Shared Scares May Bring Couples Closer

A University of Florida study finds recreational fear can strengthen social bonds, though measured closeness changes were small.

Updated on Oct. 31, 2026 in Sex Life

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Do you feel closer to friends after sharing a scary experience together?

Researchers led by Jane K. Wiley of the University of Florida published five studies in Emotion examining whether shared recreational fear strengthens relationships. Participants who reported greater fear and physical contact during haunted attractions were more likely to say the experience brought them together.

Why it matters

The findings suggest shared frightening experiences may give partners a way to bond outside everyday routines. Closeness ratings collected before and after the attractions showed consistently small or absent changes, so the effect is less clear than participants' own reports suggest.

Four of the studies showed that participants reporting greater fear and physical contact were more likely to say the attraction brought them together. Measured closeness ratings before and after visits showed small or absent changes, and the lasting effect remains unexamined.

The players

Jane K. Wiley

Wiley is a researcher at the University of Florida who led the five studies on recreational fear and relationship closeness published in Emotion.

University of Florida

The University of Florida is a public research university in Gainesville whose researchers conducted the studies on shared fear and interpersonal bonding.

The details

Researchers used sensory deprivation and encounters with scare actors at the Gainesville Fear Garden in Florida. A final interview-based study found that couples often continued bonding afterward by retelling frightening moments, comparing reactions, and laughing together.

Three Halloween seasons: research conducted at the Gainesville Fear Garden
October 31, 2026: article on the Emotion research published

Relationship Science

The study extends the 1970s suspension-bridge experiments by Arthur Aron and colleagues, which tested whether shared physiological arousal increases attraction. Wiley's work moves that question into real-world haunted attractions, where the bonding effect appears in self-reports but not in measured closeness ratings.

Couples in Gainesville who want to test the bonding effect can book a haunted attraction together and talk afterward about what they experienced. The research suggests the reported benefit depends on how frightened and physically close partners feel during the visit.

The takeaway

Shared moments of fear may give couples a reason to laugh and reconnect, but the research suggests the closeness is felt more than measured. Pay attention to how the experience feels to both partners afterward.