I once had a panic attack in central London.

Not the best place to feel like your heart is pounding out of your chest and your vision is narrowing as the stress of work, relationships, and the early signs of a migraine start to overwhelm you all at once. But even though it was busy, crowded, and loud, there was one big benefit to feeling a surge of panic in a city: I was steps away from a movie theater.

After I’d calmed my breathing and felt a little less dizzy, I instinctively made my way to the nearest cinema and bought one ticket for Jordan Peele’s Get Out. The trailers had already started, so I crept into the darkened theater, nestled into my seat, and prepared to feel scared and then soothed. It might seem weird, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve used scary movies as a way to de-stress.

I’ve never quite understood why watching horror movies works so effectively at reducing my stress levels. Research is sparse, but psychologists have theorized that horror movies might be a safe distraction from real-world problems or a way to transfer anxiety to another source.

Some researchers also believe horror fans get all sorts of benefits from their favorite films and that feeling engrossed in a scary movie isn’t just a way of dealing with stress, but could be genuinely enjoyable — especially when you’re in a packed movie theater with people you know. There’s even a scientific concept to describe this phenomenon.

“‘Recreational fear’ is a term we’ve found useful for describing activities and behaviors that are about deriving pleasure and benefits from being scared,” Mathias Clasen tells Inverse.