Men more likely than women to be afraid of the dark

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

THREE IN 10 AMERICAN ADULTS ARE STILL AFRAID OF THE DARK, WITH MEN SLIGHTLY MORE LIKELY THAN WOMEN TO ADMIT IT, ACCORDING TO SOME SPOOKY NEW RESEARCH.

THE SURVEY FROM AVOCADO GREEN MATTRESS LOOKED AT HOW SCARY MOVIES — ESPECIALLY IN THE LEAD-UP TO HALLOWEEN — CAN AFFECT THIS FEAR OF THE DARK.

OVERALL, 28 PERCENT OF THE 2,000 PEOPLE POLLED BY TALKER RESEARCH SAID THEY ‘LOVE’ WATCHING HORROR MOVIES AND TRY TO WATCH AS MANY AS THEY CAN.

MEN WERE MORE LIKELY TO LOVE HORROR MOVIES (33% VS. 24%) — AND ON THE OTHER END OF THE SCALE, ONE IN FIVE WOMEN (21%) SAID THEY ‘HATE’ HORROR MOVIES (COMPARED TO 7% OF MEN).

BUT AFTER WATCHING A HORROR MOVIE, MEN WERE MORE LIKELY TO GET NIGHTMARES — WITH 24 PERCENT ADMITTING THEY ‘ALWAYS’ OR ‘OFTEN’ HAVE NIGHTMARES, COMPARED TO 13 PERCENT OF WOMEN.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU – ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sept. 17– 22, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.