A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies

A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies
Author: Mathias Clasen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2021
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0197535895

"Films about chainsaw killers, demonic possession, and ghostly intruders. Screaming audiences with sleepless nights or sweat-drenched nightmares in their immediate future. What's going on here? Presumably, almost everybody has experience with horror films. Almost everybody has sat through a terrifying motion picture and suffered the after-effects, such as hypervigilance and sleep disturbances. Some people would even characterize themselves as horror fans. But what about the others-the ones who are curious about horror films, but also very, very nervous about them? This book delves into the science of horror cinema in an attempt to address common concerns about the genre. Why is the jump scare so effective, and so dreaded? What are the effects of horror films on mental and physical health? Why do horror films so often cause nightmares? Aren't horror films immoral ... and stupid, too? Are horror films bad for children and adolescents? What does the current profusion of horror films say about our society? Should we be concerned? Or can horror films be a force for good-do horror films have health benefits, can they be aesthetically and morally valuable, and might they even have therapeutic psychological and cultural effects? The book addresses these questions in short, readable chapters, peppered with vivid anecdotes and examples and supported by scientific findings. It notes that while horror films can have negative effects, they can also help people confront and manage fear"--

A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies

A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies
Author: Mathias Clasen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2021-09-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0197535925

Why your worst nightmares about watching horror movies are unfounded Films about chainsaw killers, demonic possession, and ghostly intruders make some of us scream with joy. But while horror fans are attracted to movies designed to scare us, others shudder already at the thought of the sweat-drenched nightmares that terrifying movies often trigger. The fear of sleepless nights and the widespread beliefs that horror movies can have negative psychological effects and display immorality make some of us very, very nervous about them. But should we be concerned? In this book, horror-expert Mathias Clasen delves into the psychological science of horror cinema to bust some of the worst myths and correct the biggest misunderstandings surrounding the genre. In short and highly readable chapters peppered with vivid anecdotes and examples, he addresses the nervous person's most pressing questions: What are the effects of horror films on our mental and physical health? Why do they often cause nightmares? Aren't horror movies immoral and a bad influence on children and adolescents? Shouldn't we be concerned about what the current popularity of horror movies says about society and its values? While media psychologists have demonstrated that horror films indeed have the potential to harm us, Clasen reveals that the scientific evidence also contains a second story that is often overlooked: horror movies can also help us confront and manage fear and often foster prosocial values.

Why Horror Seduces

Why Horror Seduces
Author: Mathias F. Clasen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2017
Genre: Art
ISBN: 019066651X

Why do humans feel the need to scream at horror films? In Why Horror Seduces, author Matthias Clasen looks to evolutionary social science to show how the horror genre is a product of human nature.

Nightmare Fuel

Nightmare Fuel
Author: Nina Nesseth
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2022-07-26
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1250765226

Nightmare Fuel by Nina Nesseth is a pop-science look at fear, how and why horror films get under our skin, and why we keep coming back for more. Do you like scary movies? Have you ever wondered why? Nina Nesseth knows what scares you. She also knows why. In Nightmare Fuel, Nesseth explores the strange and often unexpected science of fear through the lenses of psychology and physiology. How do horror films get under our skin? What about them keeps us up at night, even days later? And why do we keep coming back for more? Horror films promise an experience: fear. From monsters that hide in plain sight to tension-building scores, every aspect of a horror film is crafted to make your skin crawl. But how exactly do filmmakers pull this off? The truth is, there’s more to it than just loud noises and creepy images. With the affection of a true horror fan and the critical analysis of a scientist, Nesseth explains how audiences engage horror with both their brains and bodies, and teases apart the elements that make horror films tick. Nightmare Fuel covers everything from jump scares to creature features, serial killers to the undead, and the fears that stick around to those that fade over time. With in-depth discussions and spotlight features of some of horror’s most popular films—from classics like The Exorcist to modern hits like Hereditary—and interviews with directors, film editors, composers, and horror academics, Nightmare Fuel is a deep dive into the science of fear, a celebration of the genre, and a survival guide for going to bed after the credits roll. “An invaluable resource, a history of the horror genre, a love letter to the scary movie—it belongs on any horror reader’s bookshelf.” —Lisa Kröger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Monster, She Wrote At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

House of Psychotic Women

House of Psychotic Women
Author: Kier-La Janisse
Publisher: SCB Distributors
Total Pages: 1357
Release: 2015-01-09
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1903254825

