Why Do People Like Scary Movies? | English Listening Practice

Hear You Go

We're gonna need a bigger boat. - Jaws.

Here's Johnny! - The Shining.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. - The Fly.

Do you like watching horror movies?

I don't really like them, but I know that millions of people do, so I thought Halloween would be a good opportunity to look at the genre as you practice your English listening.

In today's episode, you'll learn about:

• the English vocabulary we use when talking about horror movies (and the way they make us feel!)
• the reasons why people like them and the reported benefits of watching these types of movies & TV shows, or reading horror books
• the most popular and enduring horror movies of all time - be afraid!

Horror is a genre we see in movies, TV shows, video games, and books, and Halloween is often the occasion when fans rewatch their favourite scary movie, or perhaps dress up as their favourite character.

Are you a fan? Do you have a favourite scary movie?

I hope you enjoy the episode and that you learn a new thing or two.

For your listening practice, I challenge you to listen for the most common sound in English, the schwa /ə/. Make a list of words you hear that have this reduced sound. It's not easy, but I'm sure you can notice a couple, and maybe even a few.

If you'd like to dig deeper into the sounds of spoken English, work with me! Find out how here.

Thanks for listening,

Catherine

P.S. The Harvard Business Review article: The Psychology Behind Why We Love (or Hate) Horror.

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I'm always over on Instagram, and you can also learn more about me and my work at English With Catherine.

As always, special thanks to Amos the Transparent for the theme music.