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Re: ^Yeah Camilla Send a noteboard - 17/09/2010 09:08:33 AM
They were cute.

I think it's interesting because of what you said in your original post:

I have been watching Buffy lately, and I've realised that the only monsters there I am properly afraid of (as in, I'll skip the episode or hold hands in front of my eyes) are the guy in Killed by Death and the gentlemen in Hush. And the more I think about it, they follow a trend in how I react to monsters. If there is something wrong with the eyes or they smile wrong (my main problem with Hufsa in the Moomin), I am petrified. That is all it takes. It in addition they are tiny children or float instead of walking, I will sleep with the light on, but the core of the problem is eyes and smiles.

Is this just me? What makes a monster scary?

I may stop reading replies if they get too scary.

All of the monsters in that movie are 'deformed' in the ways people imagined them as children. A couple of them have just one eye. Others have 3, or 5. Some have extra arms and legs, horns, etc. As far as smiles go, they are fairly 'human'

I think it's pretty interesting that you would find these characters to be 'cute' in that case.

It's pretty remarkable to think about what scares people. Along these lines, have you ever heard of the Uncanny Valley hypothesis?


I have, and it is quite true. Regarding the Monsters Inc monsters, however, I think the cue is not only that they don't look human (they look like big bears &c), the parts of them that do (as you say, smiles) are right, while smiles have the power to unsettle if they are wrong and on something that looks human, having one on a big blue bear (fuzziness helps) merely makes them relatable. I think all their eyes are big as well, regardless of number. For some reason that has the same effect (but only in drawings -- similar eyes in a realistic-looking film would scare me silly. Perhaps the divorce from reality that a drawing entails punctures the uncanny by removing it too much (or, rather, enough) from reality.
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
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Monsters. Why are they scary? Camilla - 13/09/2010 05:44:08 PM 953 Views
It's always best not to see the monster ironclad - 13/09/2010 06:06:07 PM 676 Views
Invisible monsters are scary the first time you see the film/episode Camilla - 13/09/2010 06:33:15 PM 604 Views
Re: It's always best not to see the monster nossy - 14/09/2010 02:06:42 AM 738 Views
I get more scared by writing than by film, so I'm going to go with the unseen bit. Ghavrel - 13/09/2010 06:49:38 PM 681 Views
Re: I get more scared by writing than by film, so I'm going to go with the unseen bit. Camilla - 13/09/2010 06:52:07 PM 718 Views
Slake moths John - 17/09/2010 05:17:29 AM 683 Views
You should read it! It's public domain and very short. Ghavrel - 18/09/2010 06:33:21 AM 664 Views
Hufsa? Lordling - 13/09/2010 06:51:44 PM 849 Views
Re: Hufsa? Camilla - 13/09/2010 06:54:12 PM 786 Views
Re: Hufsa? Lordling - 13/09/2010 07:22:08 PM 755 Views
Re: Hufsa? Camilla - 13/09/2010 07:33:17 PM 686 Views
im not scared of then but i'm creeped out by children. M & M Maddy - 13/09/2010 08:34:59 PM 689 Views
Re: im not scared of then but i'm creeped out by children. Camilla - 13/09/2010 08:53:35 PM 688 Views
children singing nursery rhymes and making the lyrics sound scary Foxhead - 14/09/2010 08:56:37 AM 717 Views
I agree. M & M Maddy - 14/09/2010 08:07:07 PM 741 Views
One, two, Freddy's coming for you... *NM* TaskmasterJack - 15/09/2010 01:00:58 AM 321 Views
Things that are Wrong or unknowable. nossy - 14/09/2010 02:04:54 AM 630 Views
But aren't all monsters "wrong" by definition? *NM* Camilla - 14/09/2010 10:04:05 AM 393 Views
Hokey wrong is not Wrong. nossy - 14/09/2010 06:31:10 PM 753 Views
True. Camilla - 14/09/2010 06:39:25 PM 584 Views
imo, one of two things LadyLorraine - 14/09/2010 05:24:45 AM 743 Views
unheimlich Camilla - 14/09/2010 10:05:07 AM 774 Views
anything that makes me jump Foxhead - 14/09/2010 09:01:11 AM 724 Views
Re: anything that makes me jump Camilla - 14/09/2010 10:05:49 AM 680 Views
no because there's often some screechy violin or some music in the background Foxhead - 15/09/2010 10:36:26 PM 641 Views
Deformity Sidious - 14/09/2010 12:47:10 PM 766 Views
Re: Deformity Camilla - 14/09/2010 03:02:28 PM 600 Views
The Gentlemen from Hush were probably the creepiest monsters I've ever seen. Kaldric - 14/09/2010 04:10:22 PM 696 Views
Re: The Gentlemen from Hush were probably the creepiest monsters I've ever seen. Camilla - 14/09/2010 04:13:27 PM 698 Views
yah. they were definitely the creepiest. LadyLorraine - 14/09/2010 08:35:01 PM 678 Views
Re: yah. they were definitely the creepiest. Camilla - 14/09/2010 08:42:02 PM 727 Views
I think that feeling of something being just off is quite creepy Mark - 14/09/2010 04:51:02 PM 737 Views
Re: I think that feeling of something being just off is quite creepy Camilla - 14/09/2010 04:51:47 PM 747 Views
Most monsters scare me... aria - 15/09/2010 03:21:15 AM 771 Views
Re: Most monsters scare me... Camilla - 15/09/2010 08:33:06 AM 654 Views
You really need to watch Monsters, Inc. *NM* BlackAdder - 15/09/2010 03:53:20 AM 350 Views
I have Camilla - 15/09/2010 08:33:53 AM 651 Views
Re: I have TaskmasterJack - 15/09/2010 10:36:13 PM 702 Views
Camilla - 15/09/2010 10:37:40 PM 615 Views
^Yeah BlackAdder - 17/09/2010 07:25:44 AM 676 Views
Re: ^Yeah Camilla - 17/09/2010 09:08:33 AM 690 Views
I read the graphic novel of Coraline yesterday. The villains have buttons for eyes. Tim - 18/09/2010 12:32:49 PM 777 Views
Re: I read the graphic novel of Coraline yesterday. The villains have buttons for eyes. Camilla - 18/09/2010 12:33:46 PM 672 Views
I watched an interview with Gaiman in which he said Coraline scares adults but not kids. Tim - 18/09/2010 12:41:40 PM 1029 Views
That makes sense. *NM* Camilla - 18/09/2010 12:52:14 PM 390 Views
For those who are creeped out by unnatural movements... TaskmasterJack - 18/09/2010 06:22:18 PM 569 Views
Re: For those who are creeped out by unnatural movements... Camilla - 18/09/2010 06:23:43 PM 658 Views
I think that what I can't see is scarier. Once they actually take a physical form it ceases to work. Tashmere - 18/09/2010 10:37:53 PM 763 Views
Re: I think that what I can't see is scarier. Once they actually take a physical form it ceases to . Camilla - 18/09/2010 10:49:13 PM 838 Views
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