As it’s Halloween I thought I’d blog about the things that scare me. Not the perfectly rational fear of venomous spiders and snakes (I can pick up the smaller harmless ones, so I’m okay there), but the lifelong fear I’ve had of clowns, masks and dolls. For me, the absolute nightmare room would be one full of clown dolls, with the walls covered in Venetian masks. If you made one of the clown dolls animated, I’d be crawling the walls with fear. No wait, the walls are covered in creepy masks. I’d be cowering and whimpering on the floor somewhere.
That creepy Doctor Who clown
I can trace my fear of clowns (coulrophobia) back to when I was twelve and a particularly terrifying Doctor Who episode, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, which featured a villanous clown. That was the first time I realised I was scared of them, but I already had an extreme aversion to the creepy Pierrot dolls my cousin collected. I couldn’t understand why she’d want those horrible things in her bedroom at night, and staying round her house wasn’t as much fun for me as it should have been.
Fear of dolls is known as pediophobia, and while I’m fine with rag dolls and most plastic ones, I really don’t like porcelain dolls or any that move and speak. The more their face looks like a mask, or the more they move, the more terrifying they are. I’m in pretty good control of this phobia and certainly don’t turn into a gibbering wreck, but it still lingers as I discovered the other day when watching Toy Story 3. Big Baby was really creepy!
My fear of masks (particularly Venetian masks) is harder to trace, but I do remember as a teenager reading Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death and having nightmares. Masked balls are supposed to be sexy, but I can’t imagine many things more unsettling to me. Perhaps this phobia was first triggered by watching Labyrinth, which has some particularly grotesque masks in the ball scene.
These fears are all fairly common, and all apparently linked to something called automatonophobia, or fear of humanoid figures. The theory goes that while things with a fairly basic relation to a humanoid form are fine, the closer they get to aping genuine human behaviour/appearance, the more uncomfortable we become with them. Masks are particularly unsettling because they distort people’s appearance, and can make it look like their voice is coming from nowhere. This might explain why I’m usually okay with eye masks, but anything that covers the bottom of the face gives me the fear
I think of all these irrational fears, the one of masks remains the strongest these days. Can we just say I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of masked people out on the streets tonight? Still, I’ll brave it, and just hope most of them are using facepaints instead. But not painted up like clowns, please. I can cope with Mr Tumble’s minimal make-up and Krusty the Clown, but even Ronald McDonald still frightens me!
Mr Tumble isn’t scary, thankfully, as Daisy loves him.
And don’t get me started on ventriloquist’s dummies, or those horrible cymbal monkey toys *shudders*
Anyone else out there suffer from any of these phobias? Or do you have something else that creeps you out, even though you know it can’t possibly harm you?
I don’t know why those things you describe are called phobias, I would call your reaction to them a fine display of common sense.
Rag dolls are okay for little children – as something to hug, but plastic or porcelain dolls are just creepy. Clowns are totally unnecessary and masks are for hiding behind. Why would anyone encourage any of those things?
Let me pat you on the back for having the fortitude to resist societal pressure to say that dolls, clowns and masks are a good thing!
Hugs,
Donna
Thanks, Donna! It’s reassuring to know that so many other people share these extreme dislikes. Porcelain dolls are hideously creepy. My sister used to collect them and she showed me them once, then got offended when I told her I was sorry, but I really, really didn’t like them. For her it was utterly irrational, but to me it was like there were a bunch of weird little corpses in boxes, just waiting to be reanimated when the lights went out. Ugh!
Saw a great kids entertainer at a party yesterday, doing lots of clownish things but with absolutely no make up. You really don’t need it!
*Hugs you back*
So with you on the ‘too-human’ 3D stuff. Ugh.
My daughter has an irrational fear of Pinocchio, which is taking it a step further.
I’m just an arachnophobe. Too many legs, dammit. Aliens, I reckon.
There’s an awful lot of us out there who feel this way. Weird that so many traditional children’s toys are so creepy! I won’t let Daisy have dolls that talk and walk. Not that she’s asked for them, but I just keep that stuff out of her orbit as much as possible. Even her cousin’s “Tickle me Elmo” is a bit much for me to feel comfortable with.
Yeah, spiders are creepy, but I only jump up onto chairs and throw the Yellow Pages at the really huge, fast-moving ones. Everything else I can cope with trapping under a glass
Oh yessss! Not so bad with dolls but all the rest give me the shivers and make my hair stand on end. No good me going to one of the festivals in Venice – I’d freak out
The other thing is clockwork toys – like a soldier drumming. There is something horrible about clockwork toys. Ugh!
And ticking clocks – the ones with a slow tick. Aaaargggghhhhh!!!!
*runs away screaming*
I’m the same with the idea of Venice. I love the sound of the city itself, but the masks would be freaky.
