My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Macmillian- Tom Doherty Associates for an advanced copy of this new book on the science of what makes a horror film work.

Besides Twitter and certain family members' politics what else frightens people. A shape under a sheet standing in a doorway, a figure that might dwell in a mirror, random violence, an accented man discussing wolves as children of the night. For some all of these, for others, some, a select few none, but everyone has something that scares them. Mine was as a child watching the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer classic movie. The Abominable Snowmonster of the North, drove me from the room, and always even after he was proven nice, still made me oddly disquited even decades later. In her book Nina Nesseth looks at why scary films make us feel the way we do in Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films, and what keeps fans coming back for more and more.

The book is broken into twelve chapter, each analyzing why films make viewers feel the way they do. The beginning is about the brain and how scares and disquieting images work, what parts of the brain, the eye, the heart, all the fun things that make a jump scare work. Or not, as the author explains, in that people are not the same in their fears, what could drive a four-year-old out of family room while everyone is watching a holiday special, might made a jaded slasher fan yawn and check their phone. There is also a history of horror films, a decade by decade study showing what was big, what has faded away, and why those films work. Plus the importance of sound in setting a mood and ratcheting up the tension. All these chapters have plenty of movie examples, and interviews with writers, film and sound editors, directors and more. In addition there is a list of movies in the back that influenced each chapter, and is a handy guide for watching on nights when the moon is full.

The book is very well written and endlessly interesting. I can see where the science might make some readers eyes roll, but I found it easy enough to follow, and educational. I enjoyed especially the section on sound, something I have always noticed and been a fan of, from soundtracks to Foley sound and effects, even the absence of sound. The examples were all good and I could follow what the author was presenting when I could remember the movies that were being discussed. In addition, I added some movies to my various movie queues not that I needed more.

Definitely for horror movie fans, especially for ones who find themselves getting jaded. I must say that my enjoyment of newer films is not that high with all the jump scares and lack of story, but after reading this book I found myself watching a film with new eyes and a brain that seemed more receptive. A good book also for film fans in general since a lot of this science is why films are so important to people also. Recommended for fans of Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror by W. Scott Pook and Cut: Horror Writers on Horror Film by Christopher Golden.

The number of non-fiction studies discussing horror films never seems to let-up and in the latest Nina Nesseth’s Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films a fresh coat of paint is applied by mixing science with the horror. By-and-large the book is a success in the broad sweeps it takes at influential films, key ideas from the genre and its history whilst interconnecting this to scientific theory and what makes horror and its watchers tick. It is written in a very conversational and easy to read style which holds back from truly ‘academic’ whilst providing plenty of food for thought for both hardcore and casual fans of the genre.

As a lifelong horror fan Nina Nesseth did not tell me much about the genre I did not already know and to knowledgeable fans much of the film material she covers will be very familiar, such as the Video Nasty phenomenon in the UK, the importance of the music in John Carpenter’s Halloween or the murder of the toddler Jamie Bulgar and its connection to Child’s Play, but her presentation via scientific ideas and theories takes the book into more original pastures. You may well look at some of these films through fresh eyes next time you catch them on television and think about your personal reaction and how it differs from the next person. Many sequences provided engaging food for thought with the chronology of how horror movies evolved based upon current fears, being one strong example.

The science itself does not thankfully go too deep and although it references numerous academic studies and research papers I never felt overwhelmed and it balances this by not straying too far from popular culture. Examples which connect particular films to psychology, PTSD, mental effects, neuroscience or why we enjoy jump scares come thick and fast throughout the book. Other areas which are effectively covered includes a dive into the psychology of fear, the effects on trigger threats, peripheral vision and the way in which the brain is wired influences how we react to horror. Nesseth also explores notions of fight, flight, or freeze with examples from the cannon of horror cinema which goes back to the classic period and ends with relatively new films, such as Prevenge. All the big films you might expect are featured, although I felt the classic UK Hammer Horror films were unrepresented, likewise the films from the Far East over the last couple of decades were given little page time, with the exception of Audition, Ringu and the odd other.

