Uncanny

The Uncanny is something which is scary because of how normal it seems.

History

The German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling talked about the Uncanny.Friedrich Nietzsche also wrote about The Uncanny. He said Nihilism was uncanny. Ernst Jentch wrote that the Uncanny was a feeling that you weren’t sure what was real. Jentch said The Sandman was the best example of this because Olympia is an automaton but for most of the story people think she’s human.

Freud

Sigmund Freud said The Uncanny is what everyone wants to be a secret but ends up becoming known and reminds people of their Id. Freud said that The Sandman was the best example of this. He also said that a lot of mental disorders were because of someone feeling something uncanny. Jacques Lacan had a similar idea about the Uncanny, though it was based on Freud.

The Uncanny Valley

Masahiro Mori came up with the idea of The Uncanny Valley based on Freud’s idea.