Clockwork toys are creepy, I agree. As are those wooden nutcracker dolls. Someone bought me one of those once as a joke, knowing how much I hate them. I was not amused.
Ticking clocks? That’s an unusual one. Grandfather and cuckoo clocks can be as bit weird, though. Unsettling more than scary…
I’m definitely with you on the clowns. For me it was Stephen King’s It – Pennywise scared the beejesus out of me.
I’m also with you on the dolls and that I can trace back to Jane Fonda in Barbarella /o\ She landed on this planet that had dolls with metal teeth!
Masks don’t bother me so much, but UGH I can’t stand spiders…like hardly at all. I’m better than I used to be, but yeah, just no.
Yeah, Pennywise scared me too, but I still read the book AND watched the film! Haven’t seen Barbarella, but that sounds freaky.
Spiders. Yeah, I don’t particularly like having them around, but smaller ones are okay. I’m guessing you don’t have to deal with them in your house, then!
My big fear is snakes, which I do not even like to go near the ones I know are harmless. I blame my mother for this, be it nature or nurture.
I actually like carnival masks, and that scene in Labyrinth is one of my favorites. But I’m not sure I would want any of those masks on my wall. And clowns are a little creepy. And I’m with you on the dolls.
My other big thing with the walking/talking toys is that they dictate to you how to play with them, which, IMO, restricts imagination.
There’s actually a term for that disconnect where something looks human, but isn’t human enough. It’s called the “uncanny valley.” We know when something doesn’t move quite right, or quite match up with our expectations. It’s a big deal in robotics (among other fields) because something that tries to look human but doesn’t quite make it often triggers that visceral reaction that “something ain’t right” and can actually sour someone’s opinion.
Hi Liam. I read a bit about that “uncanny valley” theory, which sounded fascinating. Made me wonder if these things should technically be considered phobias if they’re based on something innate to all of us, but then again, I suspect the fear of snakes and spiders is also innate. All those years of evolution must have coded it into us somehow.
And yes, I totally agree with the way overly specific toys can restrict imagination. I prefer simpler toys made of natural materials, but Daisy loves her Playmobil and now owns a Barbie (ugh!), so I’m fighting a losing battle
I love slow worms, grew up in a house with vipers in the garden, and have a photo of a twelve year old me with a six foot python draped over my shoulders somewhere, so I guess I’m not scared of snakes, but I can totally understand that phobia. Some of them are seriously dangerous. And the way they move is a little creepy…
Phobias? Heights and spiders, definitely
I did see IT when it came out but it didn’t give me any phobias
I think a healthy fear of heights is perfectly sensible! You’re lucky not having the clown problem. There are far too many of them out there…
Ronald McDonald is fucking SCARY. I’m not lying and you what what it is about clowns that scare me? The perpetual smiles. No one should have a painted smile. It creeps me out so bad. Like, I just picture a clown “smiling” and really being a weirdo sexual predator or a serial killer or something and the thought of those kinds of thoughts as they look at you with a PAINTED ON SMILE.
No thank you!
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with the painted on smiles! Yeah, it’s not right that they can be frowning but still have a smile on their face. Really sinister. That’s probably why I’m okay with Mr Tumble, as he only has the painted nose and a few freckles. And Krusty doesn’t have a painted smile either. Hey, you’ve just given me an insight into why some clowns scare me and others don’t–thanks, Cole!
You know I’m with on the whole clown thing *shudders* Just damn creepy. And I agree with Cole about the whole perpetual smile thing. Don’t like mimes and masks either. Also with me I think it’s not being able to see their face (I actually had an intense dislike of talking on the telephone as a child/teen, which incidently didn’t bother my parents one bit!).
Ventrilaquists are fine as long as their puppets are obviously not human, a muppet type person or little green duckling is fine but those wooden things with the clunky mouths and creepy eyes…freaky!
Oh yes, it’s those traditional ventriloquist dummies that creep me out too. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep with one in the room with me.
The telephone thing is interesting–I can definitely see how all these fears are connected, and they tap into something very primal. I’m sure it’s a well-grounded fear, grown out of self-preservation. It kicks in whenever there’s a gap between how something is presented and how it really is. Explains why false smiles are so sinister too.
Clowns? Ugh! I hate them. The colorful ones that are supposed to be funny are just creepy and the more sophisticated white ones? I never understood the concept.
I too read Edgar Allen Poe as a teenager and was scared witless! I think this http://www.masque-of-the-red-death.com/ is as near as I have ever enjoyed myself when it comes to one of his stories. You may already have seen it but I feel I must share it anyway, as it is really amazing.
Ooh, I’ve never seen that. Thanks for the link! There are several online comics I keep meaning to follow. Must work out how to get email updates because I’m just crap at remembering to check, otherwise.
I find the Pierrot clowns sinister not so much for the make up, as for the fact I first encountered them as porcelain dolls *shudders*