The Horror Genre from the Perspective of the Psychology of Literature (Part 2)

First part of the article: The Horror Genre from the Perspective of the Psychology of Literature (Part 1)

INTRODUCTION

Despite the fact that horror is traditionally perceived as a substandard genre from the perspective of literary scholarship, it fulfills several significant psychological and social functions in human life. (Note: The nature of literary kitsch is created primarily by the following compositional elements: a simple plot, a predictable storyline, pronounced emotionality, mass appeal, unambiguous meaning — "trash is an autonomous system of creation and reception in which the individuality of the work is suppressed in favor of the specifics of individual genres and subgenres" (Holanová – Segi, 2010, p. 4).

Glen Walters (2004) identified three factors that stimulate the appeal of horror entertainment: a) tension (through elements of mystery, terror, fear, and aggression), b) relevance — the author must use something current for the reader, something they can identify with (universally relevant is, for example, the fear of death, fear of the unknown; culturally relevant may also be the protagonist's lifestyle, worldview, and so on), c) unreality (readers or viewers realize they are watching something that is not real).

For comparison, Tamborini in his 1996 study presents three different reasons for preferring the horror genre: a) the model of successfully overcoming a life-threatening situation, b) the need to see destruction, c) thrill-seeking.

Several studies focused on the correlation between age and preference for the horror genre have shown that this preference emerges and grows during childhood, peaks in adolescence, and subsequently begins to fade — from the perspective of the population as a whole, not from the perspective of the individual (e.g., Hoffner – Levin, 2005, p. 225).

Jenkins (2004) explains this preference curve by stating that entertainment containing elements of violence fulfills the following main functions in young people: a) it allows them to fantasize about (currently non-existent) personal power, b) it gives vent to their fantasies about transgressing social taboos, c) it intensifies the emotional experience, d) it serves to confirm the assumption that the "world" is not always a safe and friendly place.

PHENOMENOLOGY OF "MONSTERS"

The fundamental compositional element of every horror story is the presence of some kind of "monster" (usually supernatural in nature) that threatens the lives of the protagonists. From the perspective of phenomenology, Saler and Ziegler classify "it" among so-called narrative universals, because across different cultures of the world it is characterized by the following common features: "unusual size and/or strength, a prominent mouth with fangs or some other organ suitable for killing humans, a need to consume human flesh and/or blood, hybridism" [1] (Saler – Ziegler, 2005, p. 220). Literary scholar and proponent of bioculturalism Clasen adds in this context that "like other products of the mind, monsters come into being in a complex relation between psychological machinery, environmental conditions, and cultural narratives: they grow in the soil of adapted minds and are fertilized by cultural ecology" [2] (Clasen, 2012, p. 225). Despite their diversity, they are the result of the same (universal) psychological processes in which the specifics of a particular environment merge with the specifics of a given culture. Every mental construct of a "terrifying beast" thus resembles "local" predators, to which it "adds" some elements, but a completely new type of monster rarely emerges. This is why man-eating tigers appear in folk narratives in India, man-eating bears in North America, man-eating crocodiles in Indonesia, and so on (Asma, 2009, p. 126).

In general, it can be stated that "monsters" symbolize the fear of life-threatening ("supernatural") phenomena whose origin people often cannot explain.

When describing the physical appearance of "monsters," several religious studies scholars point to overlaps with descriptions of other "supernatural (spiritual, religious) beings." For example, Boyer argues that the "credibility" of a monster is supported by the fact that it ostensibly "meets all the criteria of a given category, but deviates in one remarkable, strikingly attention-grabbing characteristic" [3] (In Barrett, 2000), e.g., the ability of saints to perform miracles or the ability of werewolves to take on human or animal form.

According to religious studies scholars Atran and Norenzayan, the physical form of a supernatural monster is "a combination of features from two or more natural categories that are likely to command attention, be vividly remembered, and be extensively transmitted" [4] (2004, p. 715). Atran and Norenzayan even coined the term "taxonomic anomaly," which they argue arises from combining categories such as: human – animal (werewolf), living – dead (vampire, zombie, ghost), and the like.

Carroll adds in this context that in horror narratives, monsters are presented simultaneously as unclean, impure beings associated with dirt, lack, decay, or rot (Carroll, 1981, p. 54). The feeling of threat that the "monster" evokes in readers' minds thus arises not only from the fear of possible physical destruction and pain, but also through feelings of "disgust," repulsion, and revulsion. Carroll's theory is based on the definition of "impurity" attributed to it by Douglas, who wrote that she understands "impurity" as a violation of the conceptual schemes of a given culture (categorization concerning natural or natural forms) and of a given social order. According to Douglas, "beings" that "cross the boundaries" of traditional categories are culturally perceived as: contradictory, incomplete, formless, and categorically interstitial (Douglas, 2014, passim). Human fear of "monsters" can in this sense be understood also as fear of the unknown — of that with which we have no cognitive experience. They threaten us not only in a physiological sense, but also in a cognitive one, because they "challenge" our knowledge and our ideas of what is (socially, culturally) "normal" and desirable.

