New App Scores Your Horror Fear

A new app wants to put a number on how scared you actually get. Scream Score pairs with your smartwatch to track your real heart-rate spikes while you watch horror movies or walk through haunted attractions, then turns that data into a “fear score” you can compare with friends.

The app was built by Heather Doggett, a zoologist and immersive-experience designer, after a conversation with her teenage kid about visiting an intense haunted house. It launched in 2024 focused on the haunted attraction industry, and has since been tested at haunted houses around the country and with audiences watching 28 films at the Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival.

Scream Score has also been shown off at industry events like MidSummer Scream and TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show, and is available now on iOS and Android.