Why Horror Seduces

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Why Horror Seduces Page 25

by Mathias Clasen


  of the dark (see darkness)

  of death, 98

  evolution of, 24–27

  of homicide, 132–133

  imagination and, 23, 30

  of isolation, 81–82

  neurobiology of, 28, 61–62

  physiology of, 26–27, 53–54

  prepared, 39–40, 42

  of snakes (see snakes)

  of spiders (see spiders)

  system, 26–28, 36–43, 47, 147–148

  targeted by horror, 29–34, 35–36, 42–51, 159 (see also specific works)

  universal, 35–39

  of the unknown, 47–48, 107, 142, 151

  of water, 104

  See also anxiety

  fearlessness, 41

  Ferreira, Patricia, 115

  Fessenden, Larry, 67, 74, 151–154

  fiction, 29–30, 54–56, 58–59

  adaptive function of, 55–56, 58–59

  psychology of, 29–30, 54–56

  Final Girl, 127

  Final Girls, The (Strauss-Schulson), 72

  Finney, Jack, 69

  folklore, 56

  found-footage horror, 72–73. See also Blair Witch Project, The (Sánchez and Myrick)

  Frankenstein (Whale), 69

  Freud, Sigmund. See psychoanalysis

  Friday the 13th (Cunningham), 71

  Friedkin, William, 14–15, 29, 30, 34, 49

  gender. See under horror

  Ghost and the Darkness, The (Hopkins), 42

  Ghost Story (Straub), 54

  ghosts, 45–48, 152. See also Shining, The (King)

  ghouls. See zombies

  Goddard, Drew, 72

  goosebumps, 26

  Gothic novel, 9–11, 67. See also horror: Gothic and

  Grip, Thomas, 54, 149–151

  Hadley, Mark, 54, 74

  Halloween (Carpenter), 33, 44, 71, 125–134, 149

  Hard Times (Dickens), 56

  haunted attractions. See under horror

  haunted houses. See Haunting of Hill House, The (Jackson); Shining, The (King)

  Haunted House (Andreasen), 74

  Haunting of Hill House, The (Jackson), 47, 70

  Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 67

  Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra, 137–138

  Hill, Debra, 130

  Hill, Joe, 57–58

  historicism. See constructivist approach

  Hitchcock, Alfred, 70, 73, 125

  Hooper, Tobe, 44, 61, 70, 73, 125

  Hopkins, Stephen, 42

  horror

  academic study of, 14–21, 161–163 (see also constructivist approach; Marxism; psychoanalysis)

  in advertising, 65–66

  appeal of, 53–62

  children and, 61–62, 161–162

  in comics, 69

  cultural change of, 4–5, 12–13, 75–76, 147–148

  definition of, 3, 11

  deleterious psychological effects of, 60–62, 104

  empathy and, 30–33, 34, 81, 87, 90, 107–109, 116, 122, 126, 128–129

  in film, 69, 70–73, 75–76 (see also specific works)

  gender and, 15–19, 126, 137–138, 161 (see also Rosemary’s Baby [Levin])

  Gothic and, 10–11, 67, 69, 70

  in haunted attractions, 6, 41, 75, 148, 156–161

  history of, 9–10, 12–14, 67–76

  intensity of, 11–12

  liking of, 2, 161–163

  in literature, 49–51, 58–59, 70–71 (see also specific works)

  media, 65–66, 148–161

  in music, 65

  paradox of, 2

  as simulation, 58–60, 147, 151

  sound and, 69, 107–108 (see also specific films)

  stimulates emotion, 29–34, 53–54, 147–148, 151, 156 (see also specific works)

  supernatural vs. psychological, 3, 57 (see also Blair Witch Project, The [Sánchez and Myrick]; Shining, The [King])

  technology and, 148

  in video games, 6, 37, 51, 56, 59, 73–75, 148–154

  in virtual reality, 6, 75, 148, 154–156

  Horror Writers Association, 71, 78

  Hostel (Roth), 73

  House of Seven Gables, The (Hawthorne), 67

  human evolution, 24, 25–27, 35–36, 39, 41, 55–57, 81–82, 106, 132–133, 147–148. See also sociality

