Why Are Things Creepy?

Hey, Vsauce. Michael here.

Fear gives us life. Being afraid of the right things kept our

ancestors alive. It makes sense to be afraid of poisonous insects or hungry tigers, but

what about fear when there is no clear and obvious danger?

For instance, a Teddy Bear

with a full set of human teeth...or a smile.jpg.

There's something a little off about these

images. Too much mystery, and strange-ness, but no obvious threat, the way there is with

a gun or falling rock. But, yet, they still insight fear, because they are creepy.

But why? What gives us the creeps? What causes something to be creepy?

We are now in my bedroom, the bedroom I grew up in, in Kansas. Like a lot of children my

age, I was terrified of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." But the very first book

that ever scared me was "The Curse of the Squirrel." To this day, I still haven't finished

the book...but that's just me.

Psychologist James Geer developed the "Fear Survey Schedule II," which he used to find

out what scared us the most. Combined with the results of a more recent Gallup poll,