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Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films

von Nina Nesseth

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"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"--… (mehr)

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Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films is not only a deep dive into the history of the genre of Horror and its various subgenres and themes, but into the science behind why horror attracts and disgusts. Nina Nesseth focuses (primarily) on intersections of neuroscience and horror. Nina is quick to point out that watching horror isn't a "brainless" activity - but that filmmakers are crafting scares with the brain and body reactions in mind. So naturally, Nina explores how different parts of the brain (such as the amygdala and the hippocampus) responds to horror. But this book is also an interdisciplinary study. It is a deep dive into how all the aspects of a horror film - from creature design to sound design - provokes a response in the film viewer. Nina also explores horror through a social, evolutionary, and phycological lens as well. I found Nightmare Fuel to be an insightful look into why we are attracted to and disgusted by the horror genre. Nina Nesseth writes in accessible and entertaining tone, that is both approachable and scholarly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. (

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ryantlaferney87 | Dec 8, 2023 |

Fascinating throughout! Every chapter looked at something new and interesting. As this was a book that examined various aspects of horror movies over the decades, there was a ton of titles dropped. I hope to start watching silent films in general and learn if I find them interesting. Like the author's wife, I too am terrified of the alien E.T.. The passage discussing her wife's reaction was validating, even as I squeaked with fear at what she was describing. I hate to say it, but the second half of the book dragged, probably because I was having trouble concentrating due to unrelated factors. I'm so glad I got to read this. (

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iszevthere | Aug 1, 2022 |

Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films by Nina Nesseth is that rare book that applies science to our popular culture without either dumbing down the science (or being overly pop science in nature) or being too technical for a large readership. In other words, this is a very pleasant surprise.

So many books that I have read that are billed as "The Science of..." books are weak in both the science and the pop culture. Thankfully I didn't let all of those disappointments keep me from continuing to look for a book that would be satisfying in both areas. It certainly helps that Nesseth is a fan of horror films, but most other authors make the same claim, it just doesn't show up in their books.

The science is in enough detail, whether psychology or neuroscience or any of the hybrids, to engage a reader who is into science. The thing that makes this exceptional is that even with that detail it is still accessible and interesting to the general fan of horror who has or wants only a very basic understanding of the science. That is, I think, due to the fact this is about the horror films first and the science second, so fans never feel like they are secondary to what they are reading.

While the body of the book is great, the list of films mentioned as well as the bibliography offer wonderful resources. If you have been looking for more films to watch, there is a lengthy list of those mentioned in the text. If you'd like to read more about the science or the films, the bibliography offers many excellent options.

If you have any interest whatsoever in either the psychology and neuroscience of fear and emotions in general or in horror films as a genre you will find a lot to enjoy in this book.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. (

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pomo58 | Feb 20, 2022 |

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I have friends who are so afraid of sharks that they won't swim in the sea - no matter how enclosed the harbour, or full the beach. When I went cage diving with great whites last year, they were appalled. Yet at the same time, I noticed, they couldn't wait to see the footage. ... [T]he decade-by-decade change she shows in what scares us is revealing about the concerns of the times. She points to Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby, as well as later pregnancy horrors released after the 1973 Roe v Wade decision on abortion. Then there are recent culturally informed films such as Jordan Peele's Get Out and Ari Aster's Midsommar. At the start of the covid-19 pandemic, there was a spike in streams of medical thriller Contagion. This year, Alex Garland's Men skewers toxic masculinity. Horror movies, Nesseth suggests, may be a way of processing reality at a seemingly safe remove. As she writes: "You can repeat to yourself, 'It's only a movie'."

hinzugefügt von Cynfelyn | bearbeitenNew Scientist, Elle Hunt (Aug 6, 2022)

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"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"--

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