I don’t know how old Nina Nesseth is or where she grew up, but she mentions arguing with Blockbuster video staff about their lack of horror titles! Where was this?!? I grew up in video-shops and they were always positively brimming with gaudy and sleazy horror films just waiting to be borrowed! However, I enjoyed these personal anecdotes and these helped bring a level of informality to the book and the journey the author was taking in watching and studying so many films. Even though I had seen most of them, I did flag a few spoilers when plots were discussed which might annoy some readers who had not seen particular films. For fans just getting into horror the closing chapter has a very useful filmography of all the key titles mentioned in the book. Also featured are numerous mini-interviews with directors and players from the horror world, one of my favourites included the director of the cult film Ginger Snaps and how John Fawcett went out of his way not to make a traditional werewolf film.

The eight length chapters, which are broken down into cryptically named sub-sections, cover a lot of ground which start with an examination of how the brain adapts to horror, before diving into a brief history of the genre which will reveal nothing new to most readers. Further chapters look at monsters within the genre and the importance of fear and why certain scares are harder to shake off. I enjoyed the various psychological interludes and facts, such as the idea that many men are more likely to enjoy a horror film is the woman they are with is scared or unsettled (not sure I agree with this fact, as my wife just gets annoying and puts me off when this situation arises!) Graphic films, torture porn, and rape and revenge films are explored and are connected to desensitisation of violence and studies where participants are repeatedly shown violent flicks. Gender is also threaded throughout some sections, pinpointing the lack of research into viewers in groups other than the traditional ‘white male’.

By touting such a book as ‘scientific’ there is always the possibility of putting off horror readers who lack knowledge in the psychological fields and the various dips the author makes into science, but she goes out of her way to present her ideas in mostly layman's terms with lots of examples. Relatively recent films such as The Babadook, Get Out, Midsommar and Hereditary all get coverage and appear as examples in different chapters.

Nightmare Fuel covers a lot of ground and the result is a well-rounded analysis of horror films, what we get out of them, how our bodies react to fear, and the lasting appealing of these flicks. Your opinion of this book may well rest upon how much you enjoy the scientific parts and the connections made to the films. I felt the balance was pretty good and considering most of the film references were relatively familiar it was the science which gave the book a fresh angle. It is also a very easy read to dip into and does not necessarily need to be read from cover to cover, although an index would also have been helpful. If you are a fan of disappearing down horror rabbit holes there are plenty to be had in Nightmare Fuel.

This was fascinating. Loved how the chapters were organized and all the amazing research. It did spiral down a rabbit hole numerous times which was boring for me but I could still appreciate. What I enjoyed most were the concepts and how specific horror film examples were given to correspond with those concepts. I didn’t agree with everything and the gender stuff was mostly ridiculous but this is a wonderful read for any horror film fan. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced ebook.

Fans of horror films will fall in love with this book. It's perfectly researched and presented in a way that unfolds and explores why we as humans enjoy being scared.

I've loved horror films since I was young and now I understand why. I even discovered some new films to watch after reading this because of the extensive research the author did.

Really entertaining and informative read!

Thank you SO much to NetGalley for an ARC of Nightmare Fuel.

I can't believe it took so long for someone to write a book like this but I was so excited to see it and doubly excited when my request was approved.

I love horror movies! Always have, ever since I was a little kid and my dad allowed me to watch movies I was FAR too young to be watching.

I remembered how I couldn't sleep for days after seeing Nightmare on Elm Street. That scared me to death, but it's one of my favorite horror movies.

Nightmare Fuel is about why we love horror movies; the author explores and explains the fascinating science of fear through psychology and physiology. Why do some people love horror movies? How come some movies keep us up at night and some don't? Is a love of horror movies genetic? I think so because my dad loves scary movies, too, but not my sis and mom.

The author explains how we relate to the characters on the screen, empathetically and physically, why is why some squeamish scenes stay with us for a long time and never cease to bother us when we see similar scenes in other movies.

