After a couple physical therapists and a chiro confirmed my hip and knee were fine an osteopath found it in the IT Band “Iliotibial Band Syndrome”. Likely the result of my dominant leg overcompensating for the weakness on the other side. I would only feel relief if I did a deep tissue push between L4 and my kidney on that side.
The treatment plan was stretching the psoas muscle, favoring the other leg for a while, and working on core strength. It can still happen but I can take care of it in a few days now rather than months.
I’ve had success with playing scary games while they watch and when it gets too much I have the characters react in silly ways. Courage the Cowardly Dog, Are you Afraid of the Dark, Goosebumps, etc. You could also try meta horror like Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and Dale. Or something with laugh breaks to defuse the tension like Army of Darkness or Monster Squad.