The Sounds of Cinematic Suspense

As two classic film scores illustrate, certain sounds are designed to trigger fear and suspense. In "Psycho," Bernard Herrmann’s screeching violin score mimicked the screams that filled the Bates Motel bathroom – and theaters. With "Jaws," John Williams’ pulsing dum-dum-dum-dum shark-heralding score became implanted on the brains of beach-goers everywhere.

With both films marking major anniversaries this summer (50 and 35, respectively) we look at why some music delivers the goose bumps. Joining us is Jack Sullivan , author of Hitchcock’s Music, and Dr. Meagan Curtis of Tufts University's Music Cognition Lab