Cinema is full of neurotic personalities, but few things are more transfixing than a woman losing her mind onscreen. Horror as a genre provides the most welcoming platform for these histrionics: crippling paranoia, desperate loneliness, masochistic death-wishes, dangerous obsessiveness, apocalyptic hysteria. Unlike her male counterpart - ‘the eccentric’ - the female neurotic lives a shamed existence, making these films those rare places where her destructive emotions get to play. HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN is an examination of these characters through a daringly personal autobiographical lens. Anecdotes and memories interweave with film history, criticism, trivia and confrontational imagery to create a reflective personal history and a celebration of female madness, both onscreen and off. This critically-acclaimed publication is packed with rare images that combine with family photos and artifacts to form a titillating sensory overload, with a filmography that traverses the acclaimed and the obscure in equal measure. Films covered include The Entity, Paranormal Activity, Singapore Sling, 3 Women, Toys Are Not for Children, Repulsion, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, The Haunting of Julia, Secret Ceremony, Cutting Moments, Out of the Blue, Mademoiselle, The Piano Teacher, Possession, Antichrist and hundreds more. Prior to this ebook edition, Kier-La's highly acclaimed book has already been issued twice in hardcover and twice in paperback, garnering extensive press coverage. Endorsement including the following: “God, this woman can write, with a voice and intellect that’s so new. The truth in the most deadly unique way I’ve ever read.” – Ralph Bakshi, director of ‘Fritz the Cat’, ‘Heavy Traffic’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, etc. “Fascinating, engaging and lucidly written: an extraordinary blend of deeply researched academic analysis and revealing memoir.” – Iain Banks, author of ‘The Wasp Factory’

Consumed

Consumed
Author: David Cronenberg
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2014-09-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1416596135

The story of two journalists whose entanglement in a French philosopher's death becomes a surreal journey into global conspiracy.

Scream

Scream
Author: Margee Kerr
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2015-09-29
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1610394836

Shiver-inducing science not for the faint of heart. No one studies fear quite like Margee Kerr. A sociologist who moonlights at one of America's scariest and most popular haunted houses, she has seen grown men laugh, cry, and push their loved ones aside as they run away in terror. And she's kept careful notes on what triggers these responses and why. Fear is a universal human experience, but do we really understand it? If we're so terrified of monsters and serial killers, why do we flock to the theaters to see them? Why do people avoid thinking about death, but jump out of planes and swim with sharks? For Kerr, there was only one way to find out. In this eye-opening, adventurous book, she takes us on a tour of the world's scariest experiences: into an abandoned prison long after dark, hanging by a cord from the highest tower in the Western hemisphere, and deep into Japan's mysterious "suicide forest." She even goes on a ghost hunt with a group of paranormal adventurers. Along the way, Kerr shows us the surprising science from the newest studies of fear -- what it means, how it works, and what it can do for us. Full of entertaining science and the thrills of a good ghost story, this book will make you think, laugh -- and scream.

The Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Dealing with Toxic People

The Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Dealing with Toxic People
Author: Shahida Arabi
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020-10-01
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1684035325

Reclaim your power from narcissists, manipulators, and other toxic people. If you’re a highly sensitive person, or identify as an “empath,” you may feel easily overwhelmed by the world around you, suffer from “people-pleasing,” experience extreme anxiety or stress in times of conflict, or even take on the emotions of others. Due to your naturally giving nature, you may also be a target for narcissists and self-centered individuals who seek to exploit others for their own gain. So, how can you protect yourself? In The Highly Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide to Dealing with Toxic People, you’ll learn evidence-based skills grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help you recognize and shut down the common manipulation tactics used by toxic people, such as gaslighting, stonewalling, projection, covert put-downs, and love bombing. You’ll also discover targeted tips to protect yourself from the five main types of toxic people: Garden-variety boundary-steppers Crazymakers and attention-seekers Emotional vampires Narcissists Sociopaths and psychopaths Finally, you’ll learn how to heal from toxic or narcissistic abuse, and find strategies for establishing healthy boundaries and a strong sense of self. If you’re an HSP who is ready to take a stand against the toxic people in your life, this book has everything you need to survive and thrive.

Psychocinematics

Psychocinematics
Author: Arthur P. Shimamura
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2013-04-11
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0199862133

How do movies engage us so thoroughly, capturing our sensations, thoughts, and emotions? This edited volume introduces psychocinematics, which brings together film theorists, philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists to consider the viability of a scientific approach to our movie experience.

The Empathic Screen

The Empathic Screen
Author: Michele Guerra
Publisher:
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2020
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0198793537

Why do people go to the movies? What does it mean to watch a movie? To what extent is the perceived fictional nature of movies different from our daily perception of the real world? In this book, film theory and neuroscience meet to shed new light on cinema masterpieces, and explore the great directors from the classical period to the present.