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Letter: I fear there may be more to the upsides of a scare

Published 8 January 2025

From Robert Masta, Ann Arbor, Michigan, US

A study of haunted house visitors showed that of 22 people with elevated inflammation, 18 had reduced levels three days after getting a good scare at the fairground attraction. But there was no control group of people with inflammation who didn’t visit a haunted house. Would they have improved in three days, regardless? It is telling that the original paper notes that seven people without inflammation before the event had acquired it three days later. Maybe just a “three-day bug” going around(7 December 2024, p 12)?

Issue no. 3525 published 11 January 2025

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