[ELI5] How/why—psychologically—are little children so scary when it comes to ghosts/horror-mediums when IRL kids are probably the least scary things on the planet?

Question

[ELI5] How/why—psychologically—are little children so scary when it comes to ghosts/horror-mediums when IRL kids are probably the least scary things on the planet?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The [uncanny valley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley) and unexpected behavior. You see something that looks and acts *almost* like a normal child but you clearly see that something is very, very wrong. That contrast between “children should be cute and harmless” that your brain expects and “it’s not a normal child and it’s not harmless” that you see creates creepiness. When you see a monster, you at least know what to expect.

There’s a joke: “In a bad horror, the screen is filled with monsters and blood but you’re not afraid. In a good horror, nothing is happening, then a little hedgehog slowly enters the scene and you run to change your pants.”