Women are the driving force behind the surprise success of the horror film, "The Conjuring," which opened in U.S. theaters this past weekend. The R-rated and intensely creepy film dominated the box office counts with a $41 million debut, according to Variety.

It's audience: 53 percent female and 59 percent under 25. That's similar to another film in the horror genre, "The Purge," which opened at No. 1 with $35 million last month and was 56 percent female and 56 percent under 25. 

And it's not a blip. "Mama" drew a crowd that was 61 percent women, 63 percent under 25 when it topped the box office in January, and young women were more than half the audience for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," another horror film that hit No. 1 that month, as reported by TheWrap.

"The Conjuring" director James Wan "really made a very smart, extremely well-crafted movie, and I think that's the primary reason it connected," said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros., which distributed the New Line film.

"But why these movies are so popular with young women is a tougher question."

Part of it, he said, might be that they "provide some common ground for date night, they're movies that young women and men can both enjoy -- presuming they both enjoy getting scared senseless."

The MPAA gave "The Conjuring" its "R" rating for "disturbing violence and terror" but not for gore, and that probably made it more appealing to women. Having strong female characters like Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor didn't hurt, either.

"Mama" similarly benefitted from having Jessica Chastain as its lead and was largely devoid of blood and guts.

"That definitely made a difference with 'Mama,'" Universal's head of distribution Nikki Rocco said when that film opened. "Being scared can be kind of fun, being disgusted not so much."

To that point, Sony's remake of the horror classic "Evil Dead," which definitely didn't skimp on the gore, drew a crowd that was just 44 percent female on its way to a No 1 finish in April. 

Rocco  wasn't sure why young women were so hot for horror films, either: "Maybe they like hugging their dates when the scary parts come?"

"It's not sexy, per se," Professor Callista Lee from Cal State-Fullerton told TheWrap, "but it is a visceral, exciting, emotional experience and sharing that can be a thrill for a young couple."