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Why Horror Seduces
Book · October 2017
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Mathias Clasen
Aarhus University
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NEW FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Why Horror Seduces
Mathias Clasen
30%
OFF!
F
rom vampire apocalypses, shark attacks, witches, and
ghosts, to murderous dolls bent on revenge, horror
has been part of the American cinematic imagination
for almost as long as pictures have moved on screens. But
why do they captivate us so? What is the drive to be
frightened, and why is it so perennially popular? Why Horror
Seduces addresses these questions through evolutionary
social sciences.
Explaining the functional seduction of horror entertainment,
this book draws on cutting-edge findings in the evolutionary
social sciences, showing how the horror genre is a product
of human nature. Integrating the study of horror with the
sciences of human nature, the book claims that horror
entertainment works by targeting humans' adaptive
tendency to find pleasure in make-believe, allowing a high
intensity experience within a safe context. Through analyses
of well-known and popular modern American works of
horror--Rosemary's Baby; The Shining; I Am Legend; Jaws;
and several others--author Mathias Clasen illustrates how
these works target evolved cognitive and emotional
mechanisms; we are attracted to horrifying entertainment
because we have an adaptive tendency to find pleasure in
make-believe that allows us to experience negative
emotions at high levels of intensity within a safe context.
Organized into three parts identifying fictional works by
evolutionary mode - the evolution of horror; evolutionary
interpretations of horror; the future of horror - Why Horror
Seduces succinctly explores the cognitive processes behind
spectators' need to scream.
Features
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Explains horror across different types of media,
from films to video games
Integrates cutting-edge research on human
behavior with horror studies
Looks to the future of horror based on past and
current trends
October 2017
Paperback | 200 pp. 25 illus.
£19.99 £13.99 | $29.95 $20.97
9780190666514
Mathias Clasen is Associate Professor of Literature and Media in the Department of English,
Aarhus University.
Order online at global.oup.com/academic and enter promo code AAFLYG6
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