GerdaWordyer
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2012
- Messages
- 1,052
Well, the genesis of the evil clown has been long debated over in the "clowns - evil or funny" thread, but IIRC no definitive conclusion has ever been reached on tnat one. Fear of dolls, on the other hand, is one of the most common phobias,one that seems to have been around for a while.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pediophobia
From a personal standpoint, my wariness of dolls was probably first triggered by the film, "Horror at 37,000 Feet"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horror_at_37,000_Feet
Which was one of those dreadful late night movies that my older siblings subjected me to as a very small and impressionable child (thanks a lot, sibs ) at one point, the demon on the plane posesses a doll, and...well, frankly, all I remember is the doll's melting face, but that was plenty. Still, it didn't quite put me off my Baby Alive doll, but as I grew older, I became more uncomfortable with it.
In the 70's, demonic posession seemed to be the hot topic and that must have continued for a while, because it was already the 80's when my peers and I began giving our Raggedy Anns tne side-eye. Anyway, once we connected the ideas of "demonic posession" and "dolls", a whole new world of uneasiness opened up before us.
So late 60' and into the 70's and 80's. Thanks for your kid memories; that was just what I'm after, from both movies and other pop culture plus personal touchstones. It's just funny (get it; clowns) that I remember when most, not all, were innocent.