I love the spotlight features from some of horror's famous films and the interviews with directors, film editors, composers, and horror academics, asked to give their take on why horror films resonate with an audience or how they craft a horror movie to elicit terror, suspense and fright.

The author does an awesome job referencing old school movies, recent movies, popular movies and not very popular ones.

I appreciate the list of movies at the end of the book, compiled by the author as part of the research that went into this amazing book.

I'm definitely going to check some out because some sound familiar and I've never seen them, and some didn't, and their synopsis made me want to watch them as I was reading Nightmare Fuel.

Nightmare Fuel is not just about the science of fear, but a celebration of the horror genre, a genre grossly underestimated by the film industry and audiences.

I haven't been scared by a horror movie in a long time (habituation - it's in the book), but I have hope one will come along one day that will scare me the way my nine year old self was scared by Freddy Krueger.

Nina Nesseth’s Nightmare Fuel is a welcome addition to any horror fan’s collection, whether a novice or a long-time diehard. The author’s approach is perfect because she clearly has the objective scientific knowledge and an unbridled passion for horror movies. She provides the reader with a lengthy list of movies to both illustrate the history of the horror genre, demonstrate the points she is trying to make with regard to the science, and just to help readers build an extensive watchlist.

I appreciate the range of films covered, as she delves in slasher flicks, gross out horror and everything in between. In an interview with an editor, Stanley Kubrick is cited as a master of horror, and this writer tends to agree. Horror isn’t the first genre that springs to mind with Kubrick, but The Shining is so brilliant at slowly building suspense without resorting to cheap tricks. Another interesting element the author discusses is how faster paced editing is today than, say, 30 years ago. A slow burn horror like The Shining might be more difficult to make today, while slash movies have flourished with their plethora of jump scares requiring lightning-fast editing. The author doesn’t condemn this, as the genre hasn’t gotten worse but has evolved over time.

Most of the scientific citations are either neuroscience or psychology (as expected). The author mentions the idea of mirror neurons, which is a fascinating theory, but she is careful to point out it is simply a theory and the research on it is mixed. Nesseth admits that more research specifically focused on horror films would be welcome (she discusses the very unscientific experiment where viewers had elevated heart rates on an Apple Watch during a screening of Hereditary). Ultimately, there is enough science material here to keep the reader interested without dulling the faculties of the novice.

If you are looking to expand your horror watchlist or interested in why we enjoy scaring ourselves silly, Nightmare Fuel is definitely worth a read.

This was a fascinating and really accessible look at the science behind why we love horror films and being scared. Nina Nesseth looks into the psychology and physiology behind what makes us scared and what the impact is on us. I thought that the discussion about the mechanics behind film production, including sound and editing was particularly interesting and I also really enjoyed the chapter focusing on which social fears were prevalent in horror films through history. There were times when I got a little bit bogged down with the science, but overall, I thought this was a great read and would definitely recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not a book you could sit down and read in a sitting. Its thought provoking chapters brought forward things I never thought about before when it comes to horror movies.

Some of the science went a little over my head but it was explained well enough I could understand the point.

As a huge fan of horror, it was very interesting to read about how various tropes and other aspects affects us physically and mentally. The research here seemed very thorough, and I appreciated how Nesseth listed several films that fit with each example. With this being said, I do wish there were more specific films named and more interviews with actors, directors, and people that worked on those films. Nesseth spoke to lots of film critics and horror aficionados, which was great, but I would have liked to have read more from people involved in the films themselves. Some parts of the book were a little boring and long-winded, but I didn't let this deter me from reading. I appreciated how Nesseth really analyzed all aspects of what's happening in the body when certain scenes or movies play out. All in all, I think this is an excellent read for any horror fan, and I'm glad to have been able to have the chance to read it. Thanks, NetGalley and Tor Nightfire!

While I enjoyed this book and learned a lot, it goes too deep in the minutia for me to truly enjoy it. There are some great moments and some excellent insights. Overall, I think the layman lacks the psychological knowledge to keep up with a good chunk of the book (at least I did). However, if someone wanted to learn about what makes people scared and why the aspects of horror work, I think this is a great resource.

