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Happy Halloween

This Halloween Watch The Scariest Movie Ever Filmed, According To Science

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Halloween is the perfect time of year to embrace your inner scary movie lover. When it comes to the scariest movie we’ve ever seen, it’s safe to say we all likely have different answers; as that’s a subjective question. However, what if there was a study that could scientifically measure how scary movies are based on physical and emotional reaction? 

Luckily, the company broadbandchoices had the same exact curiosities, and decided to perform a study so they could finally get to the bottom of what the scariest movie ever created was. The platform called the study the “Science of Scare Project,” during which they tracked the reactions of 50 people of various ages as they watched over 100 hours of scary movies. 

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Beyond just observing emotional reactions to what the participants were viewing on screen, researchers also monitored the volunteers’ heart rates to really gage how their bodies were reacting to the movies as well. By the end of the study the company created a list of what they scientifically believe to be the 35 scariest movies ever made. 

It’s important to note that with a study like this obviously there’s a lot of determining factors that could skew the results. Observing 50 individuals isn’t typically a large enough sample size to get a concrete conclusion, however, in terms of entertainment and “being scared,” the smaller sample size didn’t really matter. 

When participants arrived for the study, they would be fitted to a heart rate monitor to measure how much their heart rates would increase above their resting heart rate throughout the 100 hours of film. All of the data was averaged for each film, and by the end one movie came out superior based on those results. Daniel Clifford, who created the study, recently spoke with the media about the results. 

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“With more people than ever facing a Halloween at home, our Science of Scare study was designed to help people find the most scientifically scary films ever made, to save them the time of searching through thousands of titles across streaming services.”

According to the heart rates of all the participants, the movie that scared everyone the most was Sinister, the 2012 psychological horror/thriller movie starring Ethan Hawke as a true crime writer who investigates a gruesome string of family murders. 

The average resting heart rate of each participant was around 65 beats per minute (BPM). During Sinister, however, the average heart rate rose to 86 BPM; a 32% increase. That marked the highest rise in BPM of any movie watched throughout the 100 hours. Obviously the study wasn’t able to show every single horror movie out there, however, 100 hours allowed the researchers to show enough movies that hit all the major horror categories (slasher, paranormal, psychological, etc.).

Other results showed that the biggest jump scare came from the movie Insidious, which had a scene in it that caused heart rates to jump all the way up to 133 BPM. Insidious overall was rated second right behind Sinister in terms of overall scariness. The remaining eight movies that filled up the top ten scariest movies of all time were, in this order,  The Conjuring, Hereditary, Paranormal Activity, It Follows, The Conjuring 2, The Babadook, The Descent and The Visit.

Halloween Costumes

2019’s Most Popular Halloween Costumes

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Halloween week is finally here! If you’re like most working American’s who are excited to go out on the town this weekend, but barely have enough time to cook themselves dinner, you probably still haven’t even decided what you’re going to go as yet. You’re definitely not alone, and luckily, the internet is the best resource for creative, popular, and cheap costume ideas for the last minute shopper. Spirit Halloween, one of the nations top Halloween costume/decoration distributors, has released an article with 2019’s most popular costume ideas. The list is filled with recognizable characters, and even though Spirit released the list, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to spend $50+ at one of their stores to make any of these costumes work. 

In 2018, with Marvel Movies being at the peak of their mainstream success, superhero costumes took the spot as number one, however, this year it seems as though video game characters are taking the stand. Specifically, Spirit reported that Fortnite themed costumes and accessories were the most searched for and purchased items from their stores. In addition, characters and accessories from games like Minecraft, Assassin’s Creed, Overwatch, and Halo were just as popular, making video game characters the number 1 costume for 2019. Luckily, for the last minute shopper, if this sounds like the trend you want to hop on, video game characters don’t need to be as detailed and accessorized as they are in the games in order to be recognizable. Making accessories like swords, shields, crowns/headgear, can all be DIY’d using supplies from Michaels. Just look up whatever character you want to be on YouTube followed by “cheap costume DIY,” and the results should come pouring out. 

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Iconic TV characters take the next spot on the list, however, more specifically characters from Stranger Things. Becoming a character from the hugely popular Netflix original is easy, even if you can’t get the exact outfits worn by your favorite character. Go to your local thrift store, or any relative’s house who was alive during the 80’s, and look for something that exudes that decades energy. Fun colorful patterns, anything corduroy, scrunchies, high tops, etc. are all pieces that can be brought together to make an iconic Eleven look from season 3, just put some fake blood under your nose and boom! You’re ready to go as your favorite 1980’s telepathic superkid. 

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TV characters in general go along with the Stranger Things Cast on the list. Throw on a yellow button up, cheap striped tie, circle frame wire glasses and you’re Dwight Schrute from The Office. Spirit reported that either Jim or Dwight costumes from The Office are always one of the most searched costumes. However, it’s easy enough to DIY it, along with a myriad of other of your favorite television show characters. More times than not, the character you want to be has one particular aspect of their whole characterization that’s needed to make a costume work, and everything else is just added. For instance, Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation; make a Knope 2020 sticker. Thrift a doctor’s coat and wear some old pajamas as scrubs and you’re literally any character from Grey’s Anatomy. Put on your favorite colorful windbreaker and your Zac Morris from Saved By The Bell. It doesn’t take much to still be able to participate in the festivities after procrastinating until the last minute with no budget. 

Next on Spirit’s list is classic Halloween Icons. As in Pennywise from It, Jason from Friday the 13th, Chucky, Freddy Krugar, or Scream, more specifically the costume from Scream, since the killer has changed every movie. A lot of individuals miss the actual scare factor of Halloween. As the years have gone on and the holiday has become more and more commercialized, it’s become a lot more fluffy, so let’s bring back that grotesque gore that kept us all up at night after watching Psycho even though our parents told us not to. A lot of these icons characterizations can be made clear using drugstore costume makeup. Pennywise only really requires white and red face paint. Chucky needs a few scars and some overalls, and Jason just needs a hockey mask and fake machete (but people will also get it without the machete). Again, utilize YouTube and Pinterest for easy DIY ways to pull of these looks. While you may only have a few days left, there’s still plenty of time to scramble and become something notable and cool for Halloween, and keep it cheap.