Mathias Clasen (born 1978) is a Danish scholar of
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. ...
and
recreational fear
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasu ...
and the author/editor of several non-fiction books on the horror genre as well as two horror anthologies. He is associate professor in literature and media at
Aarhus University
Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra G ...
, his alma mater, from where he received his PhD in 2012. He is also director of the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University, a research unit dedicated to the scientific study of recreational fear and horror.
Clasen’s research integrates horror study with the natural and social sciences, in particular human behavioral biology and evolutionary and cognitive psychology. His academic work builds on the evolutionary, or biocultural, approach of literary scholars such as
Joseph Carroll,
Brian Boyd, and
Jonathan Gottschall. His more recent work has applied empirical and quantitative methods to the study of recreational fear and horror.
Clasen's book ''Why Horror Seduces'' was published on October 31, 2017 by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
.
The book is about the appeal and functions of horror, with a focus on modern American horror film and literature. His latest book, ''A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies'', also published by Oxford University Press (2021), addresses common concerns about
horror movies with the aid of psychological research and is directed at a general audience.
Major works
*
Drager, damer & dæmoner' (2002).
*
Homo Timidus' (2004).
*
Horror.dk' (2008) – editor.
*
Velkommen til dybet' (2011) – editor.
* ''Monsters and Horror Stories: A Biocultural Approach'' (2012) - PhD dissertation.
*
Monstre' (2012).
*
Why Horror Seduces' (2017).
*
Evolutionary Perspectives on Imaginative Culture' (2020) - co-editor.
*
A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies' (2022).
References
External links
University web page*
Mathias Clasen's profile on ''academia.edu''Mathias Clasen's 2017 TEDx talk ''Lessons from a Terrified Horror Researcher''2011 interview/feature in ''The Psychologist''2021 BBC Reel ''What lies beneath our attraction to fear?''''BOO! The Science of Scary'' on ''StarTalk'' with Neil deGrasse Tyson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clasen, Mathias
1978 births
Living people
Danish literary historians
Danish horror writers
Academic staff of Aarhus University