Have you ever felt your heart pounding while engrossed in a terrifying novel? Given the right spooky atmosphere, could a reader’s mind be so strongly influenced that it could produce physiological effects while reading? In this new segment, Heart-Racing Reads from the Horror Community, we will be answering these questions and more by heart monitoring subjects as they are introduced to new literature from up and coming horror writers.
This past week our experiment featured a graphic novel called The Zombie Game. We had our young subject, Amber, hooked up to a heart monitor as she read through the first section of this fast-moving Zombie thriller. Amber has a fear of bodily harm, injuries, and most importantly blood and gore. We had the lights turned down (reading by flashlight only) and a Spotify list recommended by the creators playing at high volume. Find out if graphic images combined with our creepy environment created enough dread to get her pulse racing.
SYNOPSIS:
A group of college students attend an end of the year party, only to find themselves hunted by the rich in a live action, zombie apocalypse video game.
Test Subject: Amber
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Fears: Traumatophobia (Fear of Blood/Gore/Injury)
Resting HR: 60-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
With the lights out, the glow from our subject’s computer screen cast an eerie light on her face as she cuddled up to read…
Try playing along by clicking the Spotify track below as you review our analysis!
Amber dragged her computer into her lap as she read the unfolding action. A brief explosion caused a minor jolt to 66bpm on page 8. This proved we were able to record rapid heart rate fluctuations while reading. The slow build up around page 19-20 had her hesitant to flip to the next image. The setup was quiet but the payoff terrifyingly terrific. She cringed and laughed at herself for groaning but we recorded her heart rate escalate to 75bpm. At times, she argued with us, refusing to scroll to the next terrifically terrifying image.
Her rocking and uncomfortable swaying raised her levels to her peak 82bpm. Once a heart begins to accelerate while monitoring a FearScale, it tends to stay elevated. And that’s exactly what happened in the first level of The Zombie Game.
CONCLUSION:
The Zombie Game is a beautifully gory graphic novel capable of producing stress and tension in those who may be squeamish. Reading through the first ‘level’ of this video game novel we recorded several moments of nervous excitement. Our scared subject was ready to close the book after the first level but we think you’ll be up for the challenge. Game on!