  hunter-gatherers, 25

  Hutchings, Peter, 132

  I Am Legend (Lawrence), 78

  I Am Legend (Matheson), 70, 77–84

  identification. See horror: empathy and

  imagination, 23, 30, 147–148

  evolution of, 30

  immersion, 30–31, 49–51, 58, 73–74, 149, 151, 154–161

  In the Mouth of Madness (Carpenter), 68

  Insidious (Wan), 2

  interactive horror. See horror: in video games

  Interview with the Vampire (Rice), 70

  Irving, Washington, 67

  It Follows (Mitchell), 72

  Izard, Carroll E., 55

  Jackson, Shirley, 47, 70

  James, Henry, 10

  Jancovich, Mark, 79, 126

  Japanese horror films, 75–76

  Jaws (Benchley), 5, 103

  Jaws (Spielberg), 2, 5, 17, 42, 49, 103–111, 132

  Jensen, Arnt, 43

  Joshi, S. T., 67, 70

  jump scare, 36–37. See also startle reflex

  Jurassic Park (Crichton), 56

  Kasurinen, Michael, 68

  Kendrick, James, 132

  Kendrick, Walter, 12

  Khader, Jamil, 79

  Kiernan, Caitlín R., 68

  King, Stephen

  Carrie, 14, 49

  Christine, 45

  fears, 38, 40–41

  on fiction, 56–57

  influenced by Lovecraft, 68

  It, 43, 54

  and modern horror, 14, 70–71

  Needful Things, 43

  Pet Sematary, 67

  “Raft, The,” 54

  Shining, The, 5, 46–47, 113–123, 143

  Stand, The, 54

  Kirkman, Robert, 73

  Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, Jens, 2. See also evil

  Klein, T. E. D., 68

  Koontz, Dean R., 71

  Kripke, Eric, 10, 48, 67

  Kristeva, Julia, 16–17

  Kruuk, Hans, 56–57

  Kubrick, Stanley, 4, 5, 29

  Lacan, Jacques, 16–17. See also psychoanalysis

  Lake Placid (Miner), 42

  Last House on the Left, The (Craven), 29, 48–49, 70

  Last Man on Earth, The (Ragona and Salkow), 78

  Lawrence, Francis, 78

  Leiber, Fritz, 68

  Left 4 Dead (Booth), 74

  “Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The” (Irving), 67

  Levin, Ira, 47, 49, 70, 85–92

  Lewis, C. S., 47

  Lewis, M. G., 9

  LIMBO (Jensen), 43

  Link, Kelly, 68

  Literature of Terror, The (Punter), 14–15

  Lovecraft, H. P., 13, 32, 47, 67–68

  Maddrey, Joseph, 95

  magic, fascination of, 87, 116. See also counterintuitive traits; supernatural belief

  Magic Island, The (Seabrook), 93–94

  Marxism

  and horror, 15–16, 18–19

  masks, 44, 71, 130

  Matheson, Richard, 68, 69, 70, 77–84

  Maturin, Charles, 9

  McCammon, Robert R., 71

  McCauley, Kirby, 71

  MCI agents. See counterintuitive traits

  meaning, human need for, 78, 82–83

  media psychology, 61–62, 104, 161

  Melville, Herman, 67

  Mendez, Mike, 43

  Meyer, Stephenie, 71

  Mikami, Shinji, 74

  Mineka, Susan, 26–27

  Miner, Steve, 42

  Mitchell, David Robert, 72

  Miyazaki, Hidetaka, 68

  monsters

  and ancestral predators, 31–32, 43–49, 150–151


  and horror, 4, 67, 69–71

  and ideology, 15–18

  in prehistoric art, 13, 67

  See also specific works and specific monsters

  morality, 49, 116, 120–121, 143. See also disgust; evil

  morbid curiosity, 138–139

  Moore, Tony, 73

  Murphy, Bernice, 78–79

  Murphy, Ryan, 10

  Myrick, Daniel, 2, 34, 61, 72–73, 135–144

  Nakata, Hideo, 75

  Needful Things (King), 43

  Ng, Andrew Hock Soon, 79

  Night of the Living Dead (Romero), 20, 70, 78, 93–101

  Night World, The (Smith), 71

  Nightmare on Elm Street, A (Craven), 133

  nightmares, 59–60, 61, 104

  Nilsson, Jens, 54, 149–151

  occultism. See Rosemary’s Baby (Levin)

  Öhman, Arne, 26–27

  Omdahl, Becky, 61

  Omega Man, The, 78

  On the Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Darwin), 28

  Owen, Stephanie, 59

  Paranormal Activity (Peli), 2, 11–12, 73

  paranormal romance, 70–71

  Patterson, Kathy Davis, 79

  Pedersen, Jonas Bøgh, 160

  Peli, Oren, 2, 11–12, 73

  Pet Sematary (King), 67

  Phillips, Kendall, 20, 94, 126

  phobia, 40. See also fear

  Picture of Dorian Gray, The (Wilde), 14

  Pizzolatto, Nic, 10, 68

  play behavior, 58–59

  Poe, Edgar Allan, 67–68

  Polanski, Roman, 14, 70, 86

  Poltergeist (Hooper), 61

  postmodern horror, 72–73

  poststructuralism, 16. See also constructivist approach

  power, as antagonistic motive, 88–89, 117–118, 120–121. See also evil

  predation, 25, 35, 39, 42, 56–57, 59, 80, 96–97, 104–106

  from humans, 127, 132–133

  See also specific works

  Prime Evil (Winter), 11, 71

  Problem of Pain, The (Lewis), 47

  prosociality, as protagonistic motive, 100–101, 104, 110, 115–116, 128–129

  Psycho (Bloch), 70, 78

  Psycho (Hitchcock), 4, 70, 73, 125

  psychoanalysis

  epistemic value of, 18–19, 115

  and horror, 2–3, 14–19, 79–80, 105, 115, 132

  Punter, David, 14–15, 19

  Quammen, David, 42

  race, horror and, 79–80

  Radcliffe, Ann, 9

  “Raft, The” (King), 54

  Ragona, Ubaldo, 78

  Ranki, Jyri, 68

  Raynal, Frédérick, 68

  reaction shots. See emotional contagion

  realism in horror, 57, 151. See also specific works

  Reeves, Matt, 31–33, 43

  reproduction and horror. See horror: gender and; Rosemary’s Baby (Levin)

