Titles that prey on reader's fear

[HareBrain]

Watched a documentary last night, Jacques Peretti's "The Men Who Made Us Spend" (BBC2) -- his thesis being that much consumer spending is driven by the producer cultivating a fear that can be assuaged by its own product. So, Listerine became so successful through its producer emphasising the horror of not knowing whether you have bad breath; statins by getting people to demand to know their cholesterol readings; SUVs by playing up the dangers of road travel.

It got me wondering if any fiction titles had managed to do the same trick. There are quite a few in non-fiction, especially self-help. I was given one a while ago called "How to Stop Your Doctor Killing You", the title including both the fear (of death from someone you trust) and the assuaging (how to stop it). I've never read it, but I think if I saw it on a shelf I might at least be tempted to pick it up, because I'd be curious as to how the author thought my doctor was killing me -- even if I thought it likely I'd end up dismissing it, it would have triggered some response from the deep-seated place where fears live.

The trick must be more difficult in fiction, because any threat would be to a character rather than the reader. But it might be possible to get a reader to identify with an in-story threat even through the title alone, those relating to disease or catastrophe for example. And possibly the assuaging element doesn't need to be in the title, because the convention that most stories have positive endings implies that the story must contain the "cure", and all you have to do to find it is read the book.

Is this actually how some book or film titles work, and can people think of examples? I have an impression of picking books off shelves because they do this (though off the top of my head I can't think of any), even though my favourite titles tend to work on me for other reasons.

 

[Ursa major]

The trick must be more difficult in fiction, because any threat would be to a character rather than the reader.

There's a tradition of fiction being used to scare the reader about something or other, The Battle of Dorking, for instance.

I don't think this counts as a direct response to your search for titles -- except for readers then living in and around Dorking -- but as it is said to have started a sub-genre, Invasion Literature, it may have helped spawn one or two examples.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Did The Terminator appeal to some people's fear of technology and computers?

I got on a freight elevator once with a dolly loaded with computers. This man started staring at it with an expression of total loathing on his face. He told me, "I hate those things!"

I read Robopocalypse. To me it mostly varied between dumb and funny, mostly dumb. I was able to download it free. I wouldn't suggest it but I heard talk of it being made into a movie. So I guess it appeals to enough.

The technology will get us!

The iTod Singularity - Wattpad

psik

 

[Juliana]

I would think that fiction titles would work more in the way of tickling your curiosity than provoking fear. Lot's of great titles make you think 'hmm, now what's that about?'

Simply because the reader already knows its not real...

 

[HareBrain]

I agree that most of my own favourite titles intrigue in the same way, Juliana.

I have thought of one, though: John Christopher's The Death of Grass. I remember when I first saw that, part of my reaction was "Could that happen and is there anything I need to know about it?" (I've never read it, though.)

 

[Toby Frost]

I commute regularly, and there is always at least one large poster for a crime novel involving either the abduction (and presumably the threat of rape and murder) of women, or the kidnapping of children. Titles are usually something like "And We All Fall Down", "He Knows You're Been Naughty" or some other sinister-ising of a nursery rhyme-type phrase. Covers tend to be black and white with a doll, grubby rope, handcuffs, bloodless female hand etc.

What I find interesting about this is that most of these books have female authors and blatantly play on fears that seem very women-focussed, especially rape and child loss. I suspect that they are largely read by women, too. This is almost exactly the sort of thing that people get very cross about in SFF, but seems to be almost obligatory in certain areas of crime. Strange, that.

 

[biodroid]

Cell by Stephen King preyed on peoples fear of cellphones causing problems with ones brain. SK just made it into a zombie like novel thereafter but I was thinking that even though it's fiction could something like that happen?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

James herbert was good at this - the Fog, the Rats, etc. And misery fiction does it well, too: And then the trusted, smiley teacher ruined my life forever(*)



(*) may not be entirely accurate.

 

[Dave]

Does a good title sell more books?
Quite obviously, yes. However, I think what is inside counts more. You wouldn't expect On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life to have been sold out on the first print run if it were measured by title alone. And probably a lot more about the influence of word of mouth, than the actual content i.e. Fifty Shades of Grey

Lots of books and films with those shock titles though - Prey, Spawn, Them! - and on fear of certain animals - Jaws, The Rats, The Birds. However, I'm not sure it could make me fear Sharks or Rats or Birds or Spiders if that fear wasn't already partly there already - Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

So, will I fear my doctor if I don't already suspect him of being a drug pusher and of Münchausen syndrome by proxy? Doubtful, to say the least.

 

[biodroid]

Clowns are now pretty freaky to me. My wife cringes when I show her a pic of Tim Curry in a clown suit

 

[Michael Colton]

As others have mentioned, many titles are rather obvious in their attempt to poke at a fear by mentioning or implying some 'they' or 'other' straightaway in the title such as Carrier of the Mark. Not often is some sort of mark on a person ever good, whether literal or figurative. And so on.

As far as science fiction goes, titles that make me think "where did that come from?" appeal to me most. So for Banks, Consider Phlebus made me look up the book just so I could find out where such a title came from.

 

[Vertigo]

Okay my most obvious one would be Michael Crichton's State of Fear. Which quite frankly was enough to make me mistrust anything else that Crichton might ever try and convince me is science and has largely put me off reading anything more from him!

 

[Michael Colton]

Okay my most obvious one would be Michael Crichton's State of Fear. Which quite frankly was enough to make me mistrust anything else that Crichton might ever try and convince me is science and has largely put me off reading anything more from him!

Anecdotes such as this are part of the reason I have never read any of his work.

 

[Vertigo]

The sad thing is that he has done some good stuff; The Andromeda Strain is without doubt a classic.