TOWSON, Md. - Marylandian -- SCREAM SCORE® LETS HORROR FANS MEASURE HOW SCARED THEY ACTUALLY GET

Invented in 2023 for the haunted-attraction industry, the fear-measuring entertainment app brings physiological scoring to haunted houses and horror movies this Halloween season

BALTIMORE, MD, October 3, 2026 – What if you could stop arguing about whether a haunted house or horror movie was scary and actually measure how scared you got?

That is the premise behind Scream Score®, a mobile app invented by zoologist and immersive-experience designer Heather Doggett. Developed for the haunted-attraction industry beginning in 2023, Scream Score® uses a compatible smartphone and smartwatch or wearable to measure changes in heart rate during scary experiences and turn them into a personalized score.

The latest version brings Scream Score® to a wider audience this Halloween season, allowing users to measure their fear at participating haunted attractions and while watching horror movies. The app is free to download on iOS and Android.

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"People have been arguing about what is scary forever," said Doggett, founder and inventor of Scream Score®. "I wanted to give people a way to settle the argument. Not 'Was that scary?' but 'How scared did you actually get?'"

Scream Score® is designed for entertainment, not as a medical device or diagnostic tool. Users can compare scores with friends, compete, talk trash and claim bragging rights.

The app grew out of a surprisingly personal question.

Doggett suffered a stroke at age 22 and has a history of heart conditions. When her then-14-year-old wanted to visit a particularly intense haunted attraction, the conversation turned to a question nobody could answer: How scary is too scary?

As a zoologist and longtime experience designer, Doggett began thinking about whether the body's response to fear could be measured and turned into an engaging experience. That idea became Scream Score®.

Privacy is central to Scream Score's approach. The system is designed around anonymous scoring and does not seek to identify individual users through their physiological responses.

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Doggett is available for Halloween media appearances, interviews about the science, technology, and entertainment behind Scream Score®, on-camera "measure YOUR fear" experiences, demos at haunted attractions/events, and interviews about immersive entertainment, technology, and audience behavior.

Scream Score® is a DBA of Immerse Universe LLC and is currently patent-pending.
Tracking Chills | Measuring Thrills®

Doggett brings more than 30 years of experience designing innovative visitor and audience experiences across the zoo, aquarium, and immersive-entertainment industries. She has spoken at major national conferences and was named a Blooloop Top 50 Immersive Influencer.

To find out more, visit https://www.thescreamscore.com