HSP or SPS Who Love Horror & Suspense Genres

Highly-Sensitive Person or Sensory Processing Sensitivity and reading/watching things that thrill and chill . . . what's up with that?

Jenna oozed coolness in high school. She always had the best clothes. Every piece fit like it had been tailor-made for her body. Her hair was shiny, her skin perfectly tanned, her teeth blindingly white. She had a great, throaty laugh and was a natural athlete and one of the most popular girls in our class.

Looking at Jenna though, you wouldn’t think, “Wow. She’s like a model.” She was striking, but not beautiful. What she had was a lot of confidence and charisma.

I, on the other hand, was not in the same league. Yes, thankfully, I had lost 60 pounds of extra weight between 8th and 9th grade. My teeth weren’t blindly white but my retainer corrected the vampire fangs that had sprouted. And while my hair wasn’t shiny—more frizzy and overprocessed from too many perms—it was longish and blonde. I wasn’t bad-looking. I just wasn’t Jenna.

And when you’re a fourteen-year-old girl, that sucks. But what sucks more is feeling like you’re never quite right.

Feeling Like You’re Always the Odd One Out

It wasn’t just the looks department where I felt like a weirdo. I’ve always been very creative, able to lose myself in stories, books, art, and making crafts easily. I’ve also always been super sensitive. Sensitive to my surroundings, the weather, and people’s feelings without trying.

I’ve also heard phrases like this repeatedly over the years:

• “You need to have thicker skin.”

• “You’re such a baby!”

• “What is the problem? No one else is bothered by ‘X,’ why are you?”

I had no idea that there were others who were also highly sensitive. It wasn’t until I first heard the phrase “highly-sensitive person,” coined by Dr. Elaine Aron that I finally had a phrase that fit what I’ve experienced all my life.

What is a Highly Sensitive Person or Sensory Processing Sensitivity?

The term highly-sensitive person (HSP), or Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), defines individuals who are, you guessed it, more sensitive than the average person to things like:

• loud or surprising noises

• strong scents

• large groups of people

• strong tastes

• other people’s emotions

• their own emotions

• and much, much more

Something important to note: SPS is a trait, not a mental health issue. Plenty of people in the world might not enjoy being in loud, noisy crowds, for example, but aren’t highly sensitive. Only about 15-20 percent of the population is. And just because you’re an introvert doesn’t mean you have SPS as well. Some highly-sensitive people are extraverts and both females and males exhibit the trait.

Note: I really dislike the term “highly sensitive person” because it calls to mind special, delicate little snowflakes that can’t handle hard things. That’s not true. What is true is that it’s harder for those with SPS to filter out a lot of what comes at them—internally or externally.

Learn more about SPS and take a free quiz to see if you have this trait via Dr. Aron’s site.

SPS and Thriller, Horror, and Suspense

One of the things that many people with SPS shy away from is violence or scariness—in books, movies, or TV shows. However, there are outliers: those highly sensitives who love thrillers, horrors, and suspense and gobble them like candy.

While it might initially seem odd—why would someone prone to feeling too scared want to scare themselves?—there’s a certain comfort in the type of controlled fear that one experiences when reading a book or watching a scary story unfold.

It turns out that’s because safely experiencing a stress response in a format like a book or movie, allows our parasympathetic system to finish a full circle of emotions. This article via Mental Health Today, states that watching horror films:

“. . . allows us to safely experience those stress responses, then reacting to the simulated danger through a narrative that either resolves itself or ends, we can experience the positive side effects of our parasympathetic nervous system activating . . .”

Why Horror, Suspense, and Thrillers?

I’ve talked previously about the horror genre specifically—and that it’s often misdefined or misunderstood as blood-and-guts type fare with little redeeming qualities. In fact, the horror genre—like the suspense and thriller genres—is full of subgenres and even sub-subgenres.

That’s not to say that all horror, suspense, or thrillers are good for us. Like anything, it’s important to be discerning and find what works—and doesn’t—for you, whether you have SPS or not. And let’s also face it: some of the stories being told are little more than depravity on a page or screen.

When searching for horror, suspense, or thrillers that are good for more sensitive readers though, where’s a good place to start?

“Cozy Horror” and “Lite Horror” Are Great Choices for HSPs and SPS Readers

Cozy horror may seem a strange phrase. In this article via The Mary Sue, the author discusses the controversy that it’s stirred up. Granted, anyone these days is bound to stir up controversy online by having an opinion.

But as subgenres, cozy horror or lite horror might be a good place for more sensitive readers to test the waters.

I first heard of the term, “cozy horror” when a reader left a review of my novel, Let the Dead Rest.

Image of the author’s book, Let the Dead Rest shows a creepy-looking doll on a staircase.

Here’s a partial quote from that review:

“I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery fiction, paranormal fiction, or creepy fiction. And if there’s such a thing as ‘cozy horror,’ I think it would fit that category well too. It was creepy and eerie, but not so scary that it’s going to cause you anxiety or keep you up at night. . .”

I had no idea before this review was written that cozy horror was a thing. Since then, I found this list of cozy horror books via Goodreads and this list of interesting-looking cozy horror novels for spooky reading.

Potential Benefits of Horror/Thriller/Suspense for People With SPS

One of the things I personally love about these genres is how they immediately draw me into the story and thus, the story’s world. It helps me to forget about my own issues and problems for a while.

Plus, the characters are struggling with such big, scary situations that it puts my own into perspective. Sure, I’m nervous about the jury summons I just got and how I’ll fit jury duty into my already overflowing schedule. But at least I’m not being chased through the forest by a creepy monster.

Whether or not you have a more sensitive personality, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

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J.P. Choquette is the author of suspense novels set in Vermont. Atmospheric pageturners, her novels are gothic inspired and frequently tie in the themes of art, nature, and psychology. Her 11 novels have been downloaded nearly 25,000 times across multiple platforms.