The Uncanny

In our reading of Freud's essay on the "uncanny", we learned about the idea of the familiar being the slightest bit unsettling, much with the case of doppelgängers. This concept refers to essentially a double, although it may not be harmful, the idea of seeing yourself from an outside perspective can be extremely intriguing, as well as something somewhat haunting. It's just so out of the ordinary, it is best described as none other than uncanny. Along with this, uncanny opens up the possibility of more than just another version of yourself, but anything otherworldly. For instance, the thought of inanimate objects suddenly becoming animate, a trend in numerous horror flicks from old to contemporary. Some may just see these as entertaining plot twists, but many leave the film questioning whether there may be some reality to the concept. 

From a personal experience, I remember being around nine or ten years old, a year or so before my aunt passed away, she told me I could take something home from her basement. Now this wasn't a strange concept at the time just because not only was that a furnished part of her home and actually her bedroom, but she also collected a lot of pop culture memorabilia throughout the years, so one section of her basement actually had a bunch of really cool things in it that I secretly wished I could have for myself. The one thing I did end up taking was a replica of a ventriloquist dummy from the old series Peewee's Playhouse, Billy Bologna. My parents liked to expose me to many different forms of entertainment so that was actually a show we watched together sometimes, making me all the more eager to take the dummy home, that along with my obsession with the R.L. Stine Goosebumps series. Although I was filled with excitement on the ride home, the second we got there I realized there was no way that dummy was staying in my room, because obviously it was destined to come to life as I slept. It was so crazy to me, how could I be so fascinated with something and yet be terrified to live amongst it?

This instance alone makes me think on numerous times I have had an experience like this, and how relevant the uncanny is to every day life. I also feel as though the familiarity concept makes it all the more intriguing in the horror and thriller genre. Portraying things that people often have experience with that makes them the slightest bit unsettling is a great way to grasp organic suspense and genuine reactions.