Cover Image: Nightmare Fuel

Nightmare Fuel

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Member Reviews

Have you ever wondered why you have such a fascination for horror? In this book by Nina Nesseth, you can try to understand through her theories. She takes her studies and compares them to Scenes in horror (if you're not a huge fan of horror films, there may be some huge spoilers). This book was a huge psychological experiment on why people might have a huge love for horror films and it dives deeply into the genre's core to get some answers.
If you're a hardcover horror fan like myself, you don't want to miss this exploration book on the impact horror has on an individual. Definitely one that I'll be glad to add to my bookshelf.

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A unique look at what it is that drives our love of horror. Well-researched and wonderfully engaging!

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Fun, pop science look at horror/fear. Was hoping/expecting something closer to Mary Roach's writing style, but that's more my own issue and not a fault of the book. Really appreciated Nesseth's interviews included in the book and overall enjoyed it.

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Simple approach, which is fine.
I think I was wanting more as a dedicated horror fan than just the regurgitated norms of understanding the importance of the genre.

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Loved this one! I am not a huge non-fiction reader but if it's true crime or horror then count me in! I really loved reading about the science behind my favorite movie genre.

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A scientific look at the history of horror films and the history of fear itself. Nesseth asks, what scares us and why? The author's examination ranges from the very first horror films to contemporary horror and spans a variety of subgenres. An intriguing combination for those interested in both psychology and horror films.

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Do you like scary movies?


This book is a fascinating look at what it is we love about horror films. As a lover of horror, slasher films and also psychology, I loved how this book breaks down why we love to be scared, why we’re disgusted by body horror and exactly what is happening in our amazing bodies to make us squirm, jump or scream.


Highly recommend! I loved all the references to iconic horror and slasher films, what makes a cult favorite just that, and all the psychological and physiological theories on the science of fear

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A fantastic introduction to different theories behind horror films for the fan and student alike. Nesseth has a great writing style that makes concepts accessible for a general audience, and helps guide readers through a variety of different films.

The interviews with people in the industry are a real highlight, lending itself to a fun read with interesting trivia. I would highly recommend this for a horror film aficionado, it would make a great addition to their collection!

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This read was really interesting, I gave it a three out of five star rating. I like hearing about what scares people, and the different things about horror movies.

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As a massive horror junkie Nightmare Fuel was phenomenally interesting! The deep dive into the understanding what makes horror fanatics becoming more and more obsessed with watching them was fascinating. It was just such a neat look into why we enjoy horror movies, why do we enjoy the scares. Just a fun read!

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This book gave me everything I wanted and then some. I love horror, but having someone dive into the science as to why is so fascinating to me. I found myself utterly hooked by page two, and I couldn't put it down. One I definitely need to own a copy of for my shelves, because I find myself recommending this to everyone.

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Nightmare Fuel is a certain kind of book, for a certain kind of reader. I don’t mean to make it sound inaccessible, but I also don’t want to hear about it if you go in unprepared and find it’s not to your liking. Personally, I like reading this type of scholastic non fiction. I spent too long (and waaaay too much money) taking college courses – I can’t get out of the student mindset. Nightmare Fuel isn’t quite a textbook, but it’s also not light reading.

Nesseth digs deep into such things as

what happens to your brain on horror
why jump scares are so effective
how horror reflects the fears of the times/places it comes from, and much more.

If you found your eyes filming over during that list (oh, come on – I left it super short!), I can promise you this – Nightmare Fuel is anything but boring. It is fascinating! I loved learning about all the ways that scary shit makes the human body and mind react.

If you’re at all interested in the psychology or physiology of horror, or human reactions to terrifying stimuli, period – I highly suggest checking this one out.

A fun premise carried out thoughtfully and with loads of receipts

*review posts to my website 3/29/23 at 10:30 am

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This was a book I was really excited to review. Unfortunately, with my schedule, I missed the reviewing window. But! Not wanting to miss heaping praise on a book, I have dug it out of the archives to remedy by mistake.

Being a horror fan, one is always met with distrust when you praise and hype up a film you have seen around normies. It can be sometimes unsettling to think about why I do enjoy watching horrible things happen to people on screen, which is where this book comes in. Highly detailed and well-researched, Nesseth makes me feel a little better about my obsession with all things scary. I'm not weird, it's science. Our brains love stimulation and horror movies hit all the boxes.