  Resident Evil (Mikami), 74

  Revonsuo, Antti, 60

  Reznick, Graham, 67, 74, 151–154

  Rice, Anne, 70

  Ringu (Nakata), 75

  rollercoasters, 53–54

  Romanticism, 10, 67. See also Gothic novel

  Romero, George A., 20, 70, 78, 93–101

  Rosemary’s Baby (Levin), 47, 49, 70, 85–92

  Rosemary’s Baby (Polanski), 14, 70, 86

  Roth, Eli, 73

  Sagal, Boris, 78

  Salkow, Sidney, 78

  Sánchez, Eduardo, 2, 34, 61, 72–73, 135–144

  Satanism. See Rosemary’s Baby (Levin)

  Scott, Ridley, 54

  Scream (Craven), 72, 133

  screamer, 36–37, 54

  Seabrook, William B., 93–94

  Serling, Rod, 70, 78

  sharks, 17, 42, 104–107, 110–111. See also Jaws (Spielberg)

  Shining, The (King), 5, 46–47, 113–123, 143

  Shining, The (Kubrick), 4, 5

  Silence of the Lambs, The (Demme), 29, 30–31

  Silence of the Lambs, The (Harris), 4

  Simmons, Dan, 42, 49

  simulation theory. See fiction: adaptive function of; horror: as simulation; nightmares

  Siskel, Gene, 126

  slasher films, 66, 71–72. See also Halloween (Carpenter)

  Slender: The Eight Pages (Hadley), 54, 74

  Smith, L. J., 71

  snakes, 26, 28–29, 40–43

  social constructivism. See constructivist approach

  sociality, 81–83, 121. See also fear: of isolation; human evolution

  spiders, 27–28, 31, 34, 40–43

  Spielberg, Steven, 2, 5, 17, 42, 49

  Stand, The (King), 54

  startle reflex, 32, 36

  status, as antagonistic motive, 88–89, 117–118, 120–121. See also evil

  Steen, Francis, 59

  Stepford Wives, The (Levin), 86

  Stern, D. A., 136

  Stevenson, Robert Louis, 14

  Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The (Stevenson), 14

  Straub, Peter, 53, 54, 56, 71

  Strauss-Schulson, Todd, 72

  Summer of Night (Simmons), 42

  Supernatural (Kripke), 10, 48, 67

  supernatural belief, 13, 45–48, 87

  horror and, 13, 45–48, 87, 116–117, 121–122, 139–142

  See also horror: supernatural vs. psychological

  Supernatural Horror in Literature (Lovecraft), 13

  supernormal stimuli, 43–45, 150

  survival horror games, 74, 149–151

  suspense, 81, 100, 108, 127–129

  Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The (Hooper), 44, 70, 73, 125

  Threat Simulation Theory, 60

  torture porn, 73

  transportation. See immersion

  Tremors (Underwood), 42

  True Detective (Pizzolatto), 10, 68

  Turn of the Screw, The (James), 10

  Twilight (Meyer), 71

  Twilight Zone, The (Serling), 70, 78

  Twitchell, James B., 12, 99

  Underwood, Ron, 42

  Universal Studios, 69

  Until Dawn (Bowen, Reznick, and Fessenden), 67, 74, 151–154

  Valli, Katja, 60

  Vampire Diaries, The (Smith), 71

  vampires, 45–46, 65–66, 70–71, 79–81, 84. See also I Am Legend (Matheson)

  Victorian fin de siècle, 14

  video games. See under horror

  virtual reality. See under horror

  Vorderer, Peter, 59

  Walking Dead, The (Darabont), 48, 58, 73, 96–97, 101

  Walking Dead, The (Kirkman and Moore), 73

  Walpole, Horace, 9

  Wan, James, 2

  weird tales, 13, 68. See also Lovecraft, H. P.

  Weird Tales (magazine), 68

  Wendigo, 67, 151

  werewolves, 71

  Whale, James, 69

  Wieland (Brown), 67

  Wilde, Oscar, 14

  Wilson, E. O., 20, 110–111

  Wilson, F. Paul, 71

  Winter, Douglas E., 11, 71, 77–78

  Wood, Robin, 15–16, 19, 126, 132

  World War Z (Brooks), 73

  Wright, Geoffrey, 133

  Youngstrom, Eric, 55

  Zacks, Jeff, 30

  Zeitgeist criticism. See constructivist approach

  zombies, 45, 47–48, 58, 73, 93–94, 96–98, 101, 122, 156. See also Night of the Living Dead (Romero)

 

 

 


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