The repellent appearance of "monsters" such as vampires or zombies may furthermore be related to real phenomena that humans generally perceive as unpleasant, undesirable (uncomfortable) or outright repulsive and naturally try to avoid (e.g., the cadaverous pallor of vampires and zombies associates dead human bodies, pathological conditions, etc.) Curtis and his colleagues supplement this view with the explanation that "our instinctive repulsion for pale faces and decomposing corpses protected us from infectious diseases" [5] (Curtis et al., 2004, p. 131).

As we have already indicated, on a symbolic level "monsters" embody a kind of negation of the existing social order and knowledge. (Note: Ultimately, however, they can also be connoted positively, because by their very existence they challenge the validity of natural laws, thereby indirectly referring to "the rejection of the dictatorship of reason" (Carroll, 1990, p. 57).

On the level of artistic fiction, "monsters" are the cause or symptom of the collapse of the social system. For example, zombie stories reflect in a certain way a dystopian vision of the world in which terrorist attacks multiply, banks fail, global corporations are legally untouchable, irreversible climate change occurs, and so on. We add that this vision of the world is daily supported in 21st-century reality by catastrophic news reporting, which finds a natural reflection in the thinking of the global population. Master of the horror novel Stephen King stated in this context that horror stories are "an extraordinarily accurate barometer of those things that trouble the night-thoughts of a whole population" [6] (King, 2010, p. 139). According to Barber (2014), humans subconsciously seek a way to give vent to this fear (of cataclysm), but simultaneously need to maintain hope that it is only fiction. Zombie stories allow them to "ventilate" anxiety and at the same time feel relief that none of "it" is true. (Note: According to Barber, it is also possible that horror stories full of "monsters" reflect human fear of extraterrestrial civilizations — the fear that we will be at the mercy of beings that came to colonize Earth and against which we are simultaneously unable to defend ourselves.)

In the previous study (Part 1), we dealt in detail with "modern vampire stories," whose protagonists tend to be portrayed more romantically than frighteningly. In the following text, we will focus on comparing "vampires" with other horror "monsters" whose primary task is to evoke in the reader or viewer feelings of fear, terror, and hopelessness.

ZOMBIES VS. VAMPIRES

As for common features, both vampires and zombies have the ability to turn humans into beings like themselves. With vampires, this type of violence has a relatively "decent form," as if it were not real violence (after which visible traces remain). The victim usually does not even know it has occurred. (Note: Many male horror viewers perceive this form of aggression as insufficiently "masculine," and vampires also appear effeminate to them based on their appearance. Therefore, in the realm of the horror genre, women tend to prefer vampires more, and men prefer zombies.) Conversely, the transformation of a human into a zombie is accompanied by explicit violence and creates the impression of a rapid, mass phenomenon reminiscent of the spread of infectious contagions. From a psychological perspective, therefore, one of the main differences between vampires and zombies lies in the fact that the former represent an individual threat that may or may not affect "us," while the latter represent a mass threat from which there is almost no escape. Zombies are also visually very repellent and their behavior resembles wild animals. Their "killer instinct" results in copious bloodshed, numerous and deep injuries, and mutilated bodies. Unlike vampires, a specific feature of their attacks is direct combat with a defending victim. (Note: These "action" components of the plot also contribute to the dynamics of perceiving a horror work and are particularly appealing to male audiences.)

Vampires and zombies are also similar in that they are driven by their instincts — the need for survival. Zombies, however, unlike vampires, have no personality; they do not represent individuals but a group, a mass, the threat of a pandemic that could engulf the world. (Note: Unlike vampires, zombies do not elicit compassion or sympathy from readers.) They manifest themselves as emotionless anonymous "killing machines," literally without faces.

In a figurative sense, zombies symbolize destructive conformity and uniformity — the fear of being consumed by mindless, merciless, and "soulless cannibals" (i.e., the conformist mass). From the perspective of contemporary humans, this may also be a fear of being controlled by massive destructive phenomena (viral diseases, "immigrants," terrorism), or of being controlled by the family and its values — that is, the fear that a person will not be able to fully experience life according to their own ideas, that they will only exist as a "living corpse."

At the same time, both vampires and zombies symbolize in a certain sense the possibility of "life after death." (Note: Unlike vampires, zombies do not inspire fear due to their "supernatural abilities," but rather because of the idea of what kind of "monster" a person could become if they became "one of them.") Based on their appearance, zombies may also associate the fear that the dead will rise, that they will pursue the living, or that they will even take their lives. (Note: On a religious level, such a view could refer to human fear of the "Last Judgment," when the dead will rise from their graves and all will be judged for their deeds.)

