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You've probably heard of the fight or flight response, but a few others Fs are often cited as common responses to threat: freeze, a la deer-in-the-headlights; fright, a.k.a. “playing possum“; and friend (also sometimes flirt or fawn), as in trying your darndest to engage and de-escalate the threat. Taken together, the Fs are sometimes referred to as the defense cascade model (although friend is often dropped).

Another benefit of adrenaline is better eyesight, thanks to your pupils dilating to let in more light.

It's important to note that adrenaline gives you a boost; it doesn't give you superpowers. Despite the stories you hear of mothers getting adrenaline rushes that let them lift cars off their trapped children and demonstrate Incredible Hulk-like superstrength, this isn't something we have empirical evidence for. What's more likely is that something in the cocktail of hormones surging through your body is causing an analgesic effect...

Okay 'that was fun' comes with the caveat that there is: some disturbing subject matter and visuals and (well sign-posted) dubiously ethical or not widely applicable science of decades past, but overall this is another entry in my treasured little horde of non-fiction about horror media. 1/?

Y'all are sleeping on Mads Mikkelsen's portrayal, but since that was ten years in the future at that time, I'll forgive you.

New terminology unlocked! Lewton Bus. 🚌😱☺️

Chalk one up for ethical research, hurray! 😬🔪😁

This was a fascinating little read, it goes into detail regarding how the brain is stimulated by watching horror films among many other things.

It's not a book discussing horror films, it's more on the science behind watching them and how it stimulates the brain.

It also delves into certain aspects of horror films, like why we find them scary and why we're attracted to entertainment that scares us.

Let the spooky season reads begin!

Nesseth dissects the horror film genre- looking at some of the science behind the scares. Including interviews with horror fans, as well as the professionals of bringing scares to the screen, this makes for an informative & interesting read! While there are some spoilers for popular films, there are also lists of titles that may be unfamiliar to readers. From body horror to the jump scare, this will spark some thought for your next scary movie!

Interesting read. Nesseth had a great balance of science and pop culture with this well researched look into why some individuals love horror films so much. Chapters are broken down in a very cohesive manner that builds on ideas and science presented in the previous charter.

I even found a few horror movies mentioned that I didn't know about, so that made it even better.

#NetGalley