How Horror Works in Books and Film

by Shannon Scott

Why are we scared of ghosts, zombies, vampires, demons, and monsters, when we know they are not real? Why do dark attics give us the creeps? How do writers and directors know exactly what anxieties to tap into, so that we break out in goosebumps, cover our eyes, and cringe?

Shannon Scott invites you into the spooky, creepy, and sometimes surprising world of the horror genre to examine how popular scary movies and books manipulate our collective and individual fears—not only to frighten us, but also to address taboo subjects, and to reflect and comment on the state of our society. More important, she examines what lessons we can learn from these fears.

Throughout this series, she will introduce you to the many facets of fear—the traditional monsters you are familiar with, as well as examples of apocalyptic and social horror, psychological horror, and ecohorror. Using well-known characters and settings, Shannon will show you how each case can—and does—reveal a lot about our personal fears and our cultural anxieties.

The things that go bump in the night are not always in your head, but it’s your head that makes you afraid of them.

Runtime: 3 hours, 40 minutes.

©2022 Audible Originals LLC (P)2022 Audible Originals LLC

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Essays, Books About Books, Literature, Writing

4 pages, Audiobook

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is simply ok.

I listened to it last week and don't remember one thing of real interest that I either wasn't aware of beforehand or wasn't impressed enough with to retain.
Another less-than from Audible Plus in what I'm assuming is their attempt to pad out their "Great Value" Great Courses library.



However, there is something to be said for these bite-sized lectures as far as being used for long car rides or palate cleansers in between other books.
From what I can remember, she went over all of the horror tropes and reasons why a lot of us like horror. There were also spoilers for some books and movies, so be careful if that sort of thing bothers you. I wasn't bothered by any of it, but I'm kind of an outlier when it comes to that.



I think this would be fun for someone who maybe doesn't watch/read/listen to anything from the horror genre, but for anyone familiar with it probably won't get much new info out of it.
Not bad, just meh.

[Maede · Rating 3 out of 5]

در این مجموعه لکچر شانون اسکات به انواع وحشت در فیلم و کتاب می‌پردازه و با ارائه‌ی مثال از هر مدل توضیح میده که چه چیزی باعث ترسناک شدن اون فیلم یا کتاب شده؟

:سرتیتر لکچرها
هیولاها و ترس
مکان‌های شبه زده
تسخیر شیطانی
عاشق هیولایی
هیولاهای محیط زیستی
هیولاهای اجتماعی
هیولاهای آخر زمانی
هیولای درون

بزرگترین خوبی این مجموعه همین دسته‌بندیه. اینکه می‌تونی الگوی پنهان این ژانر رو ببینی. اما نقطه قوت بعدی، نقطه ضعف اصلیش هم هست. اکثر زمان کورس به مثال‌زدن و تعریف کردن داستان فیلم‌ها و کتاب‌ها اختصاص داده شده. خوبیش اینه که دقیقاً متوجه اون نوع از ژانر میشی و اگر داستان‌ها رو از قبل بدونی، شنیدن خلاصه و تحلیل کوتاهشون جالبه. اما به طور کلی انگار تمام مدت داری خلاصه می‌شنوی و تحلیل‌ها بسیار کوتاه و گذری بیان میشن. تمام فیلم و کتاب‌ها هم به شدت اسپویل میشن

در مورد خود سخنران هم بگم که به نسبت سایر سخنران‌های گریت کورسز عملکرد متوسطی داره. بیشتر به نظر میاد که داره کتاب صوتی اجرا می‌کنه تا اینکه داره لکچر میده

در کل اگر مثل من این ژانر رو دوست دارید و آثارش رو می‌خونید و می‌بینید، به نظرم ارزش گوش کردن داره

کانال تلگرام ریویوها و دانلود کتاب‌ها و صوتیشون
Maede's Books

۱۴۰۲/۱۲/۸

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Titling these eight half-hour lectures How Horror Works in Books and Film is a perfect marketing strategy, but, not surprisingly, the How part is quite an exaggeration. Horror in Books and Film would be much closer to the truth. There is very little analysis here of how the horror works. Rather, it's a short overview of horror sub-genres illustrated by a chain of plot summaries of books and movies. Not without interest, especially if like me you've been always purposefully avoiding artistic horror-anything, but don't expect to find any deep insights or surprising revelations.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much to say about this one. I picked it up from Audible Plus because it was short and horror-themed to fit into my October reading vibe. And it accomplished that, but as for the rest, now that it's been over a month since I've finished it, I don't have much to say. I thought it was an interesting examination of some tropes and themes, but I don't know that it was really all that memorable. (Thankfully! There were some definite spoilers in here for books and movies I may want to watch one day.)

[Janet (iamltr) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not really been interested in these great courses books, but when I saw the title of this one, I could not resist.

I personally loved the in depth explanation of the books and movies mentioned here. I was both entertained and I learned some new things.

I highly recommend this one.

[Akshaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I have always loved the horror genre since childhood. I recently wrote an article on how horror is significant in art, and this immediately made me wanna listen to the whole thing. It was very informative, and I liked how Shannon Scott explained so well in each lecture, categorizing different horror tropes. Most of the books and movies discussed were familiar to me, so it was interesting to hear about them from someone else's perspective. It was like I attended a college lecture, and the nerd in me thrived well.

[Daisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

May contain a lot of spoilers if the reader hasn’t read all of the books or watched all the movies mentioned.

2.5 ⭐️

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this lecture series a bit frustrating. The majority is just a description of what happens in various horror stories without providing much analysis or insight into the why. There were a couple of chapters here and there that got me thinking and inspired some new perspectives. Those bits I loved and they made it worth a quick skim read.

[Martti · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, most of the horror movies don't work, are boring and just plain stupid. But there are a few that rise above the childish jumpscare or dumb mindless gore. This book provides some structure while shortly looking into some boring or "iconic" examples which I've never felt are particularly interesting or horrific.

Fortunately there are also some examples of the excellent quality, like A Quiet Place 1+2 and Shaun of the Dead. Unfortunately it's a rather short analysis, but it sparked an interest to watch some of these "iconic", probably boring horror flicks just to fill some blanks in in my basic education of contemporary civilization.

Happy horrible Halloween!

[Gregory Mele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfectly good short lecture series for what it is, although what it is not is what the title implies. There's nothing about the actual writer's craft, merely an overview of the different types of horror used in Media and analysis of some of the more iconic entries in those categories. a perfectly decent overview, but I wouldn't say anything groundbreaking.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook: I expected this book to talk about how horror movies or books provide us fears and the kind of fears. Well it sort of it but mostly she talks about movies and what happens in the movies so not really explaining how fear comes about from the movie. A bit disappointed.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great set of lectures on horror that bring out a lot of fun ideas.

9/10

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introductory overview to the genre.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a community college class lecture series on horror; I enjoyed it, good movie/book choices!

[Book Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful!!

[Becka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these great courses!

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought, after listening to Wolves and Werewolves in History and Popular Culture , that the author couldn't do better. She did with this course.

I'm not a fan of horror movie-wise: I'm super easily scared by images, music makes me ultra-nervous when watching such films, so I tend not to because I'm not having a good time. But I'm slowly getting to horror books and I really love some of them! I also love what they mean or "intend to do", but that's another matter. What really interested me here is to get behind the pages or camera and to understand how it worked.
As usual, I'll relisten to this course to take notes - and, here, sadly, there is no list of productions on the author's blog, so I'll have to be careful on my second listen. As in the first course I listened to, the author quotes, explains and analyses: she made me live some of the scenes and she even made me want to watch some horror movies - something I won't do because I know I won't like it! But she made it happen, so bravo!! I'm mostly thinking about the chapter in which she analyses Halloween, the movie made in 2018, and the concept of final girls. It was fascinating!!

I opened the course again to talk a bit more about it thanks to the title of the chapters! There is one about demonic possession and, of course, it deals with The Exorcist, a movie I'll sure never watch, but a book I kind of would like to read - the trope of possession freaks me out so much I tend to run the other way. I loved the chapter about social and psychological horror, but even those about things that bother or really scare me were still interesting and didn't stress me out, such as ecohorror or apocalyptic horror - with a good look at zombies, my least favourite creature, for instance.


If you have the opportunity to listen to this course, I can only recommend it: it was both instructive and fun, perfect for fans of horror, but also for people who want to learn more about it and, mostly, how it works!

[Edie Kennard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Perfect Blend of Theory and Fright Shannon Scott brings her immense expertise as a professor and filmmaker to the table, but she never feels like she’s "lecturing" at you. Instead, it feels like a 3.5-hour deep dive with a fellow horror nerd who just happens to have a PhD in the macabre.

Why It’s a Must-Listen:
A Masterclass in "Why": Most horror retrospectives focus on what happened in a movie. Scott focuses on why it scares us. She breaks down the psychology of our collective anxieties—from the fear of being consumed in "ecohorror" to the loss of bodily autonomy in "demonic possession."

Beyond the Slashers: While she gives credit to the classics like Michael Myers and Hannibal Lecter, I loved that she ventured into subgenres like Giallo, Apocalyptic horror, and Psychological thrillers. As someone who loves a good mind-bender (think Gone Girl or The Student), her analysis of how directors manipulate our sense of reality was spot on.

Human Monsters vs. The Supernatural: One of the most fascinating segments was her discussion on why human monsters (like Norman Bates) often resonate more than supernatural ones. She argues that the logic behind a "deranged" person's actions—however appalling—is what truly sticks in our craw.

Engaging Narration: Scott narrates this herself, and her tone is lucid, pleasant, and clearly fueled by a love for the genre. It’s an Audible Original, so the production quality is top-tier.

Final Verdict
Whether you’re a writer looking to sharpen your tropes or just a fan who wants to understand why you were yelling at the screen during Eden Lake, this audiobook is a treasure trove. It’s intellectual without being dry and spooky without being sensationalist.