From a social perspective, the theme of zombies may also relate to the overall (economic, cultural, moral) decline of society, which manifests as degeneration of the body and appearance, as a "moral vacuum," and the securing of survival as the main principle of life. According to evolutionary psychologists as well (Clasen, 2012), zombies embody the principle of the primordial struggle for existence, in which the (most) powerful, (fastest), or perhaps the (most) intelligent survives, as in the case of the horror story protagonist who manages to escape the zombies.

Vampires are willing to "share" the planet with humans, but the sole purpose of zombie behavior is to cover the entire planet with beings like themselves (on a symbolic level, this is also a critique of the consumer mass). From the perspective of depth and evolutionary psychology, horror stories about zombies likely also express collective anxiety about the possible extinction of the human species. Although zombie behavior corresponds to masculine ideas of strength (dragon slayers, cowboys, criminals), it simultaneously evokes the fear that we will not be able to protect those we care about. (Note: In this sense, zombies represent the fear of "unpredictable fate," of situations that are significant to us but over which we have no control.)

Although the existence of zombies is associated in the human mind primarily with apocalyptic visions of the end of the world and life on Earth, as we have already indicated, the concept of apocalypse can also be connoted positively — as the end of an existing (unjust) social order and a return to a "natural" way of life and its values, for example, also in the form of the aforementioned struggle for survival.

According to cultural anthropologists, zombies symbolize humanity in the cybernetic era — half-living inauthentic beings, surrounded by technological achievements, without emotional relationships to other people, with neglected appearances — beings that do not live in the real world but only in a virtual one. It could be said that in this sense, zombie stories refer to the possibility of the abuse of science, when human beings "become machines," and robots (inanimate "monsters") acquire the attributes of human beings thanks to scientific and technological progress.

GHOSTS

According to survey results published in December 2013, up to 74% of American adults believe in the existence of God, 72% believe in "miracles," 64% in "life of the soul after death," and 42% in the existence of ghosts (The Harris Poll, 2013). (Note: For comparison, only 47% of Americans believe in the correctness of Darwin's theory of evolution.)

Based on a similar British survey conducted in 2014, it was found that 39% of Britons believe in "haunted houses," 35% in "afterlife," 34% in the existence of "ghosts," and up to 29% of UK citizens believe in the existence of other supernatural beings (YouGov, 2014). From a "phenomenological perspective," "ghosts" (compared to other types of "monsters") are specific in that (according to folk belief) they can overcome any defensive barriers of the physical world and a human as an individual (unlike vampires, werewolves, or zombies) is unable to defend against their influence. Moreover, "ghosts" in horror stories possess the ability to transport a person to the "other world" (to the "world of spirits," or in Christian terms "to hell"), so the fear of them is connoted in human consciousness not only physiologically (pain, destruction) and psychologically (fear, torment), but also markedly ethically and apocalyptically — not only is the human body "materially" destroyed, but the human "soul" is also "damned."

In our survey of preferences regarding the horror genre, conducted in June 2018 on a sample of 121 respondents, nearly 71% identified "ghosts" as the most frightening among the group of "supernatural monsters."

Social Functions of "Ghost Stories"

In the following overview, we present a list of possible social factors thanks to which a cultural community can not only tolerate "ghost" stories but even support their dissemination within the population and their transmission between generations — thereby indirectly contributing to increasing the credibility of horror fiction.

• Informational function.

As a creation of folk culture (a product of collective imagination), "ghost stories" inform us about the so-called ontological essence of a given culture and community (its origin, worldview, etc.) "Ghost" stories are transmitted within a given culture because they thematize cultural contents that are relevant to that community (e.g., belief in reincarnation, belief in the existence of "heaven," etc.) If a topic (value, principle) loses its relevance within a given community, the story that illustrated it naturally disappears as well (Goldstein – Grider – Banks-Thomas, 2007, p. 30). Folk ghost stories concern both the cultural values of a given community and its fears and (psychological) conflicts.

• Moral and ethical function. "Ghosts" also represent, from the perspective of "human ethics," a kind of "guardians" of morality, justice, order, and continuity, because they return to the world of the living to right a wrong, to "repay a debt" (e.g., moral), to avenge an injustice, to ask for forgiveness, to "properly" say goodbye to the bereaved, or to watch over their lives, to finish what they did not manage to accomplish during their lifetime. In this sense, ghost stories are not directly related to belief in the given "supernatural entities," but rather "ghosts" are bearers of moral principles and "protectors" of the values of a given community, a given culture.

• Educational function in a certain sense follows from the previous one, because the rules of desirable, i.e., moral behavior are transmitted to younger generations (e.g., in raising children) also through stories "about punishing ghosts" who "returned" to right earthly wrongs and who have the ability to punish any form of undesirable behavior among people.

