FEAR

EDINBURGH IN THE SHADOWS // Beattie & Scratchmann

‘Fear is a wonderful thing, in small doses. You ride the ghost train into the darkness, knowing that eventually the doors will open and you will step out into the daylight once again.’ This is author Neil Gaiman’s explanation of why we love a scary story, and it well described the experience of joining Alex Beattie and Max Scratchmann for their bloodcurdling show Edinburgh in the Shadows. 

The evening began with tales about the 16th-century Scottish obsession with witchcraft, which led to 4000 executions. James the Sixth was fanatical about catching witches, who he said went around gnawing dead children’s bones.

According to psychologists, terrible tales such as these give an audience the buzz of an intense shared emotional experience. In addition, the emotions of fear and pleasure create indistinguishable physical responses in terms of heart rate, breathing and pupil dilation. 

Another story from the shadows dealt with the grim life and times of Jessie King, baby farmer. In 1889 she appeared before the High Court in Edinburgh accused of the murders of children she had been paid to care for. Convicted and hanged, there was no such fate for her controlling husband.

I was reminded of the enormous appeal of the Horrible Histories series of children’s books, despite their branding as ‘glorifying and trivialising violence’ by some parents. Psychoanalysts believe we undergo the experience of a terrifying tale as a kind of safe catharsis of the horror of real life and its pressures.

But for their final trick, Beattie and Scratchmann had a different type of story – a cold-case murder. This was about George Meikle Kemp, a self-taught architect who gained the commission to design the Scott Monument, but then mysteriously drowned in the Union Canal.

Psychologist Les Lancaster believes the appeal of a mystery is intrinsic to the human mind, and part of our evolutionary heritage. He calls mysteries the ‘ultimate trail of breadcrumbs,’ inviting us to seek answers. This audience certainly enjoyed coming along for the ride. (RM)

Edinburgh in the Shadows ran until August 27th at Cowgatehead

Mark Griffiths on scary films: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-excess/201510/why-do-we-watching-scary-films

The enduring appeal of horror: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/halloween-horror-films-movies-scared-a6713446.html

Mysteries solved by Les Lancaster, professor of transpersonal psychology at Liverpool John Moores University: https://www.psychologies.co.uk/self/why-mystery-matters.html

SCARY SHIT // Rhiannon Faith

When a friend is going through a tough time and doesn’t want to talk about it, it can be hard to know how best to help them. Bring round a bottle of prosecco or three? Fire up Mean Girls on Netflix and order in pizza? Instead, Rhiannon Faith and Maddy Morgan made a show about it.
 
From the outset, Faith is a self-confessed neurotic, scared of everything. The show begins with a list of phobias, from the exotic to the mundane. Ablutophobia – the fear of washing. Arachibutyrophobia – the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, and so on. Then it delves deeper, exploring darker fears about sex and motherhood – the things we shouldn’t talk about. Morgan is the patient foil to her panicking friend, always running to the rescue and mopping up the drama.
 
To try and get over her fears, Faith seeks the help of her mother-in-law, psychotherapist Joy Griffiths. Together, she and Morgan attend cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), videotaping the sessions and interpreting them as dance pieces. First up, we learn that feelings of anxiety are the result of the body’s response to stressful situations – the classic adrenaline-fuelled ‘fight or flight’ reaction causing the shallow breath, racing heart and knotted stomach of a panic attack. Then we see CBT in action as Faith conquers her fear of answering the phone, stemming from being dumped over the phone by an early boyfriend. It’s played for over-dramatic laughs, but does a good job of illustrating the process of therapy, taking back control of past events and the feelings they evoke.
 
Halfway through, the focus shifts. The pair explore their formative teenage sexual experiences, each distressing in their own right and leaving their mark on the adult woman. We’re made to watch Morgan unravel in front of us, while Faith can only try and punch through the wall of pain to help her friend. It’s unsettling and achingly hard to watch in places, but ultimately a testament to friendship and the benefits of identifying, acknowledging and ultimately tackling our deepest fears.

- KA

 
Scary Shit is on at 13.45 at Pleasance Courtyard until August 29th (not 15th or 22nd). Wheelchair Acess, Level Access, Hearing Loop - https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/scary-shit

Rhiannon Faith: https://rhiannonfaith.com/

MIND – the mental health charity: http://www.mind.org.uk/

Anxiety and panic attacks: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/#.V7BE95grLIU

Help for survivors of sexual assault: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Sexualhealth/Pages/Sexualassault.aspx

What is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)?: http://www.babcp.com/Public/What-is-CBT.aspx

The phobia list: http://phobialist.com/