معرفی
Mathias Clasen is an Associate Professor at the Aarhus University, School of Communication and Culture, English. He specializes in horror fiction and recreational fear, focusing on the psychological mechanisms behind human fascination with fear. He co-directs the Recreational Fear Lab, which conducts interdisciplinary research on fear’s positive mental and physical effects, supported by the Independent Research Fund Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark, and the Carlsberg Foundation.
- Research areas: Biocultural analysis of horror, threat simulation theory, affective computing in horror contexts, and supernatural beliefs in secular societies.
- Projects: Integrating fear research into immersive horror escape rooms, affective player experience of horror, voice as expression of character, environmental humanities, and Stephen King studies.
Recent publications (2023–2025) span horror’s psychological benefits, evolutionary perspectives on fiction, fear’s intersection with humor, and fear’s role in pandemic resilience. His work appears in journals like Journal of Media Psychology, Orbis Litterarum, and Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, with keywords such as evolutionary psychology, media studies, cognitive science, and horror theory. Scientific awards are not explicitly mentioned.
Clasen’s lab investigates fear’s role in building resilience and coping with stress, using empirical methods like haunted house experiments and surveys. He also explores horror’s pedagogical uses and dark personality engagement with fictional villainy.