• Didactic function concerns primarily communities (cultures) with a mythical worldview, which through stories about ghosts, gods, or other supernatural entities explain to their members the principles by which "the world is ordered," as well as the origin of natural phenomena such as lightning, hail, the changing of seasons, etc. These communities simultaneously educate their members in "techniques" for how they can protect themselves in case of danger threatening from some supernatural entity.

• Furthermore, the didactic function of "ghost stories" can also be understood in terms of the development of general mental dispositions of members of a given community (e.g., abstract thinking, imagination, memory, etc.) or specific linguistic competencies, e.g., the acquisition or development of the native language (in children) in the form of vocabulary expansion, stylization of grammatically and semantically coherent speech communications, metaphorical expression, rhetorical skills, etc.

• Tool of social cohesion, or solidarity. This function is applied particularly in the form of a shared — strongly emotionally charged — experience that has the potential to create new or deepen existing interpersonal (family, partnership, friendship, etc.) bonds based on feelings of belonging and (psychological) support, e.g., during the telling of "ghost" stories in the family circle, around a campfire, while watching a horror film, etc.

• Testing personal and collective psychological boundaries in a safe environment is a significant socio-psychological function of horror fiction. If the psychological pressure during (film) reception becomes excessive, the viewer can leave the show, or it suffices if they apply one of the "distraction strategies": cover their eyes, shift attention to other viewers in the auditorium, check their phone, or taste the popcorn they brought.

• Training resilience to fear — through confrontation with it — (again, we emphasize, in a safe environment) prepares young people for difficult life situations in which they will have to face not only imaginary but also various real (physiological, legal, economic, etc.) threats. This method of increasing psychological resilience strongly resembles the technique of systematic desensitization, including in vivo exposure, successfully used in cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, e.g., in the treatment of specific phobias. In this sense, it would be possible to consider the voluntary experiencing of feelings of fear, despair, and hopelessness during the reception of a horror novel (or film) as a kind of spontaneous application of a lay bibliotherapeutic form of CBT. (Note: According to proponents of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, feelings of anxiety from childhood (e.g., fear of the dark, of separation, of loneliness, etc.) remain latently present in the adult psyche. Contact with horror fiction could therefore also be understood as an attempt to "explore" or eliminate them. "Belief in the existence of ghosts" or the "souls of the deceased" (even temporary, as during horror fiction reception) may also fulfill a psychotherapeutic function in relation to the grieving process. The idea that a loved one is still alive, albeit in a "different form" (or "already resides in a better place"), brings considerable comfort and emotional relief to many mourners.)

• As a tool of social control and manipulation, stories about supernatural beings can be used or abused both in natural communities and in the modern world, e.g., in the form of religious belief in a "punishing" God. The model of desirable behavior of members of a particular church community is not always based on canonized religious texts but often arises from the current "ideological needs" of the (leading representatives of the) given community.

Factors Influencing "Belief" in Supernatural Beings

Despite the application of a primarily scientific worldview and methods of critical thinking, circumstances or factors occur in human life that significantly influence our conviction about the existence or non-existence of supernatural phenomena and beings, including ghosts. Among the most frequent are:

• Our thinking and attitudes shape the perception of the surrounding world.

Physicist and Nobel laureate Werner Heisenberg said that "what we observe is not nature itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning" [7] (Shermer, 2002, p. 46). In quantum mechanics, this concept is known as the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum motion: "A probability function does not prescribe a certain event but it describes a continuum of possible events until a measurement interferes with the isolation of the system and a single event is actualized" [8] (Weaver, 1987, p. 412). In practice, this means that our assumptions (faith, beliefs) about phenomena in the external world significantly shape our perception of reality. If we believe "in ghosts," we tend to interpret invisible physical phenomena (e.g., the expansion and contraction of materials under the influence of temperature changes accompanied by mechanical sounds, sudden changes in ambient temperature, effects of the electromagnetic field, various light phenomena, etc.) as manifestations of the activity of these entities. The probability or improbability of the occurrence of a phenomenon is thus largely a subjective judgment of a particular person, regardless of the consensual rationality of the surrounding material world.

• Religious belief. Some psychologists consider religious faith to be a pathological element and perceive religion as a "harmful" social force that encourages religious thinking and ritual behavior in people (Azar, 2010, p. 52). Indeed, Riekki and colleagues detected in experimental research that believers, compared to non-believers, showed a weakening of so-called "cognitive inhibition," i.e., the ability of the human mind to exclude stimuli irrelevant to the performance of a given task or goal. Their further research also showed that believers were more willing to trust ambiguous and contradictory information and even to make decisions based on it (Riekki et al., 2013).

