When was the last time you were really, truly terrified? Perhaps Hereditary left you so traumatised you’ll never fully enjoy Muriel’s Wedding again. Or maybe you spend your weekends picking your way around the haunted corridors of National Trust properties and hurling yourself out of planes at 12,000ft.

The truth is, we all get scared. We are all biologically wired to have a physiological response to things that would naturally terrify us as humans. The difference is – some of us love the jolt of adrenaline that comes with seeing a creepy child in a blood-spattered white dress, and some of us loathe it.

Researchers at the American Psychological Association have found that some people thrive on the uncertainty and the intensity associated with ‘scary’ activities – from roller coasters to Halloween zombie runs. “There’s almost nothing else, including sex, that can match [fear] in terms of the incredible sensory experience that the body is put through,” says psychologist Frank Farley.

So why do some of us enjoy thrusting ourselves into these situations? According to Steve Joordens, psychology professor at the University of Toronto, it’s not just any type of fear that we embrace. It’s a controlled type of fear.

“None of us actually want to feel real fear,” he explains, such as the fear that would come with being involved in an attack or accident. “Real fear has an over-arching ‘I’m going to die’ feeling, and for most of us, that can be extremely scary.”

This is why some people love horror films – but others can’t stand them