Primal Roots of Horror Cinema

Why is horror in film and literature so popular? Why do viewers and readers enjoy feeling fearful? Experts in the fields of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology posit that behaviors from our ancestors that favored survival and adaptation still influence our actions, decisions and thoughts today.
The author, with input from a new generation of Darwinists, explores six primal narratives that recur in the horror genre. They are territoriality, tribalism, fear of genetic assimilation, mating rituals, fear of the predator, and distrust or fear of the Other.

Carrol L. Fry spent his university teaching career at Minnesota State University, Mankato and Northwest Missouri State University, where he was English Department chair and professor and now professor emeritus. He has published three books and numerous articles on film, American and English literature and science fiction and fantasy. He lives in Maryville, Missouri.

Carrol L. Fry
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 217
Bibliographic Info: 20 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7427-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3531-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction 3
One: 2001: A Space Odyssey 17
Two: The Territorial Narrative 27
Three: The Assimilation Narrative 52
Four: The Tribal Narrative 74
Five: The Mating Narrative in the Gothic Romance 100
Six: The Predator Narrative 125
Seven: The Other Narrative: Ghosts, Slashers, Witches and Robots as Other 151
Conclusion 187
Chapter Notes 191
Bibliography 201
Index 207