• Folk belief. Even traditional superstitions have a powerful potential to influence human thinking and behavior — especially in isolated and culturally, educationally, or technically underdeveloped communities. The essence of superstition is usually a causal connection between randomly recurring phenomena. In reality, however, the validity of most common superstitions is based on the research inconsistency of the causal relationship (the so-called causal nexus).

• Desire for immortality. Sometimes belief in improbable and inexplicable phenomena is merely a manifestation of humanity's age-old desire for the boundlessness (infinity) of its existence in space and time. As a "finite being," humans experience a continuous (sometimes conscious, other times subconscious) fear arising from the awareness of death — the termination of their own existence. This is why information about possibilities for prolonging or improving human life, news about long-lived individuals, about preparations that restore youth or promise immortality (freezing, etc.), stories about people who survived clinical death, religious ideas about the afterlife, belief in reincarnation, and others have the potential, despite their obvious implausibility, to provide humans with the illusion of unlimited (infinite) living, for which they so desperately yearn.

• Need for a meaningful (structured) world. Many psychological studies have shown that a lack of perceived existential certainty or epistemic "clarity" (e.g., regarding life direction) results in humans also having an increased degree of religious belief, i.e., faith in the existence of some — usually anthropomorphic — force influencing human life, as well as the conviction about a specific mission that the given person is "called" to fulfill. Anthropomorphism was detected as a form of psychological defense in situations where the life circumstances of the studied subjects were perceived as random, or in cases where the life events of the studied subjects were, so to speak, "beyond control" (Whitson – Galinsky, 2008). Belief in the "intervention" of supernatural forces (watching over humans and their well-being), fatalism, and trust in the social system (government, human rights, etc.) were among the most frequent compensatory mechanisms applied by probands in order to regain lost control over their own lives (Landau – Kay – Whitson, 2015). Furthermore, Shermer in his book Believing Brain (2012) emphasizes that from an evolutionary perspective, it was and is important for the survival of the human species to perceive phenomena of the surrounding world as connected and filled with meaning, rather than as random.

• Education and belief in supernatural phenomena. Most studies conducted primarily in the 1980s initially pointed to a significant correlation between lower IQ of probands and belief in supernatural phenomena, but recent research has ruled out any definitive connection (Shermer, 2002, pp. 284-285). However, the inversely proportional relationship between level of education and susceptibility to belief in supernatural phenomena remains undisputed, because an uneducated person may explain even commonly explicable phenomena (static electricity) as manifestations of supernatural forces.

• Artistic (mythical beings, magical objects, enchanted places, ghosts) or religious (miracles of saints, angelic beings, God) literature can be another reason why people are inclined to believe in the existence of supernatural beings. Its contents influence them at least on a subconscious level. The complementarity of art and religion (with the intention of strengthening belief in "gods") was represented among the population in antiquity even by "technical inventions" used in the mise-en-scène of most theatrical performances, e.g., the "deus ex machina." (Note: The first to introduce this artistic "mechanism" — in translation called "god from the machine" — into drama was Aeschylus, but it was Euripides who adapted this "device" for the stage and used it in more than half of his tragedies to resolve a hopeless dramatic conflict or to end the plot.)

• Psychoactive substances. The ability of hallucinogens to induce an altered state of consciousness and experiences of a "supernatural nature" has been known since time immemorial. For example, methyldioxyamphetamine (MDA) or dimethyltryptamine (DMT) have pronounced hallucinogenic effects. Visual hallucinations can also be induced by an overdose of antidepressants or psychostimulant drugs.

• Changes in brain activity. Neuroscientist Newberg and his colleagues in the book Why God Won't Go Away (2001) reported the finding that brain scans of meditating Buddhist monks and praying Franciscan nuns showed significantly reduced activity in the superior parietal lobe of the brain, (Note: It creates a holistic view of the body schema, the space around it, and their mutual relationships.) which is responsible for recognizing objects in space and the body's orientation in space. Persons with disorders in this area, even in familiar environments, have problems with movement and even bump into surrounding objects because the brain cannot perceive these objects as something distinct from their own body. This area is therefore responsible for correctly distinguishing between "self" and "non-self." If the aforementioned function of "spatial orientation" is suppressed, for example during sleep or meditation, the ability to distinguish is disabled, resulting in a blending of reality and fantasy, a feeling of being "in the body" and "outside the body."

• Brain damage (e.g., as a result of disease). Renowned neurologist Sacks, known for his research on catatonic manifestations in encephalitis victims, wrote several books dealing with the bizarre hallucinations of his patients. Hallucinations can also accompany other mental illnesses: alcoholic psychosis, schizophrenia, epilepsy, brain tumors, or infectious diseases (typhus, malaria, pneumonia) (Brasić, 1998). The so-called near-death experience is also associated with many qualitative and quantitative changes in brain functioning and in the patient's perception, who subsequently reports paranormal (hallucinogenic) sensations that they experienced during the life-threatening episode.