This would be a great recommendation for someone who is new to watching horror films or new to learning about psychology, in general.

Thanks to @NetGalley and @TorNightfire for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. (Posted on @dark.oracle.reads and Goodreads on 4/20)

I am a horror gal through-and-through. I very rarely read or watch anything else besides documentaries (and the occasional reality dating trash, so sue me!), with one of my absolute favorites to dive into being horror-specific documentaries. That being said, I was ready for this book to be MY ish. I wanted to love it—really really did—however it ended up being a real drag for me to get through.

It’s clear the author researched the hell out of this thing, the only problem is all of this research wasn’t packaged into something enjoyable for a lay(wo)man who is more into horror than nit-picky science. It really felt like reading through one of my dry college textbooks at times.

This book often gets very sidetracked on its own tangents, and those parts were especially tedious to read. After finishing I realized that THIS much meticulous information about very niche corners of film history, neuroscience, and psychological studies just wasn’t impactful to me.

Although some of the information was interesting, I think it would have done this book a service to trim some of the stuffy, over-explained academic details. It truly felt like I was getting an endless stream of high-brow information spouted at me as opposed to genuinely being able to participate and connect with the work. If I had to pick one word, I would describe this book as sterile.

I’ll definitely be in the minority here, but I could not get into the clinical delivery of this end product.

Part science paper, part history book, part entertainment guide, and, hopefully, a measure for all toward understanding and/or reinforcing a love for horror films.

You could approach this read with "know thine enemy" mentality or to uncover yet another reason to want to explore scary movies but, whatever your motive, what I'm happy to report is that Nesseth can capably and handily help the reader accomplish both of those.

As the title suggests, the meat of this book tackles an array of what goes on in a horror film, from how we react, *why* we react, why we continue to watch, and what filmmakers do to keep us coming back for more. Sprinkled in are interviews or examinations of chief examples. Ever been interested as to exactly why we cover our eyes when a scary part comes on? Have you ever really thought about it, besides going deeper than "I don't want to see it" or "I'm too scared"? That's covered, along with much, much more.

Would a casual viewer know any of the stuff that Nesseth has collected for our reading pleasure? On some level, I'm sure that's the case, but it's pretty great to see it all aggregated for consideration and our own edification.

I friggin' love horror movies and this book has enriched my watching experience--simple as that.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates for the advance read.

This was an interesting look at our obsession with all things horror. I do enjoy these nonfiction accounts of psychology and the horror genre. I dont want to rate it as it was nonfiction, but a really enjoyable read. I always enjoy the inner workings of our minds. I have always been curious about why I love horror so much, but at the same time I am a scaredy cat. Great information here.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of thid book in exchange for an honest review.

was very excited by this because, well, it's about horror and why we love it. For the most part, it was a very enjoyable read, except that perhaps it gets bogged down sometimes by *too much* science. That, or I'm an idiot that doesn't really get psychology and brain-science stuff as much as I thought I did. Overall, possibly more enjoyable for those with a greater interest in neuroscience than I am, but a solid read in general.

Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films by Nina Nesseth is a nonfiction book about the science of how horror movies work and how they scare us. I received an early review copy through Netgalley. I found the book a little technical in terms of the scientific explanation at time but its a great book for those who want to know the science behind why they like or dislike specific horror films and why ones are scary and others are not. I loved the explanation on the how and why different horror movies effect us in different ways.

A sharp look inside what makes horror movies work on us as well as they do.

I’m not usually a big non-fiction reader, I tend to prefer more monsters and mayhem on my TBR. However when I received an ARC of Nightmare Fuel, I was beyond excited to dig in and was not disappointed.

The book covers the physiological responses to fear, different types of fear, and the fears that showed up in horror movies decade by decade. Discussion of various sub-genres, in tricks like jump-scares, and what makes a horror movie work (or not).