I would absolutely recommend this to other horror fans and fans of non-fiction reads as it gets behind the scenes of our culture's obsessions and interests in the macabre.

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I was very excited when I heard the announcement for this nonfiction book. I mean who wouldn’t want to read something about why horror movies scare us? I know I have people around me that ask me why I spend so many hours watching and reading horror, why I like to be scared and watch blood and guts all of the time. I really do not have any of the answers. I was hoping that this could give me some ammunition to the questions, but alas, it is not the case.

Nightmare Fuel is a deep dive into the science of why movies scare people, why people want to be scared, what is happening in our brains when we watch scary movies. Nina Nesseth explores many topics, including the formatting of jump scares, the ways people are scared, and how sound plays an important role in our fear. There are explorations and analysis of several studies that question if violent content makes people violent, why there are things that we see at a young age that scare us our entire lives, and how many psychological studies are flawed. These studies are torn apart and many are slanted toward getting the results that the researchers wanted. A majority of the book seems to be in the defense of horror movies because the research studies against them are usually bogus or skewed. The point is that there is not a scientific reason not to like horror.

I found the idea of this book more interesting than the book itself. I am not into deep science writing, and sometimes I felt little interest in the depth that Nina Nesseth was going. Even though I appreciate the things that this book does, it really is not a book I would read again. I have recommended this to people who are interested in how the brain works more than how horror works. There are some highlights in the book though. I really enjoyed some of the in depth looks at certain classic films like Jaws and The Thing. I also like the short interviews, particularly the one with John Fawcett, the director of Ginger Snaps, because it is one of my favorite horror movies and it is interesting to get some of his story. There are also a few films mentioned that I need to see or revisit, but the actual takeaways from this discussion are not as useful as I hoped.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I enjoyed this! An interesting and scientific look at the horror genre that is both thought-provoking and entertaining. I'd recommend this for fans of Mary Roach, and for anyone who loves Horror generally.

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A fascinating deep dive into the reasoning behind our(my) obsession with horror films and all things frightening. There are so many connections between anxiety and love of horror that I've always wondered about and this book answered them all.

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Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As a huge fan of horror, I was initially hesitant to read Nightmare Fuel by Nina Nesseth. I was worried that the book might not live up to my expectations or do justice to my beloved genre. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Nesseth's expert analysis and deep appreciation for horror films. The book exceeded my expectations, providing a thorough and engaging exploration of the science behind horror films and their impact on the human mind and body. Nesseth delves into various elements of the genre, such as jump scares and undead creatures, and examines their effects on audiences. She also includes interviews with industry professionals and in-depth discussions on popular horror films to provide a well-rounded understanding of the subject.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book was Nesseth's clear love and appreciation for horror. Her passion for the genre is evident in her writing, and it made the reading experience all the more enjoyable. I also appreciated the way she presented the scientific concepts in a way that was both engaging and easy to comprehend. As someone with a background in science, I know there is an art to science writing that not all science communicators have. However, Nesseth explained things in a way that was accessible and engaging, making the book a pleasure to read.

Overall, I highly recommend Nightmare Fuel to all horror enthusiasts. It's a must-read for anyone who loves the genre and wants to gain a deeper understanding of the science behind it. I enjoyed it so much that I am already planning on rereading it in the future.

Note: this review was written by me but modified by the openAI chatbot to improve it.

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I’ve had a bit of a love-hate relationship with horror films (if not the horror genre in general, books included though I love Stephen King). I will concede that a lot of horror movies are pure trash, but I did somewhat enjoy watching these types of movies in the homes of my friends some 15-ish years ago. And I have to admit that some horror films cause me to jump out of the seat of my pants. If you’ll allow me the indulgence, I can tell you a story about watching the first two Friday the 13th films when I was a teenager. It was late one night, and my parents were off somewhere — maybe on vacation — but it was a weekend and I watched these movies on HBO. (We had a grey market satellite dish at the time, as I lived in small-town Canada.) In any event, the Friday the 13th movies are not great films any way you can slice them, but Jason Voorhees was kind of this boogeyman for the AIDS crisis in the ’80s (or, at least, that’s how I read things). I was fascinated. I wanted to see these films. Well, I got more than I bargained for. After I was done watching them, I heard some weird noises outside in the backyard. Stupidly, I went to investigate with a flashlight. No, I did not get slashed by an axe-welding maniac in a hockey mask — there was nothing out there at all. But, to this day, I still have ongoing nightmares about being trapped in any of the first four Friday the 13th movies (since they’re the serious ones, and don’t have the kitschy “zombie Jason” in them). Seriously, I was so scared that night I could have crapped my pants!

