Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Childhood Trauma

This. 



This is the face that will haunt your dreams.




Look at it


LOOK AT IT.

My mother maintains that the Thomas the Train nightlight is "cute." She thought it was "funny" when I ran screaming from the thing as a child, or when she would secretly switch it from place to place in the dark AS IF IT WERE MOVING ABOUT OF ITS OWN VOLITION.

I have tried explaining to her theories such as that of the Uncanny Valley, or pathogen avoidance, or just the flat-out fact that anthropomorphic steam engines with translucent gray "skin" and giant leering pedo-grins on their disembodied faces are EFFING CREEPY BY ALL STANDARDS, but she will have none of that.

So am I in the minority here? Is it just my imagination that this thing was bloody terrifying and still is almost two decades later? 

For the record, plugging him into the wall does not help -- his sickly face emits an unhealthy, uneven orange glow with an effect akin to that obtained by holding a large flashlight under your face. And then he's just sitting there, grinning, slowly emerging from the walls while you sleep.

Speaking of which ... 

sweet dreams.


1 comment:

  1. It's a cute little choo-choo train. And it's smiling. What's not to love? It kept the boogie man out of your dark room and prevented dangerous falls when you got up at night. Your mother was very thoughtful to buy you such a lovely light. Everyone should have such a wonderful mother.

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