Suspense Junkies Anonymous

Hi, my name is Ani, (audience: hi, Ani) and I’m addicted to suspense.

I guess it started when I was a kid, with the terrible cliffhangers attached to the commercial breaks of the old Wild Wild West TV show. With every commercial break I would wonder: “Oh, will West make it out this time?” and there’d be a glorious tightening of something in my chest, just below my sternum and I’d revel in that suspense.

I seek it out in film and literature and read/watch those suspenseful parts over and over, trying to suck all the delicious amounts of fear—the good kind of fear—out of it. I watch/read it until I don’t get that feeling anymore and have to move on.

Beyond this, I have a friend who hates suspense and insists I tell her what things are going to happen while watching television (example: Is the Cyberman gonna wake up?) which I just don’t get. How can someone not enjoy that tightening feeling? What’s wrong with suspenseful moments? Aren’t they fun?