This is a long preamble to reviewing Nina Nesseth’s extensively researched (and how!) book on the horror movie genre, Nightmare Fuel. The book is a pop psychology look at why scary movies frighten people so much, and it would be best appreciated by those who have taken both a psychology course and a film studies course (at the very least) at university. While the book is not impenetrable, it does cover a lot of ground about how the brain processes images and sound — and poses the question: does movie violence incite real-life violence or not? The book is fascinating, and there’s an exhaustive list of movies to watch and sources to consult in the final 15 percent of the book’s contents. (I read this on a Kindle.) However, if you don’t know a lot about how the brain works and if this is a subject that you’re not interested in, you’re probably going to be a bit lost. Truthfully, I thought some of the best bits involved interview sections between the author and either academics or filmmakers and the sections that examined classic and recent horror films and what made them tick.

There’s not too much I can fault with this one. I reviewed a galley of the book and did notice that a few of the release dates of movies cited were wrong, but those errors could have been ironed out in the finished book — so I’m hesitant to comment on this. (I can’t check against a finished book as one wasn’t sent to me, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things got sorted out. Even if this aspect didn’t change, the book is still pretty good and immaculately researched and written, so I would consider this to be a minor quibble. I’m a bit anally retentive about getting facts right, so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m carping too much here.) I was struck by the examinations of how horror movies have evolved over the past 100 years and found that particular chapter of the book to be especially eye-opening. Speaking of which, yes, there’s a section on violence to eyeballs in film, and I’ll have to admit that this part of the book made me squirm a little.

All in all, Nightmare Fuel is fun for an academically inclined book. While I’m not kidding when I say that it is probably best appreciated by those who have a little bit of an understanding of brain chemistry, genetics, and film theory, it still has its accessible moments. The author is in love with the subject material and she has a deftly humourous touch. Incidentally, I also appreciate that the book has been written by a woman because I’m not too sure if the horror genre is appreciated by a lot of women — as Nesseth points out, you’re either a wallflower as a woman and are outright scared of horror movies (and thus don’t like them) or have become desensitized to them and aren’t frightened of them (which may be a bit of a turn off to some men). In any event, and looking past that (though let me say it again that I’m impressed that a woman is this invested in what some may consider being grotesque material), Nightmare Fuel should be a volume that sits on any discerning horror buff’s shelf. If you don’t like horror movies at all, you’ll be taking a pass on this — but if you can appreciate even the cheesiest of horror films (Jack Frost, I’m looking at you) then there’ll be something for you to appreciate here. In the end, this book proves that horror films might not be all that bad and the best of them are certainly worth another look. That said, I don’t think you’ll find me wanting to revisit my Friday the 13th experience anytime soon. But to each their own!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this DRC in exchange for an honest review!

When I read the premise for NIGHTMARE FUEL, I knew that I just had to read it! I'm sort of the odd duck in my friend group for enjoying horror novels. When I tell people whatever messed up book I've just been invested in, I usually get one of two questions: 1. how can you like stuff like that? and 2. who writes stuff like that?

It makes me feel a tad defensive like the implication is that I'm a bad person for enjoying horror. But as Nina Nesseth explained in this nonfiction title, there are plenty of good reasons why people enjoy horror. I personally loved the explanation of the neuroscience involved with being afraid. Nesseth explained everything really well. If she used a term, she defined it right away.

I recommend it to anyone who has had to defend their interests in horror to their friends and family and to anyone who enjoys learning new things.

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This book really exceeded my expectations! As a horror movie fan I was interested in the concept of this nonfiction book, and was pleasantly surprised when it actually talked about the science behind why people enjoy horror! It was broken down into easily digestible sections and went really deep into how different parts of our body reactions to horror. I really enjoyed the section about music and how the different tones cause different reactions, it was very well researched and obvious that the author knew what she was talking about. I would definitely recommend this to any horror movie fan!

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