[Ulee ☄︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.449

This book was more heavy on plot summaries than analysis. The first couple of chapters just felt like plot summaries for films. It wasn't until the middle of ch 3 when the analysis became prevalent. This book is also very heavy on spoiling movies and books. It's possible to analyze stories without a line by line retelling of everything that happens (often times the ending is reveled at the beginning of her description of the story). However, I did learn that the Handmaid's Tale is NOT a book I want to read about and that the movie "A Quiet Place" probably has an interesting plot and I am considering watching it, especially since I don't like horror or thriller movies.

I decided to read this book because I am currently re-reading Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and I figured this would be a good companion book. I was expecting this book to go over the use of words and imagery chosen in books to get the reader scared or sucked into the story. I expected an explanation as to why older books were written, what the world was like then, and how the world at that time perceived the book. None of that. This book mostly talks and Horror films and occasionally mentions a book.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was somewhat disappointing. I was hoping for more of a psychological examination of why we experience horror/fear, and instead, much like the other lecture by Scott I listened to previously (Wolves & Werewolves), this is mostly just Scott telling us the plots of various horror books/movies and then pointing out what is scary in them, which often seemed fairly obvious. I'm listening to a different lecture right now about other horror elements, and the presenter is situating stories within time periods, going over the cultural psyche of the them and how it influenced the stories and vice versa, which goes into a lot more depth and is what I hoping for, but didn't really get, here.

I did like hearing about some of the stories I was unfamiliar with, and if you're a huge horror fan, this might hit better for you. If you're not a big horror person - be aware that the plots of many famous horror books & movies are spoiled here, so don't listen unless you are ready for that. I kind of appreciated it, because I'm not a huge horror person; thus, hearing the endings and plots of some of these movies helped me better understand why they are so highly regarded.

[Alexa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

I really like parts of this, I think that in lots of ways it is on point and poignant. I really liked the literature essay, and I really liked the initial chapter, which spoke of the history of horror film. I also thought that the commentary was on point and slowly thus drifted as she moved into eco horror (kinda knocking Jaws) and social horror where I just wanted to roll my eyes and put a captain obvious hat on the author.
But
I felt like there were a few political talking points muscled into the middle, and (I am so sick of saying this) I wish authors just leave the politics out or approach it neutrally. I feel like a froigra goose being force feed with a funnel and it is actively making me avoid more current writing and specifically current american writing. Unless I am speeking out political conversation specifically.

[Lynnaurya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting listen, one you don't have to heavily pay attention to in order to understand what's being taught. I caution any modern horror fans that there are some spoilers to the plots of recent horror movies, particularly those of Jordan Peele. While that did irk me some, it was not enough to deter me from holding off on the listening until I could view the movies. It may actually give me better understanding of them, actually, as I've heard sometimes you have to watch Peele's movies several times to actually see everything that's going on because so much happens at once.
Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable listen though sometimes the verbiage was a bit more monotone, so caution if there are those who get bored by voices easily.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting lesson in the different types of stories which fall under the umbrella of horror. I enjoyed the fact that many newer authors are discussed. However, I am unsure exactly who this is for. Anyone familiar with the genre will have a basic concept of the information discussed, perhaps not as strictly formulated. Anyone who is new to the genre will have numerous titles ruined for them, as the entire plots of the works are discussed. The theories are fun, making this a good listen while you go about your day.

[Paizli · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insight into the horror genre with a lecture on each of the typical archetypes of horror. Nothing too in-depth, and each lecture is rather short but an interesting listen, with many recommendations for horror books and films. I didn’t feel that it touched too much on how horror actually works, but rather a light analysis of each film or book mentioned in line with the lecture title. I still enjoyed it though.

[Dave Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick & entertaining dissertation on horror

These lectures mostly focus on defining the different categories of horror, while citing prominent examples from popular movies & books.
This is 80% trip down memory lane and 20% suggested reading/viewing list. Only at the end does the professor explain the "How it works" promised in the title.
Spoiler Alert: it's dopamine.
I enjoyed this and I don't even particularly like horror.

[Hunter Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

3-3.5 stars and I rounded up as the last couple of lectures were the best. Some interesting points but as others have pointed out there are looong stretches where the lecturer summarizes books and films complete with lots, and lots of spoilers which will ruin said books/movies for you if you have not read/seen them. Overall I wish there was more commentary and more "how." There is some, but not what I was expecting. Super quick listen (esp @ 2x speed).

[Ira Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, as this was more of a synopsis of various horror novels and movies as opposed to an evaluation of how horror works. What really aggravated me was that, in the discussion of movies and books I was interested in, the lecturer basically spoiled them by giving away the endings and their surprises. Thanks…

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, short listen for someone who finds horror stories interesting but doesn't care for the movies. It didn't dive as deep as I expected it to, staying more on the surface of different types of antagonists. I really liked a short bit that discussed how popular antagonists have changed over time with the cultural shifts.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the psychology behind the techniques used by horror authors and filmmakers, though a bit too heavy on the films for my taste.

NOTE: There are quite a few spoilers, so people should be aware of this before listening. Although I would have considered that to be a no-brainer, the author/lecturer probably should have made this clear in her introduction.

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing. There's not much technique here, not much "how". There's some light analysis and a lot of synopses. I enjoyed learning about a few horror works with which I was not familiar and the trip down Memory Lane, revisiting the familiar works was fun, but there really should have been more analysis, for my money.