The science of monsters : the truth about zombies, witches, werewolves, vampires, and other legendary creatures

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Title:

The science of monsters : the truth about zombies, witches, werewolves, vampires, and other legendary creatures

Author:

Hafdahl, Meg, author.

ISBN:

9781510747159

Physical Description:

232 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Contents:

Introduction -- Slashers. Halloween ; Child's play ; A nightmare on Elm Street -- Serial killers. Psycho ; The Texas chainsaw massacre ; The silence of the lambs -- Vampires. Dracula ; Nosferatu ; Jennifer's body -- Reanimated corpses. Night of the living dead ; Frankenstein ; The mummy -- The possessed. The exorcist ; The tingler ; Get out -- Deadly animals. Cujo ; Arachnophobia ; The birds -- Ghosts. Poltergeist ; The shining ; The ring -- From the depths. Creature from the Black Lagoon ; Jaws ; Alien -- Witches. The witch ; Carrie ; The Blair Witch project -- Creatures. The descent ; Tremors ; The wolf man -- A final note.

Subject Term:

Monsters in motion pictures.

Science in motion pictures.

Horror films -- History and criticism.

Added Author:

Florence, Kelly,

Summary:

If you love film that scares, and want to believe that zombies, vampires, and other deadly and terrifying creatures could be real, let Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence ... take you to the world where horror and science meet. How would a zombie really decompose in Night of the Living Dead? ... What is the science behind the night terrors that inspired the creation of Freddy Krueger? ... How does modern medicine and therapy differ from what would have been offered to Norman Bates in 1960? --

Holds:

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	791.4367 HAF	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A must-have for any fan of horror and fantasy movies-- Night of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shining (Stephen King), and so many more!

If you love film that scares, and want to believe that zombies, vampires, and other deadly and terrifying creatures could be real, let Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence, the women behind the Horror Rewind podcast called "the best horror film podcast out there" by Film Daddy , take you to the world where horror and science meet. How would a zombie really decompose in Night of the Living Dead ? Are there instances of shape shifting in nature like in The Wolf Man ? What is the science behind the night terrors that inspired the creation of Freddy Krueger ? Is there scientific data supporting ghost detection like the tools used in Poltergeist ? What is the psychological drive that compels cannibals like Hannibal Lecter ? How does modern medicine and therapy differ from what would have been offered to Norman Bates in 1960? How are subliminal messages related to propaganda or brainwashing like in The Ring ? What would the scientific explanation be for witches possessing people like in Carrie ? Was The Blair Witch Project based on any real or imagined creature that came before?" And so much more! Gothic media moguls Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence revisit the films from their childhood to discover the science behind the fear. Join Kelly and Meg as they unravel the medical mysteries and scientific marvels that inspired the creation of famous monsters like Nosferatu, Norman Bates, Dracula, Frankenstein, and many more.

An approachable and frightfully fun examination of what goes bump in the night, The Science of Monsters will thrill every horror fan.

Author Notes

Meg Hafdahl is an author and co-host of the Horror Rewind podcast. Her female-driven horror fiction has been produced for audio by The Wicked Library. She is the author of the novels Her Dark Inheritance and Daughters of Darkness, and the short story series Twisted Reveries.
Kelly Florence is a teacher, mother, and horror film lover. She teaches communication courses at Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota, and is producer and co-host of the Horro Rewind podcast.

Reviews (1)

Booklist Review

Hafdahl and Florence, cohosts of the popular podcast, Horror Rewind, explore some of the real-world, factual basis for 30 popular horror films from the early days of Hollywood to today. The authors don't offer specific analyses of each film so much as use the movies as jumping off points to explore ideas that arise from them. In some cases, the ideas are directly related to a specific kind of movie: slashers based on the psychology of real-life serial killers, rare physical conditions that inspired movie monsters. In other chapters, the ideas are only tenuously connected; for example, the chapter on Alien discusses dark matter and neutrinos, which have nothing to do with the movie. But this is part of the book's appeal. It's fascinating how these films can inspire curiosity about a wide range of topics. The chapters are all brief, and none go into any depth, but brevity makes this a quick and fun read. If readers want to know more about the topics explored, there are good end notes to direct further research.--John Keogh Copyright 2010 Booklist

Introduction	p. vii
Section 1 Slashers	p. 1
Chapter 1 Halloween	p. 3
Chapter 2 Child's Play	p. 8
Chapter 3 A Nightmare on Elm Street	p. 13
Section 2 Serial Killers	p. 19
Chapter 4 Psycho	p. 21
Chapter 5 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre	p. 30
Chapter 6 The Silence of the Lambs	p. 41
Section 3 Vampires	p. 49
Chapter 7 Dracula	p. 51
Chapter 8 Nosferatu	p. 56
Chapter 9 Jennifer's Body	p. 60
Section 4 Reanimated Corpses	p. 65
Chapter 10 Night of the Living Dead	p. 67
Chapter 11 Frankenstein	p. 75
Chapter 12 The Mummy	p. 80
Section 5 The Possessed	p. 85
Chapter 13 The Exorcist	p. 87
Chapter 14 The Tingler	p. 93
Chapter 15 Get Out	p. 98
Section 6 Deadly Animals	p. 105
Chapter 16 Cujo	p. 107
Chapter 17 Arachnophobia	p. 113
Chapter 18 The Birds	p. 120
Section 7 Ghosts	p. 127
Chapter 19 Poltergeist	p. 129
Chapter 20 The Shining	p. 137
Chapter 21 The Ring	p. 143
Section 8 From the Depths	p. 147
Chapter 22 Creature from the Black Lagoon	p. 149
Chapter 23 Jaws	p. 154
Chapter 24 Alien	p. 158
Section 9 Witches	p. 167
Chapter 25 The Witch	p. 169
Chapter 26 Carrie	p. 173
Chapter 27 The Blair Witch Project	p. 180
Section 10 Creatures	p. 187
Chapter 28 The Descent	p. 189
Chapter 29 Tremors	p. 197
Chapter 30 The Wolf Man	p. 201
A Final Note	p. 206
Acknowledgments	p. 207
About the Authors	p. 208
Endnotes	p. 209
Index	p. 217

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