For the final season of Strange thingsmillions of fans will immerse themselves for the last time in the “Upside Down” to witness an epic showdown against them Vecna who threatens Hawkins City And to the whole world.
but What sparks our collective fascination with this dark, horror-filled universe? The answer lies in the psychological and philosophical principles that explain why we are drawn not only to entertainment, but also to information. Understanding why millions of people willingly immerse themselves in the terrifying world of the Upside Down reveals profound truths about human nature and our relationship with fear.
From ghost stories to true crime documentaries, Our obsession with the macabre comes from a bias toward negativity: The tendency to react more intensely to negative information than to positive or neutral content.
This bias toward negativity has evolved as a warning system: our fight-or-flight response to threats. Today, since we no longer encounter saber-toothed tigers, this warning has become a warning A thrill-seeking drive to access frightening content due to intense arousal. This explains why viewers are both frightened and fascinated by scenes like Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) traumatic flashbacks or the Demogorgon’s brutal attacks.
Our brains are programmed to respond to dangerEven in imaginary scenarios. Research on the psychology of horror shows that stimulation seekers actively try to find negative stimuli to increase their arousal.
On the other hand, cross-cultural studies of curiosity about pathological topics reveal that this attraction is manifested in and based on different human cultures Stable psychological mechanismsand not in specific cultural mechanisms. Strange things It brilliantly exploits the four dimensions of our morbid curiosity: exploring villains (such as Vecna and Dr. Brenner), witnessing violence (from the creatures of the Upside Down), experiencing body horror (via the infection of the Mind Blight), and Confront supernatural threats (The one that haunts Hawkins).
This deep engagement explains the series’ massive global appeal. Neuroimaging research using brain scanning tools such as Functional magnetic resonance imaging (Functional magnetic resonance imaging), which tracks blood flow and neural activity in real time, suggests this Watching disturbing content activates the brain’s reward system.
This neural response explains why The series is terrifying and extremely satisfying.: Our reward systems enhance the psychological benefits of confronting fear through imaginary mechanisms, allowing us to exercise emotional flexibility and evaluate threat without real consequences.
Popular side of Strange things It’s where it is: the United States in the 1980s. This choice adds a deeper psychological resonance to what the French philosopher Jacques Derrera called “the science of the chase.”
Hauntology suggests that we are all “haunted” by two ghosts. The first is a return to the social past, the idea that everything was better before. The second ghost represents the longing for a future that promises salvation and the belief that great change is still possible.
These two ghosts Creating a state between presence and absencewhere lingering, unresolved traces of the past continue to haunt and shape the present. numbers Strange things The 1980s marks a deliberate return to an idealized era, where unresolved social, economic, and cultural problems of the past haunt the present.
Hawkins Citywhere the string is set, It is presented as an ideal city with traditional values and economic stability. But beneath this façade, the series systematically deconstructs the myth of 1980s American innocence by revealing the psychological trauma inherent in idyllic suburban life.
For example, the Upside Down (a dark, decadent alternative dimension that mirrors our own) serves as a psychological manifestation of what psychologist Carl Jung called the “shadow”: those repressed aspects of individual and collective consciousness that society refuses to acknowledge. Hawkins Laboratorywhich operates secretly beneath the surface of the city, It represents the dark side of American scientific progress during the Cold WarWhere children become subjects of scientific research.
Eleven’s systematic abuse at the hands of Dr. Brenner (played by Matthew Modine) reveals how institutional power can perpetrate intergenerational trauma while maintaining facades of charitable care. short, Strange things It is very addictive because it explores multiple psychological layers at once.
The series’ clever use of our natural passivity and curiosity about illness keeps viewers emotionally hooked from the start, while… Its ecumenical framework adds deeper resonance By encouraging us to confront the traumas hidden behind our favorite cultural stories. This combination – where reward signals in our brain meet real-world reflection – helps explain why so many of us return again and again to Hawkins’ mysterious world.
It almost becomes a form of shared therapy, allowing us to overcome fears of institutional betrayal, Childhood wounds and social ruptures Through supernatural stories that make us feel safe. From here, Strange things It proves that our love of fantasy horror has a real purpose: it allows us to Practice flexibility while criticizing the same systems That generate our daily fears.
The series’ enduring popularity suggests that viewers instinctively recognize this dual function. Don’t just look for entertainmentbut also meaning in a world where the line between monsters and social horrors has become surprisingly blurred.
*by Edward White, PhD candidate in Psychology at Kingston University.