Swedish amusement park Liseberg has released the results of its recent fear experiment, revealing that scary experiences, or “recreational fear”, can be good for visitors.
Liseberg’s ‘Peak Fear Experiment‘ was conducted last month with scientists from the Recreational Fear Lab, a research institute at Aarhus University in Denmark.
The purpose of the study was for the park to enhance and improve its spooky attractions. “Every year, thousands of guests visit Halloween at Liseberg to experience fear,” said Karl Svedung, head of marketing at Liseberg.
“The results of this report show that Liseberg has excellent knowledge in the area of recreational fear. Now we want to use these insights to further develop our fear attractions.
“One aspect we want to examine is whether we can help visitors to tailor their fear experiences at the park.”
Two participants were selected for the study out of 1,640 applications from 22 countries – Vicki Bååth, a 45-year-old teacher from Sweden, and Helge Branscheidt, a 38-year-old hair and make-up artist from Germany.
“Most fun and exciting thing I’ve ever experienced”
“This experiment shows that subjecting yourself to recreational fear in a safe environment can improve your psychological resilience and stress management ability and help you build strategies for managing fear and negative feelings. In other words, it can help to develop you as a person,” said Mathias Clasen, co-director of the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University.
Branscheidt said the most terrifying part of the experiment was “the unknown”. She added: “It might sound very strange to others, but I enjoyed being in those scary places, letting rip and going crazy.”
Bååth said she “had to find ways to avoid going into panic”. She added: “This is the most fun and exciting thing I’ve ever experienced, and I was very proud of myself when I took control of my fear.”
Images courtesy of Liseberg
