Associate Professor, School of Communication and Culture, Department of English, Aarhus University
During his Carlsberg Monograph Fellowship, Mathias Clasen will be working on the project 'The Master of Fear: Why Stephen King Became Everybody’s Favorite Boogeyman'
Stephen King is world-famous for his horror stories, yet the reason for his massive popularity remains unclear This book uses insights from cognitive and evolutionary psychology, the science of recreational fear, and digital humanities to reveal how King’s horror taps into deep psychological responses and emotional engagement, offering a fresh, data-driven explanation for his lasting success.
I research horror fiction and recreational fear, focusing on the psychological mechanisms behind humans' fascination with the frightening. I am co-director of the Recreational Fear Lab, where we conduct interdisciplinary studies on various aspects of (recreational) fear, including how it can have positive mental and physical effects. The lab has received support from the Independent Research Fund Denmark and Innovation Fund Denmark. I have published extensively on the horror genre, including Why Horror Seduces (Oxford University Press, 2017), which explores why people are drawn to horror fiction from a biocultural perspective, and A Very Nervous Person's Guide to Horror Movies (Oxford University Press, 2021), a research-based introduction to horror films and their psychological effects.
Project title: The Master of Fear: Why Stephen King Became Everybody’s Favorite Boogeyman
Area of research: Horror fiction and recreational fear
Fellowship period: 1 Sep 2025 - 31 Aug 2026
Fellowship type: Carlsberg Monograph Fellow
Contact: mc@cc.au.dk
This fellowship has received funding from The Carlsberg Foundation under the monograph fellowships.
