"Curiosity killed the cat"

 Why thriller and horror stories are so popular?                                              

Studying Edgar Allan Poe we wondered why nowadays people are so attracted to these kind of stories. In the last two years the 54% of tickets sold in cinemas are meant to horror or thriller movies; in addition in the ranking of the most read books in the USA in 2015, 6/10 are thrillers. Even if in Italy this kind of stories is not as popular as in the USA, a detective story book come up at the third place of the most enjoyed books list; this masterpiece was written by Andrea Camilleri who is one of the most appreciated writers of this genre. Moreover, in Scandinavia, because of their lack of famous traditional literature, this new genre is developing very much and becoming appealing in the world (all the stories are set in snowy places and murders are so cruel and violent). Children are also part of the audience with video games and spooky TV fictions. 

Why is this genre irresistible?

Brain scan research in 2010 by Thomas Straube at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena shows that scary movies actually activate fear responses in the visual cortex – the part of the brain responsible for processing visual information, the insular cortex, the thalamus and the dorsal-medial prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain associated with planning, attention, and problem solving. According to a study at the School of Communication at Purdue University, one reason for the appeal is how you feel after the movie. This is called the ‘excitation transfer process’. After watched this kind of film any positive emotions you experience are intensified. Furthermore, some people may like scary movies because they enjoy the adrenaline rush of being scared while being safe. Other interesting aspects are that these books and films arise motivation as people like suspense, solving a crime or simply peeping into others’ incredible bad lives. To sum up, watching horror movies would not traumatize your psyche if you are conscious of being mentally strong enough to watch them.

But do not let children watch these kind of movies because they are in the most fragile period of their life and they could be shocked.

Realized by

Cozza Giulia

De Stefano Chiara

Russo Simona

(IV A)