trying to break in. As confusing as this psychological exchange is, it has never stopped me from continuing to watch them.

I do understand that it has something to do with adrenaline. It's a desire to feel fear but when we're reminded that we're still alive and safe, it's an emotional release. Being scared but knowing that nothing is actually happening to you, it creates a weird sort of gap between feeling safe and feeling unsafe.

In a helpless attempt to prove that I'm not a psychopath, I went searching for an answer to my question, and I stumbled upon something called 'emotional regulation'. This refers to the control we have over the situation when we watch horror films. As much as we want to follow every step of the action, we still have the option of covering our eyes and ears, and protecting ourselves from the scariest moments. This confused me at first, because if I'm choosing to watch a scary film, why would I shy away from the scariest bits? But, it does make sense. It's that false sense of security we create for ourselves in thinking we have control over our emotions.

But what is the actual attraction to scary films? No one enjoys murder in real life, unless you actually are a psychopath, in which case you have bigger problems. Maybe it's the adrenaline rush, or maybe it's the false idea of control. Or maybe me and my fellow horror film lovers are just a little bit psychotic. I think that's fine, as long as we don't start murdering people.