• Brain hypoxia. A lack of oxygen in the brain can occur in injuries such as drowning, suffocation, strangulation, or others with subsequent respiratory impairment (e.g., drug overdose, stroke, cardiac arrest, asthma attack, complications during general anesthesia, etc.). If hypoxia lasts only a short time, its consequences usually manifest as feelings of weakness and momentary inattention. However, if the insufficient oxygen supply to the brain lasts longer, the affected person suffers from memory and motor disorders and hallucinations. After recovery, the patient often reports to the doctor experiences of a "supernatural nature."

• Sensed presence effect is a phenomenon well known among mountaineers, polar explorers, sailors, and endurance runners. It is the feeling that another person is present in their (solitary) presence. Factors that contribute to inducing this sensation include monotonous activity, poor lighting, isolation, extreme temperatures, exertion to the point of exhaustion, injury, dehydration, fear, hunger, changes in altitude, hypoxia, or sleep deprivation. The aforementioned effect most commonly arises from a disruption of the so-called body schema (Note: That is, the mental representation of one's own body, i.e., the idea of its dimensions and shape as a whole, as well as the dimensions of individual parts and their relationship to the body as a whole. The type of physical activity the individual is currently engaged in plays a key role in forming the body schema.) under the influence of the aforementioned factors, and the subsequent sensory perception (mental representation) of the presence of some "other person" distinct from oneself.

• Optical illusions. Hubel and Wiesel received the Nobel Prize in 1981 for discovering that neurons in the visual cortex respond already to elementary stimuli, so-called features. (Note: These could be, for example, lines of various shapes and thicknesses, object movement, its color, etc. (Kandel et al., 1991, p. 90). The resulting perception of an object, however, arises from the "feature binding" of thousands of features originating from different (hierarchically arranged) levels of the neural network. If the observed object is incomplete (a fragment), a spontaneous "completion" of its representation (perception) occurs in the human brain within the neural network. In practice, this means that even when a person does not perceive an object precisely, a "completion" into a relatively complete (defined) form occurs in their psyche. This is a so-called psychological optical illusion, in which the brain selects from various possibilities (shapes and other sensory specifications) that it perceives and then processes them into the final image (Ibidem, p. 91). Other forms of optical illusion (generally based on confusing or incorrect interpretation of some sensory perception) include: so-called objective optical illusions (caused by refraction and reflection of light), geometric optical illusions (apparent distortion), and physiological illusions (related to irradiation and contrast, e.g., a light area on a dark background appears larger than a dark area on a light background).

• Dopamine. Neuropsychologists have found that persons with high dopamine levels are disposed to find meaningful connections even where these are actually absent. Brugger et al. provided probands in their experiment with the substance L-Dopa used for Parkinson's disease. They found that patients under the influence of the drug identified even partial images and unfinished words as complete. Dopamine increases the level of neural impulses related to the recognition of patterns, shapes, colors, meanings, etc. It can be used to support learning, but also to induce symptoms of psychosis, e.g., hallucinations (Brugger – Mohr et al., 2009).

• Dreams. Hypnagogic (just after falling asleep) and hypnopompic hallucinations (just before waking) are related to sleep. Other dream states that can induce visual, auditory, sensory, or even olfactory hallucinations include so-called lucid dreams and sleep paralysis. (Note: It is assumed to occur upon interruption of the REM sleep phase, which is characterized by muscle atonia — non-functionality. Sleep paralysis is often also associated with sleep disorders — narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, migraines, or anxiety disorders (Tomašiová, 2004).

• Personality dispositions and belief in supernatural phenomena. "Persons who tend to score high on scales of belief in supernatural phenomena also tend to score high on scales of personality complexity, openness to new experiences, breadth of interests, innovative thinking, tolerance of ambiguity, and creative personality. These persons also ranked highly on scales of hypnotizability, degree of absorption in activity, tendencies toward 'fantasizing,' ability to deactivate critical thinking (enabling the distinction between fantasy and real events), and also in the ability to mobilize mental resources for the most accurate and vivid representation of an imaginary object" [9] (Wulff, 2000: 408).

• Electromagnetic field. Canadian neuroscientist Persinger spent several decades researching the influence of the electromagnetic field on human perception. He found that field pulsations, which a person does not consciously perceive, can significantly affect neural activity in some people and induce (unreal) sensations of movement and shapes — as a consequence of non-standard activity of the temporal lobes of the brain (In Hu – Wu, 2012). (Note: With organic changes in the function of the temporal lobes (similarly to experimentally induced changes in the intensity of the brain's bio-electro-magnetic field), memory disorders appear (up to the degree of amnesia), feelings of restlessness and fear, physiological pains without apparent causes, non-standard sensory perceptions, e.g., déjà vu or jamais vu, dizziness, exaggerated religious belief, increased motor activity, hypertrophied emotionality, etc. (Amen, 2011, p. 210).

