The effectiveness of jump scares in a horror movie relies on many factors, especially atmosphere. Just shoving a shocking image in the face of the viewers might terrify them for a moment, but it won't ...

Ghosts are known to go bump in the night without any warning. Perhaps that's why so many paranormal movies are haunted by jump scares. "Haunted" is the verb to use here because it evokes either ...

It’s one of the most well-worn tricks in the horror handbook: An innocent victim is minding their own business, nothing happening, and then…something happens to make the watcher’s heart skip a beat.

In haunted houses across the country this month, threatening figures will jump out of the shadows, prompting visitors — wide-eyed and heart racing —to instinctively freeze and flee. Evolutionarily ...

Horror has many tropes, but one of the biggest is the jump scare. They've become commonplace in the genre over the decades as an easy way to get an audience to react, but while some, such as in ...

Daniel is a 27-year-old List Writer for Collider living in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. As an avid film buff, he watches and analyzes many films and TV shows, especially in the horror genre ...

Elena Chapella (She/Her) is a current Writer for DualShockers, formerly an award-winning journalist for local news stations and newspapers in central Indiana. Elena is passionate about writing, ...