Nina watched an exhaustive number of movies (catalogued in the end of the book) and read tons of research on fear and how it works (also listed in the back of the book) before bringing conclusions to the page that were easy to understand, and fascinating to take a look at.

As a lifelong horror fan this was an excellent peek into the science of horror, and I can’t recommend it highly enough

This is an ambitious exploration of the sciences of fear, from neurology to psychology even to some sociology and more, as they apply to horror films and the experiences of participating with horror films. As someone passionate about horror films who also has a passing interest in the science explaining why and how humans behave this book had a lot to keep me interested. The writing style was somewhat informal, even when discussing complicated brain sciences, and that made the material much more accessible, and it made the chapters flow pretty quickly. The pace was also helped but occasional asides, usually at the ends of chapters, which were either deep dives into a tangentially related topic or an interview with someone involved in the production or study of horror films.

The book really strives to cover all the aspects of scientific inquiry that can go into the horror film experience, which is both laudable but also can seem unwieldy. The book does cover a lot of ground, and can seem a little long at times. I think this is because when exploring a scientific concept, and this is especially true in the earlier chapters, she sometimes applies that concept to the viewer, and sometimes to the characters in a movie as if they were actually experiencing the events of the film, and the focus moves back and forth a little bit, making the ultimate aim of the information unclear. Is this what filmmakers think of when creating films? Is this what happens to people watching and enjoying films? Is this what happens to people when someone jumps out of a dark corner and chases them with a knife? All of the above? Covering the wide range of scientific exploration related to horror also means some chapters are closely examining the horror film viewing experience where others are more general about reactions to violence and gore or the biological responses to different sound frequencies and so on.

That said, all of the information does tie together, and I appreciated Nesseth not leaving any rock unturned, even if it meant the journey took the scenic route. You don’t have to be passionate about horror films to enjoy this book, though it helps. You do have to be interested in the science, though, because if you’re here only for the horror and not the science the book, as full as it is with horror enthusiast bonafides, doesn’t offer you as much. For someone like me it was great. It was full of interesting information, incredibly well-researched, fluidly-written, and really attempted to explore the entirety of the horror film experience. Understandably it isn’t for everyone, but if you have even a passing interest in the sciences behind our human experiences you will find a lot to enjoy in this book.

I want to thank NetGalley, Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates, and Tor Nightfire, who provided a complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Author Nesseth delves into why we love horror, especially horror films, why we get off on the jump scares, the thrills, the reveals, the camera angles, the creatures, the sensations, the terror, the build-ups, and so much more.
Terror is where the tension lives. Although there are titles that examine why we love horror, some from more pop culture lenses for lay readers, others more academic, this one falls into the academic realm but is written with the accessibility of a popular culture text so it doesn't feel like one big snooze, or study after study of subjecting people to scary things and looking at the outcomes.

The book really explores the psychology of fear, the effects on trigger threats, peripheral vision, thousands of years of brain wiring and so on. She cleverly explores notions of fight, flight, or freeze with examples from the cannon of horror cinema, which enhances the text and makes it more fun to read. She also explores jump scares, disgust, and other common horror cinema tropes. Although it's well-worn territory, the author's delivery is fresh and her writing style is very engaging. Highly recommended. She also goes into that hotly contested/debated of terms, "quiet horror" while also providing societal and historical contexts for why some films scared other folks more than most, why some scares stick with us more than others, the impact of violence/blood/gore, etc, or if some films deliberately enforced a fear of the Cold War or other things.

Any horror fan would love to have a book like this and it's essential for the shelves of any horror lover. Film and cinema buffs will love it as well.

An exceptionally thorough and engaging dive into the horror genre. Nesseth paints a vivid picture of the correlations between real -world events and how they inspired the horror genre. She delves into the psychological aspect of fans and those who dislike it completely. The only trouble I had was with some of the psychological studies, because of my lack of knowledge of the field. Nesseth does her best to lay it out in mostly layman's terms as much as possible. The section breaking down the Sensation Seeking Scale is a must read for anyone who enjoys horror or thrills.