• Infrasound. Mechanical vibrations of infrasound are normally imperceptible to the human ear (frequency below 16-20 Hz). However, low-frequency sound vibrations have the ability to induce significant physiological (changes in heart rate, blood pressure, feeling of cold) and also psychological discomfort (feeling of disorientation, panic, etc.), even death. Many of these symptoms can subsequently induce a "sensation" in a person that a "ghost" is nearby.

• Mold. Some (toxic) types of mold have the ability to induce sensations similar to hallucinations in humans, as well as irrational fear, or even dementia. Several of these species have also been discovered in places described by indigenous inhabitants as "haunted" (e.g., abandoned old estates, cellars, warehouses, etc.).

• Carbon monoxide is a non-irritating (normally imperceptible to the senses) gas without taste or odor. Poisoning by this gas usually manifests as headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears, heart palpitations, pain in the limbs, etc. The consequences of poisoning can, however, also result in long-term nervous or mental disorders, and thus also in hallucinatory states and delusions. (Note: As early as 1921, Dr. Wilmer published in the scientific journal American Journal of Ophthalmology a case study of a family that moved into an old estate, where after some time family members began to hear unfamiliar voices, sounds of moving furniture, and saw figures of "ghosts." From a health perspective, all family members felt a general decline in physical and mental strength. Several months later, a chimney sweep inspecting the heating stove discovered cracks from which dangerous carbon monoxide — causing hallucinations — had been spreading into the interior the entire time. As soon as the cracks in the stove were repaired, the "paranormal sensations" no longer occurred in the family members (Wilmer, 1921).

• Cognitive bias is a disposition of the human mind — usually under the influence of intuition or personal preferences — to repeat the same "error" in thinking, decision-making processes, estimates, or memories. For example, so-called confirmation (cognitive) bias means that a person seeks out only information that supports their opinion; memory (cognitive) bias, in turn, affects "what" and "how" a person remembers in connection with a given stimulus. Closely related to cognitive bias is so-called cognitive dissonance. This is an unconscious reaction of the mind to contradictions between personal belief (opinion, attitude, faith, knowledge, behavior) and the real state of affairs. Since a human has an innate tendency to act in accordance with their beliefs, the occurrence of (scientific) evidence that contradicts them can even be perceived as a threat to their worldview, even to the integrity of their entire personality (as a result of questioning their past actions and decisions made under the influence of their original belief).

SLOVAKS AND HORROR FICTION – SURVEY RESULTS

The sample of our probe into horror genre preferences (conducted in June 2018) consisted of 121 respondents obtained by the self-selection method (snowball technique). In specific numbers, there were 70 women and 51 men in the age category of 15-61 years. The majority of respondents (72%) belonged to the age range of 21-45 years (young and middle adulthood), meaning they were economically, reproductively, physically, and mentally active persons.

We used an electronic questionnaire containing predominantly open-ended questions as the research tool. However, since the participating respondents did not always address every formulated question in their answers, but only subjectively relevant aspects of the topic, we could quantify several of our findings only approximately — based on the relative frequency of occurrence. In the very first answer, 69% of respondents stated that in principle they do not prefer the horror genre (either in literary or film form) as a way of spending their free time. The two main reasons for rejecting this genre were — paradoxically — its "implausibility" (respondent: "It's all boring, made-up, stereotypical, and pathetic.") on the one hand and its "violence" and suggestiveness on the other (respondent: "Then I'm afraid of everything and I have nightmares."). The first-mentioned group of respondents is able to maintain an emotional and cognitive "distance" from the plot during the reception of a horror work, because they are convinced of its fictional nature, which "has nothing to do with real life." Conversely, the factor of violence was emphasized by persons who perceived themselves as sensitive, empathetic, and susceptible to suggestion. These subjects consider the plot of horror fiction to be possible and probable.

In the obtained answers, we recorded a marked difference between the statements of women and men, as well as between the reactions of adolescents and adults (21-45 years).

The adult female population in Slovakia reportedly does not seek out horror mainly because the extreme ("negative") emotions experienced during the reception of horror fiction represent a significant — especially psychological — burden for the human organism. (Note: The exhaustion of the organism associated with physiological aging also manifests as psychological burden (i.e., fatigue), and conversely, psychological exhaustion from everyday real-life situations is reflected back in human physiology.) In the words of one respondent: "Real life is horror enough for me" — in the sense of the need to provide economically for the family, care for the household, for offspring, or for parents dependent on help, further in the form of distress in the workplace, during commuting, etc.

Another reason for rejecting this literary (or film) genre may be the fact that in the general population, women demonstrate on average a higher degree of empathy than men (Note: This finding has already been confirmed by several gender studies, e.g., Baron-Cohen, 2010), and thus in the case of horror fiction, also a higher degree of narrative empathy (identification with the protagonist in the position of victim), which in the resulting effect would mean a significantly negative impact on their psychological condition.

On the other hand, the adult male population favors the horror genre primarily for its function of reducing distress (from real-life situations), i.e., as an "escape from reality," which is realized by immersing oneself in an exciting plot and shifting attention to other stimuli. The continuous alternation of different types of emotions (fear, hope, anxiety, joy) ultimately has a relaxing and regenerative effect on the organism.

Another significant function of the horror genre for (adult) men was the need for excitement, i.e., the demand for unusual stimuli disrupting the stereotype of everyday "routine." In this context, men especially highlighted the aspect of "originality" and "surprisingness" of the new stimulus (respondent: "What can a director still surprise me with?").

Among adolescents, based on the obtained results, we detected — among the possible factors of horror genre preference mentioned in the previous study (Part 1) — as the most frequent: enjoyment of tension, seeking extreme emotional experiences, venting as well as developing aggressive tendencies (especially in boys), and the socialization function — in the form of spending leisure time together, strengthening gender roles, and increasing resistance to fear (Note: The factor of "fearlessness" was highlighted in relation to their own person by both boys and girls).

Furthermore, we found that in a choice situation, up to 70% of adult respondents (over 25 years of age) would choose a film or book in which the "monster" is represented by a really existing being — either human (a psychopathic doctor, mass murderer, etc.) or animal (e.g., a man-eating shark, a "mutated" crocodile, etc.). Adolescents, on the other hand, would predominantly choose a "supernatural monster."

We will conclude our overview with a remarkable finding that, in correlation with the fact that a significant majority of respondents stated university-level education as their achieved education (84% of survey participants), up to 52% of them believe in the existence of supernatural beings, and thus also horror "monsters." (Note: We remind that "malevolent spirit" was identified as the most frightening "horror monster" by up to 71% of respondents.)

CONCLUSION

The main reader (and viewer) motivation for preferring the horror genre appears to be the need for excitement in the form of an extreme emotional experience, but experienced in a "safe environment." In second place is the socialization function — in the form of a group-shared experience. Applying the lens of "psychological projection" and in accordance with Tamborini's hypothesis (1996), other highly relevant reasons for liking the horror genre are the need to see destruction (one's own — through identification with the victim, or others' — through identification with the killer) and also the need for a model of successfully overcoming a life-threatening situation (in the sense of seeking inspiration, help, a role model, a "hero" — especially within oneself).

The female population (in Slovakia) does not particularly seek out the horror genre; in the male population, it primarily fulfills a relaxation function — it is a means of reducing distress, because as a result of redirecting attention from real-life circumstances to an exciting and dynamic plot (of literary or film fiction), significant emotional relief occurs.

In bibliotherapeutic practice, stories about supernatural beings can be used when reflecting on a wide range of existential and humanistic themes: Is there "life after death"? What "value" does human life have? How does a person cope with violence in the world? How does one cope with one's own mortality? Is there justified violence? and so on.

NOTES

[1] "great size and/or strength; a prominent mouth with fangs or some other means on facilitating predation on humans; an urge to consume human flesh and/or human blood; and hybridism." [2] "Like all other imaginative constructs, monsters come into being in a complex relation between psychological machinery, environmental conditions, and cultural narratives: they grow in the soil of adapted minds and are fertilized by cultural ecology." [3] "They fulfil nearly all the criteria for a given category, but violate that category in one particularly memorable, attention-grabbing fashion." [4] "combine features from two or more natural categories that are likely to command attention, be vividly remembered, and be extensively transmitted." [5] "Our instinctive repulsion for pale faces and decomposing corpses protected us from infectious diseases." [6] "extraordinarily accurate barometer of those things that trouble the night-thoughts of a whole society." [7] "what we observe is not nature itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning." [8] "A probability function does not prescribe a certain event but it describes a continuum of possible events until a measurement interferes with the isolation of the system and a single event is actualized." [9] "Persons who tend to score high on mysticism scale tend also to score high on such variables as complexity, openness to new experience, breadth of interests, innovation, tolerance of ambiguity, and creative personality. Furthermore, they are likely to score high on measures of hypnotizability, absorption, and fantasy proneness, suggesting a capacity to suspend a judging process that distinguishes imaginings and real events and to commit their mental resources to representing the imaginal object as vividly as possible."

Author: Pavol Štubňa, Mgr. PhD. The author works at the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava. In recent years, his scientific interest has centered on the intersection of literary studies and cognitive psychology in the form of an interdisciplinary direction called the psychology of literature. First part of the article: The Horror Genre from the Perspective of the Psychology